Question: Good morning, Robert, I hope this finds you doing well. We bought a home “as is,” and know of the issues it has. The deal we got on it was worth the issues, but now facing them head-on, I need to do my best to save where I can.
Any chance of saving my balcony in the backyard, if the vertical posts have rot at the ground level? They were sunken into the concrete originally, and are visibly rotted. The rest of the deck lumber doesn’t seem to be in as bad of shape, though questionable. Thoughts?
— Derrick C.
Answer: Derrick, if the rest of the lumber is even remotely questionable, I have to advise for you to make this a complete tear-down and rebuild it. Safety is the first priority and if anything is questionable when it comes to safety, the answer must be a hard “no.”
If the deck was installed this way, it makes me wonder if it was properly secured to the home. Once the deck is removed and the connection point is investigated, you’ll know if there is additional work to be done on the house prior to rebuilding.
Be prepared for this, so do not open this up until good weather is forecasted ahead, for a few weeks. Between permitting and contractor’s schedules, this could possibly take several weeks to demo and rebuild.
Be sure to use a licensed and insured contractor, and that they go through the permitting process. Building and Safety will look at plans and approve, issuing a permit. They will inspect along the way and issue a “final,” which is a last inspection at the end, putting their stamp of approval on the project. This ensures that a qualified inspector has signed off that the new build has been done correctly and is safe to utilize.
Always make the safe call when it comes to life-safety, and in this case even without seeing the deck, I’d say replace it all. Best of luck.
Robert Lamoureux has more than 40 years of experience as a general contractor, with separate licenses in electrical and plumbing contracting. He owns IMS Construction Inc. in Valencia. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of The Signal. Opinions expressed in this column are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after that contractor has made a thorough visual inspection. Email questions to Robert at [email protected].
