Thanks for the great vid. I especially appreciate the "lets keep it real" concept. (not replacing what is still ok) Lumber is expensive...lets not get nuts! The tip on screwing in very long boards that may have a bit of a warp was brilliant! Thank you.
I have a 23 year old treated lumber 2x6 deck that needed a re-hab. Instead of buying new wood I flipped the bad boards over and screwed them down. Looks new compared to the others. The joists are 24 inches on center. After flipping, if the ends were split or rotted, I cut off a foot from each end and added a 24 inch filler from spare 2x6 boards I have that were salvaged from old benches and picnic tables that were previously dismantled. Cheap fix and I "kicked the can down the road" for another 5 or 10 years.
This is a great video. I view this video almost one year ago and went back to it because I'm starting work on another deck. If your don't do this type of work every day it reminds you of things, like using spacers. One of things I did was buy a power miter saw. It cost $100 but now all of my cuts are straight and square. I would strongly recommend it.
Great video! Appreciate how you show how to replace only the rotted wood & to save on lumber costs! Sealing the cut ends before installation is a great idea.
I’m glad I found this. A few videos showed the guy placing the skill saw down without lifting the good end. Scares the heck outta me because the skillsaw I borrowed has a spring guard on it. My deck is screwed down and the screws are stripped but at least you’ve given me hope!
It worked out fine. I had to use my Sawzall quite often as well for my screws but it is now restored. New cedar boards where needed and saved a ton of money doing it myself. The estimates were close to the price of a new deck. Thanks for the video.
Seems very straight-forward. I will be trying this this week. Only difference is that I'm working with screws vs. nails. If those heads are stripped or strip while trying to remove them then I'm hoping my sawzall will work. Thanks for covering the details.
Good video, long enough in length to make your thoughtful observations and instructions unhurried. I will definitely tackle my own back deck repair now that I have seen your tutorial. Thanks so much.
Good job. But two things: 1- Any reason why you haven't painted the new wood, before installation, when you could easily and completely paint all surfaces for better element protection? 2- Don't you find deck screw a huge pain in a body part, next time that you have to do the repair and the screws are rusty rotten? I have had crowbar bending out of shape due to this problem along, where nails always come out easy (Giving the same easy to be lifted every now and then in Spring, after a melt of snow and wood contraction). Despite nail securing less, I prefer them for this exact reason. What do you think?
just a tip to other folks that don't use a saw that much or at all. Make sure the board you are cutting on deck is up high enough from the one just behind it. I accidently cut the board just behind the cut board when pulling back on the skill saw. Duh! No to bad and thankfully expectations were not high. Hope that saves someone else who's expectations are higher or not using semi/solid stain afterwards. The video really helped a lot and thanks for making.
Loved the video, it was explained very well with tools/equipment needed. And also what I liked was you really took your time describing everything, and those last min tips at the end of the video were very helpful.
Thank you so much. Your video helped me out a lot! Bought a new house that needs a lot of upgrading...husband got busy at work, so I'm working to try and figure it out on my own!
I enjoy the idea of cutting the part of the board that is rotted. Plus you can wash the old board with soap & water to remove the algae, then or repaint as you wish.
What I did - cut bad board(s) perfectly flush with supporting timber ( easy because the supporting timber edge is your guide). Then install treated section of 2x4 underneath as support for the new board. Use the length you need depending on the number of boards you are replacing. Comes out perfect every time; rock solid. ** Note: Let the new wood dry for a week or so.**
Video was a great help, thank you for taking your time to help me. I've put the task off because I didn't know the exact process, but I'm excited to get started now!
The procedure shown in the video works if the boards are fastened with nails. However, if they are very tight nails or nailscrews then you won't be able to lift the boards as shown. In that case, you need to use a Dremel Multi-Max tool or similar to cut out the portion of the wood that you want to remove. You can use the same tool to cut off the screws.
Much better to predrill srew holes to prevent end splitting! Also would be better if you seal old screw holes in joists before reattaching new board. They are a reservoir for water and future damage. Finally, seal cut ends, before reinstalling.
Most pros including myself do pre drill. Even if it doesn't split when putting in the screws, you're giving the board extra stress without drilling. You can take away a lot of the boards strength without pre drilled holes. And you could always split the board from the inside which can trap water over time and cause it to rot a lot faster.
On a positive note - he articulates well and speaks clearly. The video imagery is smooth and clear and he provides decent close-ups where appropriate. Other than that, I can't find other redeeming value in it. What you see/hear in the video is not worth your time. Keep searching for one done by a professional deck builder. I am one (have not done a video though) and would not want this guy doing any work on my property. The tools a "Pro" uses say a lot about them. A carpenter with a Framing Square and Hammer that look like his (not to mention the circular saw that could be bought at a yard sale for $10. A Pro would not own it.) should be shunned/avoided. All the deck builders I know would use a Speed Square where he attempts to use his Framing Square. Appears he is installing "white wood" (pine - not pressure treated). We don't know where he is, but all wood-surfaced decks in most of the USA have either "pressure-treated" deck boards, a "tropical wood" or a domestic that's naturally decay resistant - like cedar or redwood. As others have already mentioned, he fails to provide LOTS of VERY important info. In my opinion, he is a homeowner with time and a camera on his hands - that does NOT build/repair decks for a living. Search for better info - it is out there.
Your are reala jerk this video worked for many including who cares what his tools look like they still work. you are a hate full person this poor world has to put up with uncompassionate people like you heaven help you to put kindness into you heart and tame down that ego
A small piece of angle iron or shelving metal would protect the ajoining deck board from damage. Tie a cord to it to retrieve it as you will drop it through the deck a few times as I did.
Thank you very much for this post... I am about to replace some rotten wood on my deck and then use that deck restore on the rest that are okay......fingers cross
Just a thought here. You mention the nice straight edge that you get from the mill. Well, you can duplicate that very easy by using a mitre saw or a chop saw. Try it! It works very good and does a fine jop on making a straight edge and a right angle.
This video was so helpful. One question-when the deck screw was drilled in, it part of the board seemed to crack a small bit. Is there something you do so preserve that area around the hairline crack or will the stain and finish fill that in?
Hiya backyard owsome video only one suggestion the joint piece pre drill the hole then screw otherwise it will split the middle parts on no need to predrill hope i didnt offend you by giving my opinion
I am replacing a few boards on my deck, two are 20 feet and two are 8 feet. Should I purchase the treated wood 2x6 and lay it down on the deck to settle with the weather first? or purchase 10 foot board instead the 20 foot board? should I stain the boards before I lay them down? Thomas
your first mistake was painting that deck. Paint always eventually peels and looks nasty. I've learned to only use a clear sealer now on my deck instead of paints and stains. Then I can just clean and reseal with clear every few years. The deck looks newer longer
Question; I am replacing old deck boards and pre-drilling and using deck screws (instead of nails that were on old deck) There are a few boards where the bottoms are decent and I want to simply flip over. Can I use the old holes in the boards and joists since I'm replacing the nails with long deck screws, or should I stagger the board placement somewhat and drill new holes in the boards and joists? Thanks for any help!
Pretty scary. Those replacement boards do not look like treated wood, or exterior grade (like cedar or redwood), so they are going to rot quickly. In the scenes where the old deck board has been removed, you can clearly see that the tops of the deck joists underneath are rotted on top. Even if the rest of the joist is okay (just has rot at the top edge, which is common), those need to be replaced before they go completely. In the meantime, those new deck boards are going to start sagging and jumping up and down on top of the joists due to the rot (when you walk on it). I had several of those in my own deck. To HECK with it. Rip out the bad joist from underneath and replace it with a pressure treated one. It will outlast the rest of the deck and avoid a lot of problems. Joining two deck boards over a single two-by joist? That means the end of the deck board only has 3/4" of wood resting on the joist. Not great. If you are going to do a splice, add a block screwed into the side of the joist at that point so you have a full 1-1/2" to nail or screw each deck board to. The fact that he starts out saying that he only intends this repair to last a few years is very telling. It sounds like this is a quickie repair intended to allow the house to be sold off, leaving the next owner with the chore of tearing out and replacing the whole deck. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for trying to replace only the bad portions and not rebuilding an entire deck if you don't have to. But this isn't the way to do it.
Skipped over an important step. It's not recommended to fasten replacement boards to only half the width of the joist. The preferred method is to glue and screw a clete to the side of the open 'shared' joist. This provides each adjoining board a full section of joist (original plus clete) for support.
deck boards are so cheap, why not just replace the whole board? 12' 2x4 is like 5 bucks at most? Also, why not use a nail extractor instead of prying on other boards?
Not really. A 2x4 12' in cedar is a lot more than 5 bucks, more like 15. He's not using cedar (or any exterior grade wood, which is a big problem). Aside from that, I'm with you. Once a board has been out in the weather long enough for part of it to rot, forget it. You may as well replace the whole thing, as long as you upgrade it with an exterior wood that will last.
I suggest you try Abaton's LiquidWood and/or WoodEpox after digging out the rottted wood. Mix with some sawdust and it becomes sort of a plasticized wood filler. Saves lots of wood and money, and the repaired area is stronger than the remainder of the board.
if you are using 5/4 boards, joists should be on 16'' centers ..rusty tools ..I would not want you near any work that matters..sounds like a " jack of all trades, master of none..
+gatt be I am very confident this guy does not want to anywhere near you or your tools. He is providing a video for do-it-yourselfers as a courtesy. This isn't rocket science. It is tools, wood, and nails.
There's nothing wrong with trying to help homeowners do it themselves. The problem here is that he's doing a number of things that are just plain unsafe. Replacing decking with wood that isn't exterior grade, and leaving the rotting joists in place (you can see that they are rotting when he removes the deck boards), for example. Using long deck screws so that if the joists are partially rotted, the screws will go down into the part that isn't rotted??? In other words, leave the partially rotted joists in place? He even says that he only plans on this lasting a few years. Agreed - it's better to be polite when criticizing, but there's some really bad practices in this video. Beware.
