Decks, built and rebuilt
Five deck jobs, five different answers: a composite deck laid over a tired patio slab, a treated pine deck built from bare dirt on poured footers, a deck rebuilt from underneath with its original boards put back, a new top on a sound frame, and a small repair done right for a house going on the market.
Most decks fail from underneath. The boards you walk on get the blame, but it is the framing, the supports and the way water moves under the deck that decide how long it lasts. That is why no two deck jobs on this page got the same answer.
In Jersey Village we laid a composite deck over a cracked patio slab. In the Spring and Cypress area we built a treated pine deck from bare dirt, with a moisture barrier under it and every footer dug and poured in concrete. On a large composite deck we took every board up, labeled each one, rebuilt the whole structure underneath, and put the original boards back with new spacers and hardware. In Katy we kept a sound frame and gave it a new top. And for a house about to be listed, we replaced only the rotted boards and matched the finish, because that was the right amount of work for that house.
Done right is cheaper than done twice. Sometimes that means a full rebuild, and sometimes it means knowing a repair is all a deck needs.
Composite over a tired patio slab, Jersey Village
The back patio was a cracked concrete slab. We washed it down, fastened sleepers across it, and laid composite decking over the top, so the homeowner got a warm, even deck without tearing out the concrete. Posts went up around it the same day. A month later they were stained and strung with lights, and the deck had chairs and planters on it.
Built from bare dirt, Spring and Cypress area
This one started as dirt beside the back door. We laid a moisture barrier, dug every footer and poured them in concrete, framed the deck in treated pine, and decked it in treated pine to match. Everything you see is new.
Rebuilt from underneath, original boards back on
The composite boards on this deck were still good. What was under them was not. We took every board up carefully and labeled each one so it could go back where it came from, rebuilt the structure underneath and all of the supports, then put the original boards back on with new spacers and hardware. The homeowner kept the deck they already paid for, on a frame that will outlast it.
A new top on a sound frame, Katy
Part of a whole-house job to get a family home ready to sell. The deck boards were rotten but the frame was worth keeping, so we stripped it to the joists, added supports beneath, and laid a new deck on the existing footprint without digging new footers. It kept the cost where the family needed it.
A repair, not a rebuild
This house was about to be listed, so cost mattered and a new deck made no sense. We cut out only the rotted boards, replaced them back to the nearest supports, and finished the new boards in a textured paint to match the rest of the deck. A small job, sized to what the house needed.
Scope of work
- New ground-level deck: moisture barrier, footers dug and poured, treated pine frame and decking
- Composite deck laid on sleepers over an existing patio slab
- Full structural rebuild under an existing composite deck, original boards labeled and reinstalled
- New spacers and hardware throughout
- Re-decking on a sound existing frame with added supports
- Rotted board replacement with textured paint to match
Service: Deck Repair
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