Has your original lumber used on your deck become a dried up – rotting eyesore? Are you continuing to surrender one weekend a year for upkeep?

If you are tired of staining, painting, and slivers, resurfacing a deck is a job well within the skill level of almost every do-it-yourself-er.

Resurfacing existing decks is a lot easier, faster, and less expensive than building a new deck.

The first step starts with making sure the existing structure is sound.  Test for structure soundness by probing the joist tops.

Do this by using a scratch awl (long thin object), table knife, or a thin screwdriver.  Probe between the decking in a number of different areas by simply pushing the probe down between the decking boards and into the top of the joists.  If the probe goes in, you know you have some rot. It seems it’s always worse after removing the decking boards.  If it’s an upper level deck you can go below under the deck.  If there is rot, those joists will need to be replaced before the re-deck.

Once all the decking is off you should check the framing structure over and make any necessary repairs or replacements prior to attaching the new decking. There are a few specific items to check for:  stiff backing, joist hangers, ledger lags, bolts in beams, blocking around railing posts, flashing, diagonal bracing or any other connections.

Measure your joist spacing.  95 % of composite / cellular pvc decking needs to be 16″ on center, not 24″ on center. With parallel decking, if the joists are 24″, you can add another joist between each existing joist.

I highly recommend on all resurfacing of decks to use a joist wrap. This seals all existing holes from nails or screws. It also seals all new screws, sheds water off the top of joists, looks better from the top between the decking boards and extends the life span of the joist.  It just makes sense to joist wrap in my mind.  This is very inexpensive you can probably wrap the entire deck for the cost of one decking board.

Now you’re ready to install the decking of your choice!