Hi after receiving some ridiculously high estimates on rebuilding our front deck I decided to tackle it myself possibly. First I got a demo this thing to see what I'm dealing with. There is so rot near the front door on a count of it being poorly flashed. This thing is falling apart. it was improperly done in the first place probably by the previous homeowner. We knew at the inspection that it's was poorly done it didn't pass the inspection. But we got a break on the price as a result. Finally doing something about it. I've got estimates ranging from $8, 000 to $18,000 so I think it's time I try to do myself if I can.
Front porch rebuild
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If you are prepared for work and pay attention to the advice you will save lots of cash. I might tie that to the car and take a little dive and see if it just comes away from the house.
Not too much progress today started by removing some of the short decking boards in the railing. Going to try to disassemble it carefully to see if there's framing wood underneath that can be salvaged and reused. But I'm not too hopeful.
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When I bought my house in 1980 it had a porch that looked like it was going to fall down. I had a big 4 wheel drive truck that was set up for off-roading with low gears, a modified engine and lockers in both axles. I hooked it to the porch and I couldn’t pull it down. But it was fun trying.
Couple of more progress pictures I lost yesterday due to having to go to doctor appointments. I'm wondering before I throw all this old Trex out if it's something that could be reused and painted. I've been told it's kind of a first generation Trex it doesn't have a vinyl coating laminated on it like the modern Trex does.
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Proper house wrap and flashing :wink2:That looks like OSB hopefully the rim joist is still usable.
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There is a tape now tat you put on the to of the joists so water and dirt aren't sit in top of the joist.
Yes that still looks good for some uses. A lot of times wish I could still buy it.
Your problem is it really needs 12 OC space between joist.
I just stained some yesterday on a pool deck and looks great.
I installed this 25 to 30 years ago.
Pro's are
1. Was solid color all the way thru. I could do more custom work with it using
a router for a decorative edge.
2. Even on wood decks I would use this as the top hand rail. Since no
cracking or splintering over the years. Would still have a splinter free
handrail. On all trex decks I liked they made a solid 2 x 4 out of the same
material.
3. Have one 20 years old I used the Trex to just go over an old 2 x 6 deck. Still in good shape. Did use roof coating first over the old decking. Since otherwise could trap moisture and rot out the old decking underneath.
4. Was more reasonable priced. Worked better being a solid 5/4 or 2 x 4 with both sides the same. Again good for custom work like if someone wanted a window flower box that would last.
5. Holds stain better than wood.
After 10 years factory color would be pretty faded. First I liked Cabots oil base stain on it. No with EPA no longer a thru oil base anymore. And acrylic stains have improved.
Now my favorite is a PPG product. Flood Pro Series 100% Acrylic Solid Color stain. Great coverage, dries fast & no peeling.
To keep it looking very good. I would say recoat every 5 years on horizontal surfaces. And 8 on vertical such as rail pickets.
So every 5 years or so can make it look new again. Quick easy for me with a airless sprayer and fine finish tip for less over spray.
The new capped composites do look great and higher end. But you cant ever stain to make look new again. And anything will fade in the hot sun.
Also what if you have damage or want to add on later. Most discontinue matching colors after so many years. So cant count on matching.
Because of this there is a lot to be said about going back to wood decking.
I never liked 5/4 deck boards. They never lasted. And would warp and crack more
But I have also got 30 years out of the decks I made with 2 x 6 as decking boards.
I hand pick at a good lumber yard. And on some. Route the edge. Rounding it over so it looks like a standard 5/4 decking board. Cant say it made it last much longer just looked a lot better. Last I did would take me about 60 seconds for a 10 ft board. So not really a lot of extra time when setup for it.
Trouble again getting pictures to post. I'm going to try to save the joist hangers if I can probably not going to try to save the nails but I could go through them I suppose. someone suggested a palm nailer to nail these joist hangers is that a good thing to have. That might be the one nailing tool that I don't have yet. I've seen many palm nailers but I don't think that's going to be big enough to do this job or is it?. PS thanks for the help I've got so far I just have not found a thanks button on this mobile site. I will have to go to the full version on my laptop to find the thanks button.
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