[cakem]

Hello everyone, bear with me if I mess this up the first time. I spent considerable time last summer rebuilding an existing deck. All posts (8), deck boards and rails were replaced. My problem is that most of treated 6x6 posts warped BADLY! Some warpage can be measured in inches, and has contorted most of the rail sections. I am no carpenter, but I have never seen this before. Short of disassembling the entire deck,

1. Any chance these could be straightened? If so, any suggestions?
2. If not, is there a rail system that can be mounted to the deck surface that will withstand a lot of traffic?

Thanks for your help, Mike

 

[jaros bros.]

Being an exterior surface you should have used PT and PT tends to warp like crazy. You have a couple different options that I can think of right now and others will probably mention more. First, I don't know of anything than can meet code and simply be surface mounted. You could rip the 6x6 down and plane them plumb to accept a composite or vinyl post cover and then install a railing of your choice between. A jig and a router would probably be a good setup. You could also snip all the 6x6s and just replace the couple of outside boards that were cut through and then install new 4x4s by cutting new pockets down into the deck and lagging or bolting them securely. Then you could either use slip covers or leave them PT. What grade of PT did you get the 6x6s in. 4x4s are usually the ones to warp bad and not so much the 6x6s. Did you get those in #3 or #2? If I had to use PT I would at least get #2.