Reliable Deck Repair | Deck Builders Lewiston
Deck repair is worth the money only when the frame under the damage is sound, so we check the footings, the ledger and the joists before we price a single board. We price the frame before the boards.
- (207) 386-9863
- 217 Main St, 3rd Floor, Lewiston
- [email protected]
- Decks only, start to finish
- Free estimate requests
- 22 towns around Lewiston-Auburn
- The frame checked before any board
- Rusted hardware out, every cut treated
- A written price after the visit
This page covers deck repair in the Lewiston-Auburn area: swapping soft or split boards, rebuilding loose stairs, sistering sound joists, resetting heaved posts and re-anchoring wobbly rail posts, with fresh cuts treated and rusted hangers replaced.
A repair is the right fix when one part failed on a frame that is still solid. Deck Builders Lewiston looks under the deck before pricing anything, and says plainly when a wood deck around 20 years old, already patched board by board, should be replaced instead.
The one thing to know: this site prints no repair price list. Each job is priced in writing after a visit, by the parts involved, the frame beneath them and the height of the deck.
Why Do So Many Deck Repairs Fail Within a Few Years?
So many deck repairs fail within a few years because the new board went down on a joist that was already going soft, or a loose rail post got a longer screw instead of a real tie to the frame. The USDA's Wood Handbook says wood with visible decay may be assumed to have lost strength in all properties.
- Every joist, rim joist and post near the damage probed with a screwdriver, since InterNACHI notes decayed wood breaks right over the tip
- Rusted hangers swapped for hot-dipped galvanized or stainless steel, two of the metals DCA 6 names for treated lumber
- Each fresh cut brushed with copper naphthenate, the field preservative DCA 6 calls for
What if the frame says the deck is done?
Deck ReplacementThe old deck torn out, new footings and a new frame, never new boards on a tired frame.See Deck Replacement
Deck RailingsAluminum, cable or composite rail, at the height and spacing the code asks for.See Deck Railings
Pressure-Treated DecksThe most affordable deck, framed and decked in treated lumber.See Pressure-Treated Decks
Where do we take on deck repair?
What Are the Three Deck Repairs We Do Most Often?
Most deck repair calls in the Lewiston-Auburn area come down to stairs, boards or the rail, each with a point where patching stops making sense.
Loose Stairs, Rotted Stringers and Shaky Handrails
Deck stairs usually fail at the bottom first, where the stringers (the notched boards that carry the treads) sit on wet ground or a pad that frost can heave. DCA 6 calls for 2x12 stringers, at least three on a cut-stringer stair, resting only on a pad founded below the frost line and at least 12 inches below undisturbed ground.
We replace a rotted stringer whole and add the handrail DCA 6 requires on any stair with four or more risers, 34 to 38 inches above the nosings. Repair stops making sense when the stairs pull away because the rim joist they hang from is soft, since then the frame failed and not the stair.
Soft Spots, Split Boards and a Floor That Bounces
A soft board is a symptom, and the joist under it decides the fix. Over a dry, firm joist we swap the board the way DCA 6 describes: two screws per joist, about a 1/8-inch gap, and every piece bearing on at least three joists.
A bouncy deck usually means joists spaced too far apart or a weak beam, and a sound joist can be sistered (a new full-height joist fastened alongside it with structural screws or bolts), though Decks.com warns that sistering onto a partly rotted one fails. Once several joist tops are soft, we price a deck replacement instead, since Trex's own resurfacing guide says decayed framing must be replaced before new decking goes on.
Wobbly Rail Posts and Rusted Hardware
A rail post that moves when you lean is the repair we take most seriously, since the guard is what stops a fall. DCA 6 sets a nominal 4x4 as the smallest guard post, on framing no smaller than 2x8, with a hold-down rated for at least 1,800 pounds of tension where a post runs perpendicular to the joists.
Inspector Bruce Barker, writing in Professional Deck Builder, reads white rust on hardware as zinc wearing thin and significant red rust as a part at the end of its life. Repair stops making sense when the rim joist behind the post is soft or the rail is too low or too open, and then a new run of deck railings is the fix.
What Deck Repair Services Do We Offer?
We repair the parts you walk on and the frame that holds them up.
Maine's adopted residential code exempts ordinary repairs from notice to the building official, but cutting or removing a structural beam or load-bearing support is not ordinary. Towns can add rules to the state building code, so we ask the town's code office before structural work and pull any permit it needs.
- Boards, joists and beams: soft or split boards swapped, sound joists sistered, rotted wood cut out and every new cut treated
- Posts, footings and the house side: a heaved or rotted post reset on a new footing 4 feet down, rusted hangers replaced, the ledger and its flashing checked
- Stairs and guards: stringers, treads and handrails rebuilt, and loose guard posts tied back into the frame with hold-downs
How Do We Repair a Deck, Step by Step?
Under the deck first.
We check the footings, posts, beam, ledger and joists, probe the wood around the damage and look for rust, then tell you plainly what we found.
The scope and the price on paper.
Every part coming out is listed and priced, and nothing starts until you sign. Maine's home construction contract law requires a signed written contract on any job over $3,000 and caps the down payment at one third of the price.
Sound wood first, then a walk across it.
The frame is made sound before a board, tread or rail goes back, and any new joist gets joist tape on top. Then we walk the deck with you and lean on the rail together.
When Is Deck Repair the Right Call, and When Is It Not?
Deck repair is the right call when the damage is local and the wood around it is firm: a cracked tread, a few soft boards over dry joists, a heaved post, a rail post loose in a solid rim joist. Fixed that way, a repair buys back the seasons a good frame still has.
Deck repair is the wrong call on a wood deck around 20 years old that is already a patchwork, on joists soft in several spots, or on a ledger held on by nails alone. NADRA says a ledger showing only nail heads should be treated as unsafe and inspected right away, and since framing is the cheapest part of a deck, we would rather price a new frame than more patches.
If a repair uncovers more rot than the first look showed, we stop, show you and wait for your signature on the added work.
Who Should Get a Deck Checked, Where and When?
Who should have a deck looked at before next season?
Anyone whose deck feels different underfoot should have it looked at before next season: a new bounce, a board that gives, a rail that moves, or stairs that rock. NADRA advises a yearly check for corroding fasteners, decaying wood and loose railings.
Where on a deck does rot usually start?
Rot usually starts where water sits and the wood never dries: joist tops under the boards, the ledger and the house band joist behind it, post bottoms in soil, and the foot of the stairs. Barker warns that a well-fastened ledger is no help once that band joist is water damaged.
When is the right season to fix a deck?
The right season to fix a deck is spring through fall, after the snow and before the ground freezes, so a post that needs a new footing can get one. A soft spot found in April should not ride out another winter of snow.
How Much Does a Deck Repair Cost?
The cost of a deck repair is set at the deck and not from a list, because the same soft board can sit on a sound joist or a rotted one. Three things move the price most:
- How many parts: three split treads are a short job, while new stringers, a sistered joist or a post on a new footing add framing time
- The frame and the height: a sound frame keeps a repair small, and a deck more than about 2 feet up needs staging, close to a crew day on any size of job
- The match: fresh treated wood will not match weathered gray boards until it ages, and an old board profile can take time to find
Why is there no deck repair price list on this site?
There is no deck repair price list here because the price turns on the frame under the damage, which nobody knows until someone is under the deck with a screwdriver.
When does a repair cost more than it saves?
A repair costs more than it saves on a deck around 20 years old that is already patched board by board, or on a frame soft in several places. Each patch there buys a season, while a new frame on new footings starts the clock over.
Is it cheaper to fix a soft board now or next year?
It is cheaper to fix a soft board now, because rot that stays wet keeps working into the joist below. The Wood Handbook's advice is to stop the moisture first, then replace only the wood it weakened.
Where Do You Start if Your Deck Feels Soft?
You start by sending a free estimate request, and we look under the deck before any price is written. The scope, the price and the deposit go in writing, and the work waits on your signature.