Story of a Homeowner's Deck Page 2 - Orphan

Story of a Homeowner's Deck

Dangerous deck rot

Deck decay danger

When I asked the homeowner how they discovered their framing was rotting out, they explained it this way:

Pressure treated floor joists rotten after 5 to 10 years

“Here! Walk on this area and tell me how it feels! Now walk on this area! What kind of feeling does it give you?”

“Spongy. Soft and mushy” I replied.

“Not a good feeling is it?”

“No ma’am. It makes me feel very nervous frankly.”

“Yes it certainly does! And we have no idea how this could have happened in such a short time! Someone should be held responsible for this!”

I agreed with her and explained that the government would not take responsibility for her rotting deck because they CAUSED the problem… and the pressure treatment facilities would not own up to it because they were doing what they were told and besides, they might get sued by angry homeowners all across the country in a Class Action Suit… and the suppliers would not admit any wrongdoing because homeowners might switch to masonry decks… and contractors do not have a CLUE how to fix the problem so they are not saying anything! In fact, when a contractor is confronted with this decaying deck framing, they typically respond with:

“Tear it down and rebuild it!”

“At the cost of $40,000 and with the same defective PT framing? That is a huge rip off. There MUST be a better way.”

“No sir! No ma’am. None that I know of. If you do not want a bad fall, it needs to come down now. It needs to be replaced immediately.”

“But I just spent thousands on this composite decking!”