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My brother-in-law pointed out my deck boards were all wrong
He said I should have left a gap for water to drain, and now I see why the old ones rotted. Anyone have tips for fixing this without pulling everything up?
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rayc382mo ago
You mentioned the old ones rotted, so how bad is it under there right now? If the boards are already tight together, you might have trapped moisture causing more rot. Have you checked the joists underneath for any soft spots? That would decide if you can just space the boards or if you have bigger problems.
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laura2112mo ago
Check if the subfloor itself is rotten, not just the joists. That's a whole different level of bad.
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cooper.viola19d ago
Yeah, rayc38 is right about checking the joists. If those are soft, you're looking at a way bigger job than just spacing boards. I'd poke around with a screwdriver, if it sinks in easy you've got rot. You might be able to just pull the nails, pry them up a bit, and stick some spacers in between. But honestly, if the old ones rotted because there was no gap, you gotta make room for water to escape or it'll just happen again.
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