Deck Teardown and Composite Rebuild in Springfield, Oregon

The old deck had reached the end of its life. The boards had cupped and split, the fasteners were pulling loose, and the framing underneath had taken on more water than pressure-treated lumber is meant to hold. Patching it would have bought a season, maybe two.

Before

We tore the structure down to the ground and started over. New footings, new pressure-treated framing set on proper spacing for composite, and joist tape over every horizontal surface so water runs off the frame instead of sitting on it. That step is invisible in the finished photos and it is the reason the frame outlasts the boards.

During the build

The surface is capped composite, laid with hidden fasteners so there is no screw head anywhere in the field. The homeowner will wash it once a year and do nothing else to it — no sanding, no staining, no annual weekend lost to a deck.

After

Should a failing deck be resurfaced or rebuilt?

If the framing is compromised, resurfacing is a repair, not a fix. New boards over wet, weakened joists will move, sag and fail again, and the money spent on the surface is lost when the frame finally has to come out. Rebuilding from the footings up costs more on day one and less over ten years.