When a deck is past repairing, we replace it: new boards on the old frame where the frame is still solid, or a full rebuild from new stumps and bearers up. Either way we work out what can be kept before anything goes in the skip.
Which one your deck needs depends on what is under the boards, and that is the first thing we check.
If the stumps, bearers and joists are still solid, it is usually only the boards that have failed: split, cupped, grey and soft at the ends. We strip them, check every joist as it comes into view, add or replace the ones that need it, and lay new boards. In Steiglitz that meant new 130 mm blackbutt boards, extra beams to close up 1 metre gaps in the old frame, and a new railing.
When the frame has gone, we start again from the ground: new stumps and plates, then bearers, joists and boards. Sound timber from the old deck is reused where it is fit for purpose. In Lara we rebuilt a deck with the owner’s timber, added a row of stumps, bought extra joists and boards where the old ones ran short, and taped the joists before the boards went down.
Soft boards in one area, a loose step or a single rotten joist are repairs, not a replacement. Those jobs are on our deck repairs page.
Split and cupped boards across the whole deck, but joists that stay firm when we probe them. New boards on the old frame is a much smaller job than starting again.
Joists that crumble on top, sagging bearers, and stumps rotted or leaning at the ground. New boards on that frame wouldn’t last, so it gets rebuilt.
A replacement is the time to switch: hardwood to composite, or a wider board. We check the joist spacing against the new board’s span before you choose.
Stumps, bearers and joists all get checked, so the quote is for the right job.
In writing: what stays, what gets replaced and what boards go down.
Once the boards are off, anything the quote couldn’t see is shown to you before we go on.
New boards fixed and finished, old timber taken away.
The old boards came off a deck overlooking the bush. We added beams to close up 1 metre gaps in the frame, laid 130 mm blackbutt boards and replaced the railing. 2022.
A full rebuild using the owner’s timber on site: new plates and stumps, an extra row of stumps, bearers and joists, flashing tape over the joists, and the usable boards relaid with new ones to finish. 2024.
Two stumps re-concreted, the deck reframed, and a footing poured under a run of fallen bricks, which the bricklayer we organised then rebuilt. 2023.
Replacement sits between a repair and a brand-new deck. These are the jobs either side of it.
We replace decks across Geelong, the Surf Coast, the Bellarine and Golden Plains. Pick your town to see everything else we do there.
Give us a call or send a photo, and we will come and check the frame and give you a free estimate.
