A little good news

@fawkes62 (1276)
United States
April 12, 2016 3:00pm CST
We were planning on replacing our deck this year because it has been slowly tipping for the last few years. It's fairly noticeable that one corner is lower than the other. We priced it out at one of the local home centers and for cedar the price, before any sales, was about $1800 for the small deck that we have. Though we can afford it, it's a stretch right now and would leave us with minimum cushion for any unexpected expenses. We didn't really want to do that, but with it tipped as badly as it is, it's hard to feel safe on it. I mentioned it to my parents and asked if they had any ideas of how we could fix it enough to postpone replacing it for a year or two. They came over and my dad thinks he knows what the problem is and feels it is fixable. If he is right it will only cost us some physical labor and a several new bolts. It's definitely worth trying to save the $1800 right now. If it works we will need to invest in some new paint (the deck currently looks horrible), but paint and a few bolts is significantly cheaper so I'm all for giving it a try. I'm looking forward to having a deck that looks good again.
11 people like this
10 responses
DianneN
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
14 Apr 16
I hope it can be fixed simply. I love our deck. It had to be rebuilt after our son threw a huge party years ago. Lol!
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
They fixed it as much as they could yesterday. It's not perfect but never will be, it should last a few more years though.
1 person likes this
DianneN
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
20 Apr 16
@fawkes62 That's great news. Lumber is so expensive!
1 person likes this
ElizabethWallace
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
13 Apr 16
This sounds logical. I sure hope he is right. Good luck.
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
Thanks. They did what they could and it is definitely better, but will never look as good as I would like. It is at least good enough for a few more years.
1 person likes this
ElizabethWallace
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
21 Apr 16
@fawkes62 Hopefully, it will last while you save to replace it.
1 person likes this
Jabo
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
12 Apr 16
That's great that you have a Dad like that. Sounds as if he could save you a lot of money.
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
They got it good enough, but it's still not as good as I was hoping. It is at least good enough to last a few more years. Now we have to paint it.
1 person likes this
MARILYN
@Marilynda1225 (82789)
• United States
12 Apr 16
Hope your dad can fix your deck so you don't have such a huge expense. My deck is in dire need of a painting too
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
They got it good enough, now we just need the weather to cooperate so we can paint it.
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (340223)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Apr 16
Sometimes these things are so hard to fix. It's good that your Dad was able to come with a cheap(er) suggestion.
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
They worked on it yesterday and got it done as much as they could. It's not perfect but it's better. Turns out the deck probably wasn't even made correctly, so we can only fix part of the problem.
1 person likes this
Betty Belekis
@BettyB (4117)
• Summerville, South Carolina
12 Apr 16
That's good news. A little time and a few bolts is a whole lot cheaper than a whole new deck. Good luck!
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
Thanks. They worked on it for much of the day yesterday (in the light rain) and it's definitely better than it was.
Teep11
@Teep11 (7673)
• United States
12 Apr 16
If you're able to save on the deck then that will be a good thing. An unsafe deck can injure someone so I can understand why you would want it fixed. I hope everything turns out alright.
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
They got it fixed enough to look better and they think it's safe, so that is the main part. It should be good enough for a few more years at least.
Babygirlrae
@carebear29 (31968)
• Wausau, Wisconsin
12 Apr 16
Great that is cool and good
1 person likes this
Lenore Plassman
@sallypup (61169)
• Centralia, Washington
12 Apr 16
I hope your Dad is right. The deck that we have is about five feet off the ground. So far it seems sturdy though the step railing needs fixing soon.
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
They got it fixed good enough. Ours is probably 5 feet off the ground too, or maybe a little less. I can't stand straight up underneath it, but some of my kids can.
PaintsOnSlate
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
12 Apr 16
Fingers crossed...I hope your Dad is right and it is that easy.
1 person likes this
Shannon
@fawkes62 (1276)
• United States
20 Apr 16
It was a lot of work, but they got it good enough. Looks like it never was correct from the start, which limits how much they can do.
1 person likes this