What to Do With Wood Rot in a Deck

Outdoor decks are long lasting and as the go to place for outdoor barbecuing and entertainment, it is essential that they provide a good number of years of service. Yet, one should not expect that they should last forever. Some of the things that affect them is that they could fall down to rot and other structural imperfections because they are being lashed continuously by rains and exposure to the sun. This defect on the deck has been expected to cause injury to about 34,000 people every year. To keep the deck good condition and top shape and to make sure that everyone is safe while using it, one has to make sure that the wood deck and its weak spots are repaired along with fixing any discolored deck boards or splintered boards. When the problem is that the wood is getting rotten, the solution is to entirely remove the rotten wood and rebuild the deck in part or in its entirety. When working on a deck that has a wood rot, one should put on a NIOSH 95 respirator because potentially dangerous fungus can often be seen on the sites of wood rot on decks.

Key Takeaways:

Rain, wind and sun can all collude to ultimately cause structural damage and rot to your outdoor deck.
Besides outright rotted areas, you will want to replace splintered boards and discolored ones.
It's important to know that dangerous fungus is often growing in tandem,with rotted areas, necessitating the use of a professional respirator and dust mask.

“But when wood rot is involved, it's often best to remove the rotten wood entirely and rebuild part or all of the deck.”