A sagging or falling deck is an accident waiting to happen. Collapsed decks may cause serious injury or even prove fatal to persons standing on or nearby the deck. Falling decks are an ugly safety hazard and should be repaired immediately. Raising a falling deck, also known as shoring up, is not necessarily a difficult task, but it can be a dangerous one. Take all necessary safety precautions and exercise care when undertaking this do-it-yourself project.
Instructions
1. Place hydraulic jacks beneath the front edge of the deck or the edge where the falling is most evident.
2. Stand 2-by-4 pieces of wood on top of the jacks.
3. Jack up the pieces of wood beneath the deck using the hand pump on the jack. When the deck begins to creak, stop jacking. The wood and jacks will brace the deck, making it safe for you to work beneath it.
4. Drill a 1/2-inch lag screw, 3 inches in length, with a washer into one edge of the ledger board, approximately 3 inches from the edge, using a power drill. The ledger board is the horizontal board that secures the deck to the house.
5. Drill screws down the entire length of ledger board, one every 16 inches. Use a washer with each screw.
6. Hammer joist hanger nails into any empty holes you find in the joist hangers. The deck joists are the wooden boards that run perpendicular to the ledger board; joist hangers are the brackets that joint these boards together. Fill all empty nail holes in these joist hangers with nails.
7. Measure the thickness of your posts and your rim joists. Add these two thicknesses together to know how long your bolts and nails must be when you work on post repair.
8. Test the posts holding the deck in place for areas of rottenness or weakness using a screwdriver. Gently poke the screwdriver into the wood; if it slides into the wood, the post must be replaced.
9. Cut new braces from 2-by-4s and wedge them on hydraulic jacks on either side of the post you are replacing, approximately 3 feet away from the post.
10. Cut the post away with a small saw and dispose.
11. Locate the bolt protruding upward from the footing; this is where you will place your new post.
12. Pre-drill a hole in the end of the new post, then set it over the bolt. Use a level to ensure the post is being placed evenly.
13. Hammer galvanized nails into the top of the post to attach it to the rim joist of the deck above.
14. Drill 1/2-inch holes through each rim joist and post where they meet, new and old posts alike.
15. Hammer 1/2-inch carriage bolts into the holes with a hammer. The bolts should be 1 inch longer than the combined thickness of the post and rim joist.
16. Place a washer and nut on the end of the carriage bolt where it protrudes on the opposite side.
17.Measure diagonally across the deck, from corner to corner, and cut a 2-by-4 to that length.
18. Place the brace underneath the deck, securing it in place with two galvanized nails on either end hammered through the brace into the joists.
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