Rebuilding a Deck Part 1 - Removal of Wood Down to Framing Structure

Often you can have a deck which looks like it is in really rough shape but the structure is actually still in good condition. In this case you can save yourself time and money by simply removing everything down to the core structure, make any repairs needed, and then install new deck boards. This is a perfect weekend project and approachable by new home owners and weekend warriors.
In this Part 1 video I will show you the following:
1) Tools Needed (list below) and Plan of Attack
2) Removal of Old Wood
3) 2 Different Methods of Disposing of Old Wood
4) ProvideTips on How I Approached This Project
5) Time and Cost Estimates
Tools Used
1) Framing Hammer: amzn.to/3cvZmUI
2) 24-inch Crowbar: amzn.to/3alc8Uu
3) Sledgehammer: amzn.to/3bgdvoJ
4) Makita Sawzall: amzn.to/2VjR1h1
Tools Every Weekend Warrior Needs
Makita Corless Drill Combo Kit: amzn.to/2Jsw78j
Dewalt Drill Bit Set: amzn.to/2w0xAA4
Dewalt Screwdriver Bit Set: amzn.to/2UqTvK9
Craftsman Screwdriver Set: amzn.to/3bAsNEG
Eklind Allen Wrench Set: amzn.to/2wKDu8M
Pliers (4-Piece Set): amzn.to/2JlYUM7
Stanley Utility Knife: amzn.to/2Us2pqG
Stanley Tape Measure: amzn.to/2WPzr5K
Studbuddy Stud Finder: amzn.to/33SaZC4
Johnson Torpedo Level: amzn.to/3dzx5Ot
Stanley Hammer:amzn.to/39tudPL
Buck Bros Wood Chisel Set: amzn.to/2QTebYO
Klein Voltage Tester: amzn.to/2XMa1I2
Wire Strippers: amzn.to/2NHHKuS
Little Giant Ladder: amzn.to/2UrFmfG
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

[@bkwilsonks]

Your explanation & tips are so helpful to someone like me, who is learning in preparation for my own DIY project. Thank you!

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Thanks for the kind words. More to come on this project in the coming weeks as we put on the new deck boards and build up the planter boxes and seating. 👍

[@hill4472]

I would have salvaged that deck 100%. That deck is in solid shape. Just as he did, I would also take out the top seats and store them somewhere in the back yard to be processed later. Take off at least 10 boards at a time, flip them and resurface the back of the wood applying wood putty on the holes to sand them. I would treat them with 2 coats of wood oil and reinstall them. I would do the same for the benches. I restored my deck which was way worse than that one reusing the back side. I invested on deck screws, sand paper and wood putty and deck wood oil thus saving thousands in a time when wood is premium at big box stores. Good luck to all of you out there doing this project and excellent work building that deck Everyday Home Repairs.

[@Goat4964]

I would love to have seen that, I see all this videos about salvaging and repairing old or rotten wood. What is a good one, there are so many and I don’t want to end up wasting money. If you have a thought please let me know.

[@hill4472]

@@Goat4964 I became very creative when the wood prices started soaring so I carefully uninstalled all the top boards. I then sanded them and used the wood dust to sprinkle over the glue I put on the holes and indentations. I bought an oil type deck sealer so it could seep into the wood planks and the structure and simply installed the brand new boards again. I used the back side of the boards since it was in excellent condition. It is still holding up to this day.

[@nickcook7247]

Dang I wish I had that type of time but I work out of town.

[@hjmattos]

@hill4472, did you do anything to treat the original tops of the boards that were weathered? Or did you only treat the backside that became the new topside?

[@hill4472]

@@hjmattos I sanded both sides and treated both sides before I reinstalled them. They are still going strong.

[@deannacharette7123]

Really helpful and you describe the process so efficiently and easy to understand. Many thanks

[@markjackson6134]

I have a large deck (built in the 80s or 90s), it's still sturdy and though mine looks better than the one on your video it needs rebuilding and your great video has given me the SOBER courage to do it myself. Great Video and Thanks.

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Best of luck on your project!

[@jromo93]

Wow THANK YOU SO MUCH for not having music on your time lapse!! I can not tell you how annoying it is when people play generic house/dubstep music to their video. So informational as well, really great job! Keep it up!

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Glad I could help! 👍

[@LoganCarlson-o6w]

I love your videos

[@redsoul4552]

Good video. I found it after demo the floor of my Mom's deck. It was rotten very bad butbthe joists were good. I started demoing with a sledge hammer and a flat pry bar. Till my uncle came up. He had talked to another reletive that does contracring. Tip to to remove the boards was 2 2x4s one as a brace one as a lever. I had a somewhat good 2x4 for the brace and used a 5' piece of angle iron for the lever. Went much easier than the flat bar and i did not have to by a tool i probably will never use again

[@gigglesilly17]

Good tear out work for just one guy, cool to see you working so hard. Good job

[@ism4173]

Great video. I’m taking my parents deck apart and needed a little guidance.

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Best of luck on the project!

[@junayedahmedjunayedahmed8257]

Good working

[@bschak4944]

Need a video doing this on a second floor deck. Easy to do what standing on the ground. I guess it's basically the same.

[@nexusly6720]

Damn you are the fastest worker I've ever seen

[@tomsparks6099]

Glad I found your channel -- very well-instructed.

[@bloodgt3]

Mt tip for demo-. Use a deck wrecker a special decking removal pry tool

[@Buttersplaysgames]

I’m fixing my parents deck and I originally thought it was just going to be a deck board swap. Turns out the frame was rotten, damn that sucks. Start pulling the frame and some of the posts are rotten. So what was thought (and planned) as a simple week project turned into digging out concrete supported posts that had been left to rot since the 80’s. I’m 26 with no experience in carpentry other than natural ability and what I can find online. Dug out old posts and re-cemented them. But I’m in over my head. I can swim but damnnnnn

[@strokerace4765]

I think you should remove 1/2 the old then put down new, then pull up and replace remaining half, that way the old frame stays square.

[@gimydaloot]

It does not look like that deck is rotten. Could have easily sanded it down & painted it. Would have saved a bunch of lumber and money. Despite that, thanks for making this video there is definitely a lot of good information in here.

[@ggeiser3]

Great video. My deck is 12X12. We began with bare ground after tearing out all the previous rotted out deck. First we strategically placed nine concrete bases. Upon that we ran 2X6 es. All wood is pressure treated. Atop those boards we added 2X4 s 16” apart. On top we placed composite fake wood decking. Top layer in place with hidden metal fasteners. et vala! Good looking life time deck.

[@rdel324]

Pretty simple. Our transfer station is a bit cheaper here in RI luckily. One word of advice…get some safety glasses on! Like the gloves but imagine life without eyes my friend..one wrong flick of a nail, board, etc..food for thought. (25 years+ in construction/industrial building field)

[@jasonporeda9303]

Around here, we have a bulk trash pick-up day that will take that sort of stuff for you every other other week. For free. Or if I didn't want to wait that long, there are drop off points, like the one you went to, but it's free to drop off. (Tallahassee, FL)

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

That is a pretty awesome setup!

[@anotherbutt4chair56]

I’m working on deck here in Sept, now October, replaced six 16 foot long cedar pieces, sanded, power washed, washed with mold removal stuff, borrowed some tools, all in all I salvaged the deck, replaced only a handful of large pieces, but cost including primer paint? Rented truck, Gonna be about 400 bux, Not cheap! Cant even imagine what it would cost if I replaced it all, I’d say at least 3000? Just on material

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Nice, work keeping what you could 👊

[@elizabethtepper2366]

Any tips on how to remove decking going in opposite direction and the ends under the J channel of siding. Sawzall?

[@MountainManFred]

not sure if you mentioned...you can also call for a roll-off dumpster etc. seems like around $340 for 20 yard for about a week. you fill it..then they come back by and haul it away.. it's more expensive than doing it yourself, but they take it away...you keep working..

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Hey Fred, not a bad option especially if you have more things to toss from your home/projects. 20 yard dumpsters are $500 around me. Maybe I need to start negotiating a bit more 🤔

[@jada6234]

My deck boards are caving in from the wood under rotten due to water. What would you recommend using to reinforce the deck boards, I’ll likely have to replace all the rotten boards but I don’t know what to put under them to replace the beams or “joist” idk what there name is.

[@user-dr2qs7wk4c]

❤ OMG IT SHOULD BE A CRIME TO BE THAT GORGEOUS LOL You do all that work yourself without any help ?

[@siobhanirish1307]

2 thoughts. 1. you suggested possibly taking old deck where wood is burned. Pressure treated wood should not be burned due to the chemicals in the wood. 2. if you started the floor tear out at the house and worked your way out, you always have intact floor boards to use with the crow bar for prying leverage and it saves jumping in and out of the framing. enjoyed the video

[@nikkisigmon8090]

Pressure treated wood is now usually just a simple teat treatment, and not injected with a lot of antirot chemicals. It's why HT boards are safe to use with vegetable crops now

[@stolenproperty6126]

Besides wasting a ton of good wood. Good vid

[@cobracharmer6178]

Were there nails or screws holding down your deck boards? I'm replacing deck boards that are held down with screws. I'm thinking to grind off the screw head and pull the board, then cut down what's left of the screw to the surface of the joist leaving. I really enjoyed watching parts 1-3. Thank you!

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Are the heads still in good condition where you could back out the majority of the old screws?

[@Johnnyreengo]

That deck did not need to be replaced.

[@parochial2356]

You touched on, but did not explain, how to determine when a porch deck is worth saving and when it is too far gone to refinish.

[@matthewwright57]

Usually when someone has put their foot through accidentally in my experience.

[@trinitywright7122]

@@matthewwright57 🤣

[@stolenproperty6126]

He may not be the guy to give that particular advice. No contractor waste wood of that condition. Made me shiver but rich guys can do what they want right? Lol

[@AnthonySwyka-co3wk]

My deck is quite large was going to tackle in sections . It’s also fairly high off the ground . In that situation would you remove a couple boards and replace them and repeat or still strip the whole deck first

[@patrickadams5764]

What if the decking is secured to the beams with decking screws? What is the best removal method? Also, what about planing the decking? Would that be a good option for recycling / reusing the decking?

[@confuzler6985]

Kind of an idealistic deck to remove. Still helpful tips, but not all / most decks are not rectangular in shape and held together with nails... Mine was held with old + screws, most with bad heads or will break inside as soon as the impact driver touches them... Let's just say it took more than a sledgehammer and prybar to remove those lol (Saws all with medium metal demo blades, grinder with cut off wheel etc...) Wood boards could be donated for free on craigslist if you are around a metro area.

[@bekind2047]

Have you ever tried the DemoDek for removal?

[@danielgibble7396]

Don't deck screws destroy joists if you just pry off?

[@KaylarMasellas-jl9wt]

What about if the joists are rotted?

[@travionlee13]

POV : nobody asked for this but you got it

[@TURTLEORIGINAL]

You should always cover your waste load. One board flying out of the bed of your pickup truck, is a major issue. You are risking lives here man. If a board hops out of your truck bed you could cause a major accident. I hope you no longer make this major mistake. Take care.

[@esham976]

Can you tell me what the job cost? Or a rough estimate. I'm in a similar situation. I got a deck that needs to be rebuilt. Looking at getting it done in the spring.

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

At the end of this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/gILQkJ6Fp8qMhKs which covers the same deck project but is the part 3 of the series I go over the cost at the end being $2,275 for a 336 sq ft deck. This is just for materials using pressure treated deck boards. If I were to hire my deck out I would guess the total cost of material and labor would be around $8,000 - $12,000 for the job. There are many factors that can increase or decrease your project cost but those are the numbers for my project. Best of luck and make sure you get multiple quotes.

[@esham976]

@@EverydayHomeRepairs thank you

[@katiebragg4560]

So sad about the planter boxes! Those definitely could have been saved !

[@dogsareawomansbestfriend]

What a shock when you find out your repair man brings loads of the old board to his grandparents and burns it in the huge backyard.😮

[@ricky1FV]

How much did cost this project, good work !

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Hey Ricky, I have only done the removal part this past weekend and since I have a truck my cost is only $175 for material disposal at the transfer station. More videos to come in the next few weeks. I need to do some work on the structure then replacing the decking with new pressure treated boards. I will make sure I add my costs to those videos as well.

[@ricky1FV]

Everyday Home Repairs thanks for the video keep the good work

[@keniyahhgomez6259]

What if my deck is unleveled? What can I do to level it ?

[@user-qx4zj8wp5c]

What's the easiest way to make a Large deck smaller

[@JanetRatch0108]

Do you have to get a permit to replace rotted boards?

[@johnnyappleseed2277]

Hey man do you remember those looney tune cartoons as a kid when you were growing up? Your channel reminds of that mexican rodent Speedy Gonzales. Man I love speedy not even slyvestor the black cat could catch him. Anyways great channel. Could you imagine if people could move that fast in real life we could probably get 10x more stuff done and make more money if humans could move that fast. In the future I heard it might be very possible when you have artificial intelligence merging with human beings.

[@kdesorme80]

I see your deck was held together by nails. Mine is with screws, would I take off the decking differently because of the screws?

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Are the heads of the screws still in good shape? If so, I would use my compact nut driver and just quickly back out each screw or at least as many as I could. Let me know how it goes.

[@johnnybq2]

If the deck is old and rotten the screw heads are mostly no good. Also people use ring shank nails. How to best handle?

[@toddavis8603]

NYC would have been about $800.00 disposal fee.

[@krompous]

Or use the old deck to make raised beds.

[@jfkesq]

dont plant veggies in pt wood....chemicals...but great for flowers

[@krompous]

@@jfkesq the wood isn't pressure treated. Also, I made boxes with them and then wrapped them in plastic just Incase.

[@eltubodelmasso3660]

Do you contract work? thanks.

[@cherylmartin4050]

ReStore will take it for free if wood in useable condition

[@sethpotter9592]

No railing

[@FranciscoHernandez-do5zg]

What about rusted screws? Did that one really have nails? 😂

[@jfkesq]

That wood wasn't that bad and could have been sanded and stained.

[@f1bernet]

can anyone please PM me if you have knowledge of deck repairs????

[@JohnSmith-ys4nl]

When demolishing the deck, only thing I would say is try to hammer the nails flat before you begin hauling it off. It is a hazard to you and people at the landfill. Also, you are NEVER supposed to burn treated wood. It is a environmental and human health hazard.

[@GPG7754]

Focusing on a what?!

[@mewachingthis974]

To much time in the video dealing with the garbage

[@benholioo]

You would look more professional with a DEMO-DEK tool....... It would save you days.

[@adamfrbs9259]

My deck is hilariously bad and built by an absolute, ummm, well, moron. Seriously I've never seen anyone ever cut all the roof support posts and shove the railings in-between them. The railings have rotted so bad that they are literally like paper mache to the touch. The housing market was so nuts even with that and a bunch of other things the house needed they still got full asking price for house. A price that would normally be for if all the corrections were done.

[@TomsAutoGarage]

I burned my old deck.

[@EverydayHomeRepairs]

Yeah, the drawback of living in town with a HOA.

[@-7205]

You know, I was actually going to watch this 3 part series until all of the begging for likes and subscribes throughout the video which I know is going to lead into the other two videos of begging for likes and subscribers and there's nothing worse than begging for those and it gets old.... so, I will not be watching the rest of this video or the other 2..

[@Hi.Im.Chucky]

Option 3: Dump it in the woods. It's natural anyway.

[@markhebron5316]

And a case of beer

[@markhebron5316]

What truck?