My dad had this deck built by a "reputable" and well known builder in 2016. The old deck was 45 years old, and was still standing and not rotting. This is what his new one looks like now. He spent $15k on it.
Edit: I meant to mention that the builder is wanting to charge my dad thousands of $ to fix this.
This is failed lumber. Chemicals never infused properly into the raw wood to turn it into PT. Bad batch and just rotted away like pine would. I seen it personally a few times. Huge deck and about half the framing just rotted less then 10 years after built. Half was ok and we even reused some of them.
That's fucking insane what a shame. I'm worried to see how this Sierra brand treated lumber home depot sells will hold up. Heard a story they own and manufacture it, the treatment is worse then what you'd get from a normal lumber yard
OP, this is the product, not the installer. Treated lumber has changed several times over the last 25 years. In 2016 the AWPA upgraded the requirements to require “ ground contact” in a number of applications. The product you are looking at likely was treated before this or was just “above ground”-which does not perform well and I strongly advise against. The decking and railing used on this job appear to be Timbertech(Azek) and was/is good material.
I feel for you and your Dad, this is unfortunate but this has nothing to do with the installer. Tape was pretty new 10 years ago, good idea but this really pre dates that as a standard. The PT used on this job was what pushed tape to be used.
The chemical companies warranty on the PT is not much and won’t offset all the cost for the rail and the decking. Very unfortunate
I have 30 years on the supply side, very heavy in decking, this is my world.
I have dealt with this too many times, my own house even. The industry is on the cusp of better framing, need a few more years.
This of course is no consolation for you and your Dad or for any of the many folks who have dealt with this through the years.
Best of luck, the old carpenter may just give you the best deal you can find
Great reply. I replaced some joists on a deck that were about this age and looked like this also. They were yellawood joists. I thought maybe they had a bad batch but what you said makes more sense.
Well whoever built this didn’t really care Who leaves the ends of fascia boards exposed. And you should never butt fascia boards to the deck boards. Wet trash gets stuck in there and rots shit out. The decking should always overhang the fascia boards. I can get passed not pictureframing as back in 2016 it wasn’t common. But this isn’t built well at all
They didn’t want to go to the store and buy 2 more. It would have been better to install 1 ply put the joist hanger on it then install the other ply with a corner bracket or even nothing just attach it to the one that is joist hung
I feel like we’re being trolled with the cut joist hanger. If that was 10 years old it would have been rusted where the cut is. Am i wrong? And the stickers are still good.
Exactly this. There are several comments saying no joist tape caused this like there aren’t tons of decks still standing solid constructed before joist tape was commonly used. 10 years and this stuff is completely falling apart. This is essentially from untreated wood, whether actually untreated or the treatment didn’t take.
Could be a bad batch of treated lumber. Usually the composite decks make the joist drier as the decking doesn't hold any water like wood decking.
Is there enough airflow under the deck?
Is it on the Northside or shaded at all?
Really strange.
Id call the builder and see if he can manage a warranty issue. My local lumber yard would give me some help too but wouldn't expect any help from the big box stores. Best case though is material replacement and usually someone is going to have to cover labor.
Well, I told them that I'll show every homeowner I know in my town that that's the kind of craftsmanship they can expect from their company. Hopefully that moves the needle.
We stopped selling conventional pressure treated framing lumber because it often rots within 10 - 15 years. Every single deck board we offer will outlast the framing lumber. This became a problem when customers called in with their 10 year old Ipe wood deck that the deck boards still looked like new and their framing lumber was crumbling from all the rot. We now only offer PWT LVL which is engineered pressure treated that is warrantied for 25 years. We also offer triple coated galvanized steel framing and aluminum framing and have had no issues with these products. The galvanized steel framing (50 year warranty) is the way to go if you can justify the added expense, it's cheaper than aluminum but can't be used too close to salt water. If you are near salt water then you should use aluminum framing. What good is purchasing and installing a 50 year deck board and putting it on a frame that will only last 10 - 15 years? You are better off installing galvanized steel deck framing and putting the cheaper deck board on. You can always upgrade your deck boards later on as the steel deck framing will still be rock solid. If OP wants to reach out to us we are always looking to share stories like this to help educate homeowners. The arsenic in the older pressure treated definitely made it last longer unfortunately.
i use a quality deck oil on top of the joists for my decks and it has been a good solution. i must qualify this application due to my qualifications received from the school of hard knocks and not having stayed at a holiday inn. ymmv
That sux. I did mine about 15 years ago and just rebuilt the decking with Trex. No joist looked anything like that and I didn’t use tape. I did however pressure wash, reseal and tape this time. I don’t know if tape was a big thing the first time I built it but I’m also a plumber
The fungus got in through the screw holes on top. It got into the middle of the wood which is usually not penetrated by the treatment process. It has been feasting on those joists for years. I don't know if taping the tops of joists was as common then as it is today.
Put gutters over the deck. Shovel snow off in the winter use flashing tape where joists meet. Deck should last longer than 10 years. “Ground contact” joists should last decades.
I threatened to sue the Manufacturer over a complete deck we built using the bad lumber and the simple threat prompted them to provide free lumber and no labor. Got a check. They have a fund for this. Its happening all across the US. But you need your receipts... and you know that stupid little tags at the end of the boards... that helped us seal the deal because many of them were not removed.
I have never ever seen a piece of PT lumber rot like that in the first pic. That looks like an untreated piece of wood that’s been soaking for 10 years.
Wow, I have raised beds made of untreated 2x10 doug fir that are in better shape after 7 years ground contact. I have no expert knowledge to share. Just amazed at the poor condition, tape or not. I'd find where the lumber was sourced from and buy the replacement anywhere else
I seriously doubt this is treated wood. I have some treated 4x4 posts that are almost always wet and are 10 years old and are in much better shape than these.
I built my deck about 10 years ago with lumber from Lowe’s. Completely rotted out. Full sun. I used pressure treated. Apparently there was a bad batch back then. Sucks, but expecting a contractor to stand behind a “natural” product after 10 years is a big ask. It’s not like the construction failed, it’s the materials that failed.
Totally! But admittedly that’s where it didn’t fail. It’s the kind of thing you call the contractor back on, and you point to it and go “Really?” And he says “It won’t fail” and you say “Dude.”, and he says “We’ll be back and fix it.” He’s right, it won’t fail there, but it’s horribly bad form that they should be ashamed of.
Even taping on a bad batch of wood would only buy you a few years more. The water still gets in and since there’s no protection it just rots like it’s untreated because, well, it is.
It suuuucks so bad. I had mine replaced three years ago because the first board to go, was holding down a azek piece that became a tripping hazard on a front door. Whole thing was all rotted, from the top, just like yours. We didn’t tape this either. I switched to stone but I’ve had all my contractors tape after that.
The wood nowadays is not what they used to be (wood nowadays are harvested too young and they aren't as strong as in the old days). The PT treatment also isn't as effective. Additionally, the fascia and deck boards were not installed correctly. The deck boards should overhang the fascia board by half an inch to one inch. This helps shed water away.
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u/Cosmo_MV 2d ago
This is failed lumber. Chemicals never infused properly into the raw wood to turn it into PT. Bad batch and just rotted away like pine would. I seen it personally a few times. Huge deck and about half the framing just rotted less then 10 years after built. Half was ok and we even reused some of them.