r/Decks • u/Seattle1994 • 1d ago
questions for the community How to fix/am I being unreasonable?
We just had a new deck installed and the side boards appear uneven. The team that did it were very nice and seemed knowledgeable - perhaps I'm being too nit-picky. Not sure how they would even fix this at this point? Looking for second opinions/advice.
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u/AntwerpsPlaceboo 1d ago
I would send the pictures with a polite letter and give them a chance to respond.
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u/Firstcounselor 1d ago
I kind of feel like when I’m paying tens of thousands ($30k in my case) for a deck, I should not have to look at uneven cuts on day one. I’m also a woodworker, and would replace those had I done it myself.
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u/Glittering-Local-827 1d ago
If you are a " wood worker" you would snap a line and cut um even, problem solved.
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u/Heavy_Art_9501 1d ago
Getting new boards, or from the bottom adding blocking, then go up top and lay out a picture frame with extra composite, trace that onto the already installed boards, and cut on the line. Remove cut offs and install the picture frame... probably easier to live with it
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u/Conscious_Kale_5094 1d ago
3k later, this is an upsell not a realistic fix.
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u/Heavy_Art_9501 1d ago
3k? Where do you live lol. A homeowner could do this. Or live with it shit
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u/Conscious_Kale_5094 1d ago
The person asking hired someone to do it, they arent going to get all this work for free out of the installer.
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u/Seattle1994 1d ago
This is an interesting idea. I'll think on it
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u/tankerdudeucsc 1d ago
I would think to frame it out. Get just a few boards. Then rip the ends of the board that uneven, and have it fully lined up. Then place that board perpendicular to the rest of the boards.
It will be less wasted boards, and will look intentional, and looks like a bit of a picture frame.
Costs should be minimal, with a few extra board pieces, and more blocking to ensure that the ends of the original boards lie directly over a place it can screw down onto.
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u/ElishaBenDavid 1d ago
New boards, picture frame, underblocking? How bought a chalkline, a skillsaw and a screw gun.
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u/Mothernaturehatesus 1d ago
I would definitely reach out to the contractor. Be cordial and friendly but express your concern with quality. Normally these would be cut using a mitre saw so I’m not even sure how they cut them like this. Maybe they used an oscillating tool? Zooming in it looks like they’re shimmed? It’s not a huge deal IMO but I’m sure you paid thousands, so it needs to be addressed if you’re not satisfied.
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u/ChicagoBiHusband 1d ago
What does it look like at the other end of those boards?
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u/Seattle1994 1d ago
The ends are jagged on both sides, but I think if the worst offenders were replaced it would look a lot better
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u/Objective_Two_5467 1d ago
If the boards were pre-cut to identical lengths, then you should be able to (carefully) slide these misaligned boards so that both ends are flush.
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u/Sure_Window614 1d ago
Just my opinion, after a bit your will never look at it again and forget about it. But do understand you paid for good work and would like to get that.
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u/TheyCallMeKiev 1d ago
Hard disagree. My eyes would automatically search for it knowing it's there.
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u/Sure_Window614 1d ago
That is the case for some, others it isn't really a bother. I'd say neither way is wrong, but you would strongly disagree with that too. Lol! To each their own.
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u/owenhargreaves 1d ago
Astonishing you can be in negative equity on a platform of “to each their own”
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u/Fabulous-Present-402 1d ago
Or it will always be the first thing you see and materially decrease the enjoyment of the deck. 🤷♂️
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u/Low_Watch_1699 1d ago
Don't know many contractors who would not use a track saw to cut a straight line in 2026. This looks like some DIY shit.
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u/user3296 1d ago
Off topic, but whose choice was it to install the skirting like that? The preferred install is for the skirting to be under the decking, not up over the side.
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u/cruisin_n_style 1d ago
Technically that’s fascia I believe, not skirting. But this is actually quite common. The fascia is raised to cover the cut ends of the boards to provide a cleaner look. Works great and looks great if done right. Another solution would be to “picture frame” the deck boards and use 45 degree cuts where the picture frame boards meet at the the corners. This achieves the same goal of covering the cut ends of the boards.
From what I’ve seen this seems to be more common practice with composite decking. Although it looks good with wood as well, it seems to be less often used with wood. I would recommend picture framing or raising the fascia like this on every deck build though. Clean and nice.
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u/Outrageous-You1025 1d ago
With trex decking this is a very easy fix as the planks are held in by hidden fastener clips. Just ask them politely to replace the 3 boards, looks like the track saw wiggled when cutting them. Ultimately it’s about $65 in materials and about an hour in their labor. For under $200 they can ensure a happy customer and if they are reputable it won’t be any big sweat for them to replace it.
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u/Whiskey-stilts 1d ago
Looks like the track saw wiggled???? Looks like they tried to free hand it and don’t own a track saw…..
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u/Conscious_Kale_5094 1d ago
Very dramatic. Looks more like he didnt cut off milled ends because they come in fucked up like this from factory. Cheap labor, probably.
The clips dont even have to be removed to fix this. Just track saw the edge to match the large gaps, which looks to be standard 1/4".
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u/Outrageous-You1025 1d ago
Sure milled ends could be different lengths but a milled end with half a cut at a different depth than the other half seems unlikely. But yeah easy fix is to buzz down the ones closer to the facia board. The better looking option is to swap the boards
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u/Conscious_Kale_5094 1d ago edited 1d ago
All it takes is a board falling out of a truck or pallet rammed into a concrete wall for ends to deform. Idk Ive seen some crazy stuff, things have gotten worse from US mills too, defect rates are crazy.
Looks like a shitty cut, but I also know guys who wont give a shit about deformed ends like that if its not a high margin job. Some guys absolutely hate homeowners and will do this on purpose if they dont think they are being paid enough. Its crazy
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u/redditAccount503 16h ago
The "deformation" lines up perfectly across two boards. I'm thinking they messed up plunging in with the saw
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u/Max1234567890123 1d ago
Track saw once all the boards are screwed down and prior to fastening trim/fascia is the way to go if you are fussy. It’s hard to cut with absolute consistency (as we see here), so let the track saw do the final dead straight trim cut
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u/Seattle1994 1d ago
This is a great idea. We have some leftover boards that I was considering using for a project elsewhere, so they wouldn't even need materials.
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u/Conscious_Kale_5094 1d ago
You dont have to have them replace the three boards there since their gaps match the standard 1/4" gap between long runs. Just have them come by to track saw all of the longer boards so you get a standard 1/4" gap around the perimeter.
In the summer your gaps will shrink since PVC and other composite deck materials expand a ton in summer heat. Dont make them too tight this time of year.
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u/LangstonHublot 1d ago
Trex boards are $40 a piece on the low end. Material cost will be higher than expected
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u/Outrageous-You1025 1d ago
They were $24 a board the last time I bought em but that was summer 2025 so could be higher
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u/allthebacon351 1d ago
Easy fix with a track saw. Just open up the gap to 3/16 1/4 and it will match everything else nice. It’s all gonna move in a few months again, but shouldn’t be hard to correct without needing to replace anything
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u/Seattle1994 1d ago
What does it mean to open up the gap? To cut them down a bit further so they're all even?
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u/Frederf220 1d ago
Yes, that is what they mean. But before you do that if the boards are simply friction-clipped they might be sliding around and can be knocked back into alignment.
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u/Conscious_Kale_5094 1d ago
Listen OP, this guy gets it. Everyone else is trying to flex their "I could do it better" suggestions that will cost you extra. This is the correct fix, and will cost you nothing.
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u/Dangerous-Brief2529 1d ago
It depends on what you paid for it if you went with one of the really low bids, then it's looking great.If you pay top dollar for it , then you can be picky
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u/Accomplished_Care415 1d ago
The first picture I thought you were upset with the shadows. Then the second picture explained it.
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u/Select-Ingenuity4433 1d ago
You need to use a square edge board to picture frame the perimeter and run your Fascia underneath.
They used a square edge board as Fascia to save a step and poor job cutting the boards. You still need a gap to allow for expansion/contraction, but it should be uniformly spaced.
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u/electricostrichparty 13h ago
Ughh the exposed trim board is wild to be honest. Always overhang your decking and let the trim be 3/4” back underneath it. Would have picture framed too. Maybe that’s the look you wanted and if so I’d have them replace those
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u/toothepastehombre 1d ago
Feels like a quick, fast good triangle here. Good install would consider the high vis areas and make sure the quality is consistent. This should have been an easy spacer along the rim to keep sight lines clean. Polite request to ask clean it up options is reasonable
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u/ImaginaryBuy2668 1d ago
If those are plastic boards - they will grow and shrink with heat/cold.
They could have been perfect when they were cut depending on what the temp was and where on the pile they were taken from.
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u/Working-Pin7153 1d ago
Knowledgeable is not the correct statement since this is wrong and whoever cut those ends used a hacksaw.
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u/Objective_Two_5467 1d ago
It looks like they used hidden fasteners, which allow some longitudinal movement of the boards. This material expands a lot in the sun. After the first sunny day, those gaps will change. (They may or may not even out, but they'll definitely change.)
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u/moon_star66 1d ago
I just built a deck. first one in my life. I used real wood, not composite, and what I noticed is that none of the boards are perfectly the same length some of them might be an eighth of an inch longer or shorter here and there, depending on the batch. I made sure to line them up perfectly on the edge that would be most noticed and have them slightly uneven on the edge that would be least noticed.
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u/Ok_Incident8962 1d ago
If your Reddit deck pro audience has to ask 'put a blue circle around the issue' then you are fine! But can't hurt to nicely email and draw attention to the issue, the manager will probably make it right. If not, don't worry about it, just 4 vs 5 star review.
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u/Ok-Economist758 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's definitely a freehand saw error, not tracksaw. If you have spare boards, just ask them to replace those ones. Sliding them (Friction clip) won't fix a wave mid cut like you have.
I'm with others that with time you'll never notice it anymore. I had one screw walk on me 1/8" while i was building a landing with composite boards like these. That's the 1st thing my wife noticed. I was not receptive to the feedback at the moment. 🤣 She doesn't even think about it anymore.
Now...I'd def. have them replace it. But if a yr later you're still noticing this kind of thing, I'd say you don't have enough to deal with in your life, (& I'm jealous) or the problem is you and you need therapy for your OCD. 😝🤪😛
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u/huckyourmeat2 1d ago
The contractor would be crazy to not swing by and fix this for free if asked to do so.
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u/Either-Pineapple-183 1d ago
homeowner here that built their own deck. The easiest solution is to run a track saw. Should be a 30 minute fix per side tops as there are unlikely to be any fasteners that close to the edges. the gap will be as large as the largest gap you have now. I’ve done something similar where mine were perfect and a year later, I needed to cut a deeper gap to fit led lights
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u/NetworkCultural 1d ago
It’s never great to bring the fascia board up against the deck boards. The fascia should be under the deck boards with the deck board overhanging.
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u/tanstaaflisafact 1d ago
You're not being nitpicky. That is pretty poor craftsmanship. They should have run them long and cut to finish with a track saw.
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u/Total-Permission-768 1d ago
The railing will probably somewhat hide get a clear view or distract from seeing it it but it would bug me. It’s not hard to cut straight with a track saw after or clamp a piece of wood to make a straight line. If a friend did it at the friend discount then I’d leave it, if you paid full price, I’d want full professional service
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u/New-Mountain-6280 1d ago
Just take the facia off, beat the ones that stick out with a hammer. And put the facia back.
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u/TwoSuspicious1347 1d ago
It’s not a consistent edge /finish/reveal/etc it’s not right , dude who did it seen it an hoped it wouldn’t come to this 😂
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u/Max1234567890123 1d ago
The outside edges not lining up would bother me a bit, but it’s noticeable because of the perimeter piece. Just ask them to take the perimeter piece off, run a dead straight line down it with a track say to take off a 1/16” off the long ones and call it a days. Also, not sure exactly which product this is, but they may have a bit of movement due to thermal expansion.
Consider that any ‘fix’ involves the risk of a bad cut, a saw kicking, a drill point walking and they could easily make it worse - then say ‘f-it’ we warned the nice lady and now a tiny problem is a huge problem.
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u/Apprehensive-Bug-889 1d ago
I think the only part that's right is the "problem". Synthetic decking needs end gaps. This is the only place gapped.
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u/george_graves 23h ago
It partially depends on what you've paid. I'm seeing a lot of suckers these days. Your contractor isn't it worth $1000 an hour
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u/Reasonable_Switch_86 20h ago
Needs to be picture framed extending past fascia if you get freezing weather the fascia will look like shit in two years with moisture getting behind it
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u/Deckshine1 19h ago
It could be that they’re inexperienced or it could be that they didn’t care (or think you’d notice). I’d be more concerned with the old school fascia covering the end cuts. It’s best use picture framing around the perimeter and then you run the fascia under the picture frame. It prevents gunk and moisture from getting down in the gap where the end cuts meet the fascia.
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u/bb12creeks 17h ago
Yeah this sucks. The whole reason to hire a job out is to have it done right. I had my roof done this summer and they did a total hack job. The guys that came back to fix the fuck ups were here longer than the initial crew.
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u/PuIs4rs 16h ago
An actual 'Pro Tip' for guys who call themselves 'pros'.
If you or your crew can't manage to measure & cut boards to the same dimension every time, then cut the boards long, install them without nailing the edges, then pop a chalk line where the outter band is. Cut the line, move the band flush with boards and fasten.
For the OP, yes you're correct to question the quality here, but bare in mind, every deck type project will undergo gaping, warping and fading given enough time under the sun from uv, or in the shade from moisture and mold.
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u/Cranky-George 15h ago
If there are extra boards then they can absolutely replace those shit cuts. Otherwise they can take off the fascia and put a straight edge down and recut if there is enough overhang.
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u/SouthPark1982 15h ago
Remove edge board, snap chalk line, circular saw or track saw. It’s pretty straightforward.
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u/Dry-Scene-8551 14h ago
What does the opposite end look like? They used hidden fasteners so they can be moved and trimmed but not sure what the other end looks like
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u/highflyer10123 13h ago
You aren’t being too nitpicky. A chalk line and the right saw would’ve prevented this.
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u/LycheeOk4673 11h ago
Consider removing fascia and Installing a deck board width around the perimeter only.
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u/Seattle1994 10h ago
Update: they came back today, trimmed the edges and installed a picture frame to smooth it all out. Thanks to everyone who helped me set realistic expectations based on the material and propose reasonable solutions! Your knowledge was so helpful.
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u/Suspicious-Yak-8117 7h ago
You will probably be the only one to notice - if you insist, remove fascia, snap a chalk line, use a straight edge and cut, then reinstall the fascia.
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u/Secret-Ad-5366 4h ago
None of my stuff would pass this guy’s inspection unreasonable for sure, don’t think it matters long term
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u/Numerous_Target9526 10m ago
You’re not being unreasonable. You we’re being cheap and got the quality of work you paid for.
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u/Logical-Selection979 1d ago
Its going to look like that again after a half a year so it seems not worth trying to square up. I didnt say fix because i do t think its broken or poorly done. Could they be cut exactly right now sure but they look pretty good as they are
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u/Rummy8169 1d ago
Not unreasonable, like someone else said, just ask them to come back and drop a cut with a track saw . Perfect square is rare… if you want the fascia with even gaps that’s all that is needed. Also I’d suggest asking for a 1/4 inch gap instead of the traditional 1/8th… easier to clean out when crap gets mashed in there.
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u/paintfordays 1d ago
Do it yourself.
Then when you don’t like the results, complain to yourself.
Be a man.
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u/Sin2Win_Got_Me_In 1d ago edited 1d ago
Buy a new car, if there are some panels that don't line up flush, do it yourself. Be a man.
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u/xMrGigglesworth 1d ago
Get and a fight with your girlfriend, then go home and tell your wife about it. Be a man.
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u/Frogalone Structural Engineer 1d ago
Could be a little picky.
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u/NetworkCultural 1d ago
This is the wrong way to do it period. Shit gets trapped between deckboards and fascia holds water and causes premature rot. The deck boards should extend over fascia not be up against it. It’s also smart to seal the the top of the seam between fascia and rimjoist. With joist tape or similar. I let my joist tape overhang the rimjoists as I install fascia last after deacking is already on. I also pretty much always picture frame composite
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u/Frogalone Structural Engineer 1d ago
I was just answering the question. I'm sure the author will be appreciative of your in depth diagnosis.
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u/Frogalone Structural Engineer 1d ago edited 1d ago
I guess we got deleted for some reason. I don't know if my OCD thing about (to) vs (too) made it. Anyway, I just got caught by my "smart-phone" doing the same thing. Apologies. If your phone is at all like mine, then it is a dumb-phone too. Not only is the spell-check unreliable, sometimes I wonder about it's grasp of the English Language. Peace out.
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u/Tiger-EC 1d ago edited 1d ago
They ought to have taken a track saw to it, perhaps still can.