Deck Repair in Cherry Hill, Washington Twp, & Voorhees, NJ

The first thing I do on every deck repair call is walk the whole deck and check the structure underneath. If the joists, posts, and ledger board are sound, you almost never need a full rebuild. Swap the bad boards, tighten the railings, fix the stairs, and you have years of life left.

Replacing Rotted And Cracked Boards

Soft spots, splits, and cupped boards get pulled and replaced with matching pressure treated stock. While the board is up I check the joist underneath, because if water sat on top of a board long enough to rot it, the top of that joist usually took some damage too. I clean it back to good wood, treat it, and add joist tape before the new board goes down. That one extra step is the difference between a repair that lasts five years and one that lasts fifteen.

Tightening Railings And Balusters

A loose railing is a safety problem, not a looks problem. I see a lot of decks in older Marlton and Mount Laurel neighborhoods where the lag bolts at the rail posts are rusted, the post bases have softened, or the balusters have wiggled loose over the years. I reset the posts properly, swap rusted hardware for galvanized or stainless, and re-secure the balusters so the whole railing system can take real weight without flexing.

Fixing Bouncy Or Sagging Decks

If your deck bounces when you walk on it, something underneath has failed. Usually it is a cracked joist, a rusted joist hanger, or the ledger board pulling away from the house. I get under the deck, find the actual cause, and fix it the right way. Sistering a joist, swapping in fresh galvanized hangers, and re-flashing and re-bolting a loose ledger are the kinds of repairs that stop the bounce permanently instead of masking it.

Stairs, Stringers, And Handrails

Stairs take more abuse than any other part of the deck and they tend to fail first. Cracked stringers, soft treads, loose risers, and handrails that move when you grab them are all common around South Jersey. I rebuild stringers when they are cooked, replace treads with matching pressure treated lumber, and re-anchor handrails so they actually hold the weight of someone catching themselves on the way down. By the time I leave, the stairs feel solid from the top step to the bottom.