Deck posts--idea to keep moisture

[mcj115]

I can use some ideas from the collective. I found this while staining recently, at my wife's townhouse (now a rental) the posts for the deck have been burred in mulch and are start to rot the wood.....they are still solid for now but I'd like to take action before they have significant rot and need replacement.

After I moved the mulch away from the base there is a crater where water can now collect. Overall the area is rather flat with no slops or grade to drain water away. Under the mulch there is dirt, I cannot find any indication of concrete at the base of the post.

Does anyone have ideas of something cheap/quick to prevnet these posts from rotting. Since this is a rental I don't want to sink a ton of time or money into this.

 

[ludakris04]

I would verify concrete first.... without a concrete footer.. I would think that's a liability..

 

[theoldwizard1]

Dig down about 18"-24". Get a 10"-12" concrete tube form and cut it so that top of it is a couple of inches about the mulch. Split that piece and place it around the post. Fill with peas gravel. Any water that does get in will wick away from the post.

That form will decompose over time so if you can, make something similar out of plastic you are better off. Several coats of rattle can spray paint will make it last longer.

 

[Bretny]

How rotted are they alreaty? I would also find the footing. A fix that will last should be top priority. Its a rental and not a close to the ground deck.

If it was my rental i would find the footing and pour another one connected to it to raise the level of the concrete then use a metal post base.

You should also inspect the rest of the deck if they built the posts like this.

 

[Copymutt]

Easy to explore for concrete. Just tap in a stick of rebar to hit it if it’s there.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Find the concrete!
If you can't- I'm sure you'll know where to go from there.

 

[rlitman]

I would verify concrete first.... without a concrete footer.. I would think that's a liability..

That whole deck is a liability! How is that ledger board attached to the wall? What is holding it up? Is the header over the sliding door sized for that? Is there flashing to prevent the ledger from rotting, because that's just as likely a place for this to fail.

So much in this picture tells me that this was done by someone who didn't know what they were doing and that this deck is a death trap.

 

[nh_yota]

Is the deck considered part of the individual condo or is it considered common space for the sake of upkeep?

 

[MoonRise]

If those posts are starting to rot from contact with the mulch, I'd seriously wonder if they are 'properly' pressure treated posts that are rated for actual ground contact.

When the CCA pressure treatment chemicals were banned, there were a bunch (LOT?) of 'pressure treated' lumber that was sold and in the fine print it was stated as 'not rated for ground contact or burial'. The old CCA 0.4 treatment mostly worked for ground contact or burial, the 'new' replacement stuff wasn't originally at a high enough chemical concentration level to last in ground contact or burial situations.

Check.

As to a concrete footing under the deck posts, that would be absolutely required. Run a steel rod down through the dirt to check for concrete or just dig down a few inches through the dirt and you better find the concrete footing there.

If no concrete footing, you have bigger problems that just the start of some rot on those deck posts.

Most Code requirement (and 'best' practice) is that the concrete footing is in the ground and a "post support base" anchors into the concrete and then the wooden 6x6 (minimum size deck post is now and has been for a while required to be a 6x6 for a while now, no more 4x4 deck posts allowed) pressure treated post attaches to the "post support anchor" which both anchors the post to the concrete footing and hold the wooden post up out of the ground.

https://www.strongtie.com/resources/literature/deck-connection-fastening-guide

See Problem #3, "Problem 3: Rotted Deck Support Posts" :

https://www.familyhandyman.com/decks/easy-deck-inspection-and-deck-repair-tips/

 

[zak77]

Well, the quickest and fastest way would be to get some roofing tar or foundation tar and paint it on the posts below grade and a couple inches above grade. Backfill with what was there. But if the post is wicking water from below grade then it will only buy you some time.

 

[johnnyradiant]

Living in a rainy environ I would be a little concerned about the grade in relation to the patio doors. They're under the deck but... It looks like the finished grading in general looks to be on the high side, perhaps done after initial build, and that may be why there are no readily apparent footings for the posts. It seems like it's current state is one where I could put my head on the pillow at night and sleep if it were mine for my sole use. If it was in my rental stock I would not sleep so well till is was properly assessed and repaired/rebuilt. One of the first stops would be the strata to see who fixes what.
Being rental I fully get the not sinking a ton into it. My MO too, but in this case fixing it properly needs to take precedent. If you only put a bandaid on it and it then went on to fail you may have made yourself look even more liable, by not doing it right, and knowing there was some sort of issue(s) there.

 

[jd_1138]

That whole deck is a liability! How is that ledger board attached to the wall? What is holding it up? Is the header over the sliding door sized for that? Is there flashing to prevent the ledger from rotting, because that's just as likely a place for this to fail.

So much in this picture tells me that this was done by someone who didn't know what they were doing and that this deck is a death trap.

Amen. That should have additional posts where the deck attaches to the house. Yikes. It's amazing how shoddy of a job a lot of trades people do, and they get away with it because the customer has no earthly idea how s----y of a job they paid for is.

Pressure treated or not, wood should never be buried in the ground IMO. Even if it's allowed under code.

 

[MoonRise]

To clarify, you are renting the condo out (you are the owner/landlord) or you are the renter(s)?

If you are the renters, get the owner to fix the deck properly.

If you are the owners, then YOU have to fix the deck properly.

 

[MFolks]

Any idea of who,or when the posts and deck were built? All decks in the area the same? A possible class action lawsuit when the fist deck collapses or people get hurt?

 

[MoonRise]

https://blog.strongtie.com/10-critical-deck-connections/

Also, your guard post to deck connections do NOT look like they meet Code.

See the most recent Simpson Deck Code Guide:

https://embed.widencdn.net/pdf/plus/ssttoolbox/q4qw4c2zsj/F-DECKCODE17.pdf

 

[benjamintmiller]

There are millions and millions of decks out there that do not meet the new deck attachment code -- how could they, when both the code and connectors are new?

The deck attached to the neighbor's condo looks identical so I would be that all of these are original to the building and were inspected by the city during construction. Many cities had their own prescriptive design codes for decks prior to the inclusion in the IRC (2009 got a few ledger connection details, 2012 was the first code with its own section, 2015 more than doubled the section size).

 

[mmb617]

There are millions and millions of decks out there that do not meet the new deck attachment code -- how could they, when both the code and connectors are new?

I am so much in agreement with you! There are some people who seem to think that anything that doesn't meet the latest codes is a death trap, even though the structure may have been standing for many years. Make's you wonder how anybody survived before we had all these codes.

 

[rlitman]

I am so much in agreement with you! There are some people who seem to think that anything that doesn't meet the latest codes is a death trap, even though the structure may have been standing for many years. Make's you wonder how anybody survived before we had all these codes.

I believe I was the first to use the words "death trap" here, but I raised no such questions about meeting current code. As for how anybody survived before we had all these codes, well just google deck collapse and see. Still, I would be the last to say that old decks are dangerous simply because they don't meed current code requirements.

There are a lot of issues I see with the construction here, and clearly from the way the posts were simply stuck in the ground, corners were cut. If the contractor cut corners in one way, how do you know he didn't cut corners elsewhere?