deck repair

[MerlinsBeard]

Had a corner on my deck split and have a replacement cut out.

I'm not a deck guru by any means, so wondering what my options are. I suppose I could attempt to disassemble the rails from the corner and slide the piece down, but not sure how difficult that is. I'd probably need to remove covers and screws from both sides, then slide the piece over the post, possibly needing to take the cap off.

Alternatively, I can bisect the piece in half and screw each side separately. Maybe if I cut the piece with a thin kerf the split will not be that noticeable.

Other ideas?

 

[65ranchero]

How are the rails attached to the post?
Do you know the name of the railing mfg?
Can you get me a picture of the railing attached to the post?

 

[CTyankee]

JMO, but I'd clip those wings, slide it in and call it good.

 

[The Cobbler]

by nature of that cut, you have an inherent weak spot and it will continue to crack . I'd make it in a few pcs .

 

[PCustoms]

by nature of that cut, you have an inherent weak spot and it will continue to crack . I'd make it in a few pcs .

Yep.

Split it along the grain (sort of where the break was) when you seam it back together throw some outdoor glue on it and you'll never know.

 

[CTyankee]

by nature of that cut, you have an inherent weak spot and it will continue to crack . I'd make it in a few pcs .

It's not a carrying beam. AAMOF it's nothing more than a cosmetic piece in terms of the decking itself. There are no forces whatsoever being placed on it which should cause it to crack. Pre-drill and countersink for the screws(which I'm sure wasn't done with the first piece). A solution looking for a problem IMO.

 

[PCustoms]

It's not a carrying beam. AAMOF it's nothing more than a cosmetic piece in terms of the decking itself. There are no forces whatsoever being placed on it which should cause it to crack. Pre-drill and countersink for the screws(which I'm sure wasn't done with the first piece). A solution looking for a problem IMO.

It won't fit around the post as is.

It will likely crack along the grain as it dries, then in the future as it expands/contracts.

IMHO

 

[MerlinsBeard]

How are the rails attached to the post?
Do you know the name of the railing mfg?
Can you get me a picture of the railing attached to the post?

I believe my deck railing is very similar if not exactly Longetivity T-Top Vinyl Railing. Here is an installation video.

I'm leaning towards a quick patch approach since no one should be stepping on it, but still want to have it look presentable (at a distance at least). So I'm becoming less inclined to disassemble the rails to fit the piece.

Wife seems to be wanting to redo the deck in a 2-3 years since we've kind of outgrown the 10x10' square now.

 

[MerlinsBeard]

It's not a carrying beam. AAMOF it's nothing more than a cosmetic piece in terms of the decking itself. There are no forces whatsoever being placed on it which should cause it to crack. Pre-drill and countersink for the screws(which I'm sure wasn't done with the first piece). A solution looking for a problem IMO.

Yes, I believe the original crack was because the screw was not predrilled even if not apparent on the initial surface.

There is the possibility of wind or pressure washing forces that could have exacerbated the wood's integrity. I have a faint memory of finding a small fragment of this deck plank in the yard after a storm. There's also a few seasons of heat and cold too. The deck is 12 years old now and I'm about the pressure wash and seal for the 5th time I think.

 

[The Cobbler]

It's not a carrying beam. AAMOF it's nothing more than a cosmetic piece in terms of the decking itself. There are no forces whatsoever being placed on it which should cause it to crack. Pre-drill and countersink for the screws(which I'm sure wasn't done with the first piece). A solution looking for a problem IMO.

fine. but I still stand by my thought . predrill may help, but it's still inherently prone to cracking there because of the short grain .

 

[Old Moparz]

To avoid taking the railing apart & possibly breaking something, I'd do that corner in 2 separate pieces & screw them together. Whatever you decide to do, definitely predrill the wood.

 

[Wolley]

Since you have the plastic post sleeve maybe you could notch the underlying post a little and not see it when you're done.

 

[MerlinsBeard]

To avoid taking the railing apart & possibly breaking something, I'd do that corner in 2 separate pieces & screw them together. Whatever you decide to do, definitely predrill the wood.

Right now I'm inclined to cut the board straight out from the outer corner, glue the center after placement with Titebond III, clamp and let it set, and use two deck screws, with predrilling to finish the install. Then sand and stain.

The clamping is still a little awkward, but I'm going to try to clamp each side against the corner post. Hopefully the angle is low enough where I can get good pressure on the 45 degree cut.

 

[wolfhawk73]

Cut it straight out from the corner with a very narrow kerf saw (think: Japanese saw). Drill holes in the ends of the pieces where they were cut so that you can insert a dowel to help hold the pieces together once they're glued around the post. Predrill ONE hole in each "half" for attaching to the deck, making the hole large enough to just clear the threads of the screw (the hole in the deck structure should be smaller so the threads will grab). Countersink the holes to where the screwheads could be below the surface about 1/4", but only drive the screws flush to the surface. All of that will give the board and the deck structure room to move without splitting the piece.

That's my theory, at least.

 

[CTyankee]

So more pieces, joints and screws for that small piece of wood? I won't bother repeating myself. Good luck.

 

[CraigStu]

I assume the old piece is in the trash and not usable. If so I'd make a cut in the new piece about where the old one cracked from the bottom about 1/2 way through. Now bend it at the cut so it cracks apart. Get a tube of this construction adhesive;

Amazon.com

Put a bead at the crack, enough to fill the saw cut, and a small glob on each side underneath to adhere it to the supporting 2x10s. Set it in place. Wipe any squeaze out off the top surface and let it sit for several days. I recommend this 'Heavy Duty' vs the 'Premium' version because it is a little more solid. The premium is so thin it might run out of the bottom of the saw cut. This stuff sets up very hard, probably stronger than the wood itself. No fasteners needed so no splitting the wood. BTW if you feel that you can crack the piece w/o a saw cut that would be better but may be hard to do w/o marring the surface.