Deck Replacement - Part 2

After tearing out the deck, the next step was to get support piers installed for the posts. Rather than burying the posts directly in the ground, I opted to install cement piers and attach the posts to the cement, above the ground with simpson hardware.

Rather than renting an auger and hauling and mixing the cement myself, I opted to get someone out to dig the holes and pour the cement for me. At $30 a hole for 6 holes it was well worth the money.

Once the holes were in, it was time to move onto properly installing the ledger board. I snapped a chalk line about 1 inch below the patio door and ran the circular saw along the line to start the cutout for the ledger board. Since I have wood siding, the siding should be cut away before the ledger board is attached to the house.

After removing the wood siding I found the OSB sheathing behind seemed a little rotten, so I ran the saw over that line again and removed the OSB. Behind that - yep more rot. The joist and sill were rotted and in dire need of replacement. All the joist under the patio door as well as 1'on the left and 2' on the right needed replacement. The sill plate needed replacement as well.


Luckily the other floor joists run parallel to this one, so I did not have to worry about the other joists when replacing this rotted one. A quick trip to the hardware store to pick up a new joist, PT sill, OSB and 'smart siding' to replace the wood siding and then back to work.

The old joist and sill was removed with a sawzall, then the new joist and sill slipped in. I was very surprised that I was able to remove the sill anchor nuts and reuse them. A little bit of break-free and the impact wrench pulled them off without difficulty.

I slid some flashing up under the wood siding to prevent water from getting behind the new ledger board. After applying some tar paper to replace the housewrap, Joshua jumped in to help me bolt the ledger board in place. It was actually in good shape and I was able to reuse it and the attached joist-hangers.


After the ledger board was installed I installed the OSB 'smart siding' product that matched close enough to my original wood siding. It'll be hidden under the deck and if I finish up the deck with a skirt it'll never be seen.

The new deck will have just about the same footprint as the old one, just a few feet wider to make more room for furniture on the deck. I installed the outer joists which were all new wood, and to save a few bucks reused the joist hangers from the old deck - not much fun removing those. A cat's paw and wonder bar helped me get them out in a reasonable amount of time with no damage.


Eventually I had all the joists filled in and was ready to start with the decking.