Tear-out · Frame assessment · Rebuild or re-surface · Erlanger, KY · 41018
Deck Replacement in Erlanger, KY
Deck replacement in Erlanger, where the winter salt damage gets read at the fastenings. There are two different jobs here and the price difference between them is roughly three to one. Redecking replaces the boards and the railing on a frame that is still sound. Replacement takes the whole structure out and rebuilds it. Which one you need is decided under the deck, not on top of it, and any contractor quoting without going under there is guessing.
Replacing a deck in Erlanger
Erlanger (ZIP 41018) gets a real winter, and a deck that is somebody's route to the back door gets treated for ice like any other path. Rock salt goes down every year, and on a timber deck that is a slower story than on concrete.
Salt does two things. It draws moisture and holds it against the surface, so a salted board stays damp long after a clean one has dried, and it is hard on steel. The fasteners are the part that suffers first, and they are the part nobody looks at. So a salted deck often reads as a surface problem, with the boards fuzzy and the grain raised around every screw, when what is actually going on is at the fixings and in the hardware below.
That is where we look. Screw heads and hanger nails on a salted deck have a particular look once you know it, and the pattern tells us whether the treatment stayed on the stairs or went across the whole surface. The stair is usually worst because that is what gets salted most. Where it has stayed local the deck is often a stair job and not a replacement, which is a considerably smaller number. On the new work the fixings are specified for it, and we will show you what a de-icer that is not rock salt does instead, because there are ones that leave both the steel and the timber alone.
What is included in deck replacement in Erlanger
The frame is the deciding factor. Four things have to be right: joists sound enough to hold a screw, footings below frost depth and bearing properly, a ledger that is bolted and flashed, and spacing that suits the surface you want to lay. Get all four and redecking is genuinely the better spend. Miss any one and a new surface is a fifty-year board on a structure with ten years left.
Under most decks built before about 2005 we find the same things. Joist hangers fixed with roofing nails. Posts set straight into soil, or on a precast block resting on topsoil. A ledger nailed to sheathing with no flashing. Joists at 24 inches on center that will not take composite. Two of those four can often be repaired. All four means replacement. The tear-out settles one more thing. Once the deck is off the house you can see the wall behind the ledger, where rot has usually been working quietly for years. It is a small repair while the deck is off and an expensive one once it is back on.
The frame checked before you get a price
We go underneath with a flashlight first, so the quote is written off what the frame is actually doing rather than off what the surface looks like. Redeck or full rebuild, you get the reasoning with the number.
Demolition and haul-away in one week
The old deck goes in a dumpster and leaves, rather than living on your lawn until the new one is finished.
New footings where the old ones were wrong
A rebuild on bad footings is a brand new deck with the original problem still underneath it.
Repair or replace, on a Erlanger deck
Four checks, all of which you can do yourself in about ten minutes with a flashlight and a screwdriver. Do them before you call anybody, including us.
A screwdriver goes into a post base
Push a screwdriver into the bottom six inches of each post. If it sinks in easily the post is rotting from the ground up, and posts carry everything. This is the single most common condemning finding.
The joist hangers are nailed with roofing nails
Look under the deck at where each joist meets the beam or the ledger. Short, wide-headed galvanized nails in a hanger are not structural fasteners and they will not carry the rated load. Correct hangers use specified nails or structural screws in every hole.
No flashing where the deck meets the house
If you can see the top edge of the ledger board and there is no metal running up behind the siding above it, water has been going into that joint since the deck was built. What is behind it is the question.
The whole deck moves when you push a railing
A guard should not move perceptibly. If the deck sways as a unit rather than the rail flexing on its own, the lateral bracing or the ledger connection is the problem, and that is a structural fix rather than a railing one.
Worth knowing
What we check before quoting a redeck
Joist spacing and the top edges of the joists. A frame at 24 inches on center was framed for timber rather than composite, and joists that have sat under a leaking surface can have soft top edges. Both are fixable, and both are priced before you see a number rather than found afterwards.
Our rule of thumb: if more than about a third of the frame needs work, replacement is the better value, because new footings and a flashed ledger come with it. Under that line, a redeck gets you a deck that looks new for roughly a third of the cost.
What joist tape does
Butyl tape run along the top of every joist before the boards go down seals the screw holes, so water coming through the gaps cannot sit in a fastener hole and start rot in the one place the frame never dries out.
It costs very little while the boards are off, and it is the most effective thing available for extending the life of a frame under a new surface. On joists already fifteen years old we treat it as part of the job.
FAQ
Deck Replacement in Erlanger questions
Do we need a permit to replace a deck in Erlanger?
Yes for structural work. Erlanger handles the review under Kentucky code with Kenton County inspecting. Where the job is the stair alone the submission is smaller, and it still has to show the landing and its footing.
Is salt actually damaging the deck?
It works on two things at once: it keeps the surface damp for longer and it is hard on steel. The fasteners usually show it before the boards do.
What should we use instead?
A de-icer without chloride, or sand for grip where you only need traction. Either leaves the fixings and the timber alone, and both are sold everywhere the rock salt is.
Can just the stairs be done?
Often, and on a salted deck it is the most common answer, because the stair takes most of the treatment. It is a fraction of a full replacement.
Does composite handle salt better?
The boards do, comfortably. The hardware underneath is the same question either way, which is why the fasteners get specified for it whatever surface you choose.
What about the salt already in the wood?
It leaves with the boards. The frame gets checked at the fixings and washed down before anything new goes on, so the new hardware starts clean.
We bring your vision to life
Most of our work starts as a sketch on a kitchen table. A door that opens onto a drop, a slope nobody wants to mow, a corner the sun ruins at four in the afternoon. We measure it, draw it, price it line by line, and build the deck you signed off on rather than the one that was easiest to frame.
Bulldog 6 step process
A deck that is still tight in fifteen years is not an accident of good lumber. It is the result of standards you can count on.
Design & Layout
We measure up, then agree the size, the shape, the materials and where the steps go. You get a drawing and an itemized price before anything is ordered.
Engineering & Permit
We draw the plans, get them stamped by an engineer where the county asks for it, submit them and pull the permit. Inspections are booked and the boards go on order.
Demolition & Footings
The old deck leaves in a dumpster the same week. The utility locate goes in two working days before digging, the footings go below the frost line, and the holes are inspected before concrete.
Framing & Flashing
We bolt the frame to the house and flash where the two meet, so rain runs off instead of into the wall. The county inspects it before any decking covers it.
Decking & Railing
Boards go down with the right gaps, the railing is built to take a grown adult leaning on it, and every step is the same height. We sweep up daily.
Inspection & Sign-Off
We walk the finished deck with you and fix your list before the final payment. That last pass is the Bulldog Finish, and the paperwork is yours to keep.
Our work
Decks we have built
Dry patio under a second-story deck
String lights over a deck at dusk
Who you are hiring
Cincinnati deck builders since 2001
A family-owned crew out of Cincinnati, covering both sides of the river and the communities around it.
What we are good at is structure that has to last. We are not the cheapest quote you will get, and the difference is under the boards rather than on top of them.
- 1,400+ decks built and rebuilt since 2001
- Built for freeze-thaw winters and clay that heaves
- W-2 carpenters on payroll, never subcontracted out
- Permits pulled in every jurisdiction we work in
- Written, itemized estimates before you commit
Why homeowners choose us
What makes us different
Six things you can check before you sign anything, and hold us to afterwards.
- Family-owned and operated since 2001
- Licensed and fully insured
- 4.9 stars from 600+ reviews
- Financing available
- Decks built to last through Ohio winters
- Composite, wood, covered decks and pergolas
In their words
What homeowners say
Great experience from the entire team. Very professional contractors, who deliver on their design (which by the way are spot on!). I hope to use them more in the future. My wife and I are excited to use our new deck with the entire family. Shout out
There is a reason why Bulldog Deck is an award winning company. Each time we step out onto our amazing deck, we are reminded of the all the designing, planning and constructing that puts them at the top. My wife found Bulldog Deck and was impressed
My family and I couldn't be happier with our new outdoor living space and Bulldog Deck were extremely professional throughout the entire process and the end result was just amazing! As important is the follow up and customer support that we
Related services
Financing available
Spread it across the year, not the month
A new deck is one summer of work, and our financing menu is built so it does not have to be one summer of savings. Spread it across the year on approved credit and the deck goes in this season.
On approved credit. Terms vary by lender and project size.
Materials
Decking materials we build with in Erlanger
Pressure-treated pine
The most affordable and most common choice, and it takes a stain beautifully every time we re-coat it.
Redwood and cedar
Naturally resistant to rot and insects, with a rich warm color and a softer feel underfoot.
Tropical hardwoods
Ipe, tigerwood and cumaru. Dense enough to shrug off dents, insects and rot for decades.
Capped composite
Recycled wood fiber and plastic wrapped in a protective polymer shell. No annual sealing.
Advanced PVC
Fully synthetic with no wood content. Light, highly moisture-resistant and cooler underfoot in sun.
Aluminum
Fireproof, rust-proof and bug-proof, and lasts a lifetime with almost no upkeep.
Where we work
Proudly decking the Tri-State
Cincinnati and Surrounding Areas: southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. 170 communities, covered by our own crews.
Counties & cities we serve
Hamilton County, OH
- Cincinnati
- Blue Ash, OH
- Norwood, OH
- Montgomery, OH
Butler County, OH
- West Chester, OH
- Hamilton, OH
- Fairfield, OH
Warren County, OH
- Mason, OH
- South Lebanon, OH
- Maineville, OH
Clermont County, OH
- Milford, OH
- Batavia, OH
- New Richmond, OH
Kenton County, KY
- Covington, KY
- Fort Mitchell, KY
- Erlanger, KY
Campbell County, KY
- Newport, KY
- Fort Thomas, KY
- Bellevue, KY
Boone County, KY
- Florence, KY
- Union, KY
- Burlington, KY
Dearborn County, IN
- Lawrenceburg, IN
- Aurora, IN
- Greendale, IN
No obligation
Get a written estimate, not a guess
We walk the job, measure it, and leave you with an itemized number. No obligation and no follow-up pressure.
Request your estimate
Most estimates are scheduled within two business days.
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