Tear-out · Frame assessment · Rebuild or re-surface · Ludlow, KY · 41016
Deck Replacement in Ludlow, KY
Deck replacement in Ludlow, where the house gets protected before the old deck starts coming off. 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 Ludlow
Ludlow (ZIP 41016) has houses close to their decks and close to each other, and a tear-out happens within a few feet of a wall that nobody wants marked. The lawn gets talked about. The house usually does not.
Three things are in the line of fire. Siding immediately above and beside the ledger, which is where boards get levered and where a bar slips. Gutters and downspouts at the corner, which are aluminum and bend if a joist swings into them. And windows at deck level, which on these houses are frequently right there, and which cost more to replace than the deck section being removed above them.
So they get covered before anything is levered. Sheeting and boards over the siding in the working zone, the downspout taken off and set aside if it is in the way instead of worked around, and hard protection over any glass within reach. The order matters as much as the covering. Protection goes up before the first fastener is drawn, and not after the first thing has been marked, which is the point most people think of it. It takes twenty minutes at the start of the job. What it prevents is the conversation where a deck job has produced a repair to something that was perfectly fine when we arrived, which is the one thing that turns a good job into a bad memory.
What is included in deck replacement in Ludlow
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 Ludlow 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 Ludlow questions
Do we need a permit to replace a deck in Ludlow?
Structure means a permit. Ludlow issues it, the county inspects, and Kentucky code governs it. Protecting the house is not permit work, and it is on the method statement we give you with the quote.
What actually gets protected?
Siding in the working zone, any glass within reach, and the gutter or downspout at that corner. Those are the three things a tear-out reaches.
Do downspouts come off?
If they are in the way, yes, and they go back at the end. Working around one usually ends with it bent, so it is easier to remove it deliberately.
What if something does get damaged?
We repair it. It is our work that caused it, and that is a straightforward answer and not a discussion.
Does protection slow the job down?
Twenty minutes at the start. It is comfortably the best-spent time on the whole job.
The driveway is shared. Does that limit access?
It sets where the truck and the container can stand and for how long, and we agree that with you before delivery so nobody is blocked in.
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 Ludlow
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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