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Tear-out · Frame assessment · Rebuild or re-surface · Pleasant Run, OH · 45240

Deck Replacement in Pleasant Run, OH

Deck replacement in Pleasant Run, where you are told what to put on the new deck and when. 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.

New joist framing laid out at ground level where an old deck stood, against a gray house
4.9/5 StarsAcross 600+ reviews
1,400+Decks built and rebuilt since 2001
PermittedPulled and inspected everywhere we build
W-2 CrewsEmployees, never subcontracted out

Replacing a deck in Pleasant Run

Pleasant Run (ZIP 45240) is family yards, and a new deck in one gets used hard from the week it goes down. The question that comes up first is what to put on it, and the honest answer surprises people, because for most of the first year it is nothing.

What you do depends entirely on what went down. A capped composite or PVC surface wants soap and water and nothing else, ever; the cap is a sealed layer and the products sold to feed timber do nothing to it except sit on top. New treated timber is the opposite and it needs time, because it arrives with moisture still in it and a finish will not take until it has given that up. Kiln-dried-after-treatment material can be finished much sooner. Everything else wants a season, and the way to know is to put a spoonful of water on the board: if it beads, the timber is not ready, and if it soaks in within a minute or two it is.

So you get told which of those your deck is, with a date or a test attached, not a rule of thumb, and we come back and do the first finish where that is part of the job. In the meantime the only thing worth doing is keeping the gaps clear and washing it when it looks like it needs it. Everything else on the shelf at the store is aimed at a deck that is not yours yet.

What is included in deck replacement in Pleasant Run

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.

A carpenter hand-nailing cedar deck boards, hammer raised beside a pile of nails

Repair or replace, on a Pleasant Run 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 Pleasant Run questions

Which office handles a rebuild here?

Township ground, so the building authority is the county and not a city. The submission is structural, which is why the finish schedule sits with us and gets handed over separately at the end.

How long before treated timber can be finished?

Between a few weeks and a full season depending on how it was dried and how the summer goes. The water test settles it in a minute, and we will show you how to do it.

Can we pressure wash a new deck?

A wide fan at low pressure and well back is fine. Close in and narrow it will cut the soft grain out of timber and dull a composite cap, and both are permanent, so we would rather show you the right setting than have you find the wrong one.

What do we use on composite?

Warm water, mild soap and a soft brush, plus whatever the manufacturer names for specific stains. Nothing that says oil, sealer or restorer belongs anywhere near it.

What about the frame underneath?

It needs nothing and it gets nothing. It was specified for its exposure and the ventilation under the deck is what keeps it in good order. Clearing leaves out from under it once a year is the whole of it.

Do you come back and do the first finish?

On a timber deck, yes, and it is priced up front so the deck is not handed over with a job still owing on it. We book the return visit when the deck is finished, not when you chase us.

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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

The space beneath a raised deck, ceiled in white panels with fans hung off them, so the paver floor underneath stays usable in rain. An outdoor kitchen runs along the brick at the back, and a fire pit sits out past the columns.

Dry patio under a second-story deck

Under-Deck WaterproofingDeck Lighting
Warm string lights run the length of a striped canopy over the seating end of a deck, still readable after the sun has dropped behind the tree line. A sectional and a round table sit under them, with the black guard and the field beyond.

String lights over a deck at dusk

Deck LightingDeck Railing
See more work

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
Bulldog Deck medallion: building Cincinnati decks, 25+ years, established 2001

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
JJosephDeck Build
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
PPeterDeck Build
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
MMarkOutdoor Living Space
See more reviews

Related services

Deck Construction

Composite Decks

Deck Repair

Deck Railing

A back yard with a raised deck, stairs down to a patio and a pergola over the seating

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.

0%Interest for 12 months on approved credit
$40,000Available for larger builds and covered structures
Soft pullApplying will not affect your credit score
84 moLonger terms available on bigger scopes

On approved credit. Terms vary by lender and project size.

Materials

Decking materials we build with in Pleasant Run

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.

Map of the Cincinnati region and surrounding areas covering our service area across southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

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.

Call (513) 657-3750

Request your estimate

Most estimates are scheduled within two business days.

No obligation, no high-pressure sales. Or call (513) 657-3750.

Deck Replacement in 170 neighborhoods covered by Bulldog Deck

Cincinnati Neighborhoods(52)

Hamilton County, OH(54)