Deck Spotlight of the Month: Deck Floor Replacement in Brentwood, TN
What better way to highlight our deck services than by going through a project from beginning to end?
Follow along with us as we go through our Deck Spotlight of the month: Deck Floor Replacement in Brentwood, TN
The Deck Consultation
We spoke with the customer about the options of replacing or repairing his deck. When he told us this was a rental property and budget was a priority, we opted for a Repair. He wanted his tenants to be able to enjoy the deck, and him not worry about them falling through.
Simple enough!
We informed the customer that while we recommend a repair, sometimes there is more damage than what meets the eye. We would need to pull a few boards up to check the damage underneath to ensure there were no structure concerns needing to be addressed.
The Deck Inspection
Upon inspection, we saw a few boards that were broken and rotting. You cannot "fix" a broken board. You replace the board, which is not to be confused with "replacing the entire deck".
It was clear this deck in Brentwood, Tennessee was in major need of new floor boards!
Upon further inspection, and pulling up a couple deck boards to check underneath, we determined the joists were indeed safe and of no concern at the moment!
This thorough inspection confirmed that replacing deck boards was the right repair for both the home and the customer.
We cannot stress this enough - it is important to make sure your deck is structurally sound before choosing the repair option.
The Deck Quote Process
Now, the customer called us with the intention of "replacing a few boards" and luckily he was a pretty understanding guy! We explained that if you are replacing half of the floor boards, you need to replace the entire flooring for the sake of continuity and life span.
There could be boards "close to rotting" that you may miss if only some were replaced. Looking at the age and wear of the deck, we knew the best option was to replace all the boards, including the stairs.
We calculated current prices at Home Depot and our local lumber store, our labor hours, and all odds and end materials needed and sent this to the customer via hands-free emailed invoice. There he was able to review, make notes, and accept the estimate all from the convenience of his smart phone.
Although it was more "deck repair" than what this Brentwood, TN customer had originally expected, he saw how much money he was saving going the repair route, verses replacing the entire deck.
He was happy with our quote and opted for the project full steam ahead!
The Deck Order and Delivery
This deck remodel consisted of over 840 feet of pressure treated wood to make up the platform and additional 16 steps. That's a lot of wood!
We usually have the materials delivered to the customer's home 2-4 days pre-delivery so that the wood has time to breathe. If it is expected to rain, we will come out to the home to cover all materials with a tarp or place in a better location protected from the rain.
In this case, the delivery was actually mixed up with Home Depot. They sent HALF of a completely different order in conjunction with HALF of this order.
So, it took a little extra investigation and handling on our part to coordinate the proper materials were delivered to all orders.
Of course, when this happens, Nashville Lawn and Order handles everything from the pick up to any extra delivery fees. This delay did however cause a 3-day delay in the estimated build time.
We began the deck repair in Brentwood 3 days past schedule, to which the customer was very understanding about and gave us their full fledge trust to handle and accomplish.
Alas, The Deck Build!
Removing the rotten deck boards was all in a day's work.
Literally. The demo, deck and stair build took us a total of three days to complete with a 4 man crew.
When we repair a deck we try to opt for the same design and shape the deck was originally. We will copy the pattern and layout to best match the way the deck was before.
One interesting feature about this deck is the thumb nail railing (see picture below) that was previously installed. We knew we would have to replace a section of this railing due to rot and it is our job to match the cut and style.
Little did we know, just how custom this railing was.