We just purchased a house that has a roughly 10X20 deck on the back. It's relatively low to the ground (maybe 1-3 feet high).
The house is cedar lap siding.
The problem is that the deck was built improperly. It was attached to the house directly over the siding, so no proper ledger board, flashing or gap.
What to do? Is there a way to fix this without dismantling the entire deck?
My thoughts:
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pull out the floor boards closes to the house a foot or two out.
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jack/shim up the house-side joists from underneath.
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cut each joist away from the house a few inches.
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remove siding, flash, and install proper ledger.
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use deck spacers to the install a new 'hanging ledger (is that a term?) to connect to the new shortened joists with new hangers.
Seems doable, all except the tight quarters I'd be working in.
Has anyone done this? Tips/suggestions?
Another option I was considering as more of a short-term option:
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remove just one row of floor boards
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create new flashing from siding above the connection to the house, wrapping it over whatever type of ledger is below it.
That would basically be just using larger flashing. Might look kind of ugly, but would obviously be a lot less labor.
Best Answer
Ugh. Your plan sounds like a lot of work, but seems sound.
As an alternative could you convert this to a freestanding deck? Add post and piers near the house. Install some blocking to replace the crummy ledger you'll soon remove. Pull up your one row of floor boards and chop the deck shy of the wall.