Deck Restoration in Lynnwood WA - Save the Deck You Already Have

Restoration is for a deck that has gone past a simple new coat of stain, but is not ready for the dumpster. Think of it as the middle road. Some parts are worn out. The bones are still good.

Here is what we usually see. A few boards are soft or cracked. Some are cupped, which means the edges curl up like a shallow bowl. Nails have popped up and snag socks or bare feet. The railing wiggles when you lean on it. The stairs feel loose. Black mold and green moss cover the boards, and the old finish is peeling in sheets.

In this area, the cause is almost always water that stayed too long. Our fall and winter rain soaks the wood. Leaves and pine needles pile up between the boards and hold water against them. Moss grows in the cracks and keeps the wood wet. After a few seasons, that damp wood starts to rot. This happens a lot on older Lynnwood and Edmonds homes, where the deck may be twenty years old or more and never had much care.

Here is the key point. Rot spreads. A soft board today can turn into a soft joist next year. Joists are the beams under the boards that hold up the whole deck. Catching it early keeps the repair small.

So how do you know if restoration is right? We check the frame first. If the joists, beams and posts are solid and the deck is firmly attached to your house, restoration usually makes sense. If the frame is rotten or the connection to the house has failed, restoration is not the answer, and we will say so. That is where replacement comes in.

If you are not sure which one you need, that is fine. A free visit tells you.

Restoration is a repair job and a refinishing job in one. So we work in two stages. We fix what is broken. Then we make it look good and protect it.

We start with a hands-on inspection. We walk the deck and press on every board. We probe the joists and posts with a screwdriver, because rot hides on the underside. We look closely at the ledger, which is the board that bolts the deck to your house. We check the railings and the stairs by hand.

Then we mark what needs to go. You see the same list we see. Nothing gets replaced just to pad the bill.

Stage one is repair. We pull out bad boards and put in new ones that match your deck as closely as we can. We fix sagging or soft spots in the framing. We replace rotten rail posts. We tighten the stair stringers, which are the angled boards that carry the steps. We swap old nails for deck screws that hold better. Where wood meets wood, we add flashing or sealant to keep water from sitting there.

Stage two is the refresh. We strip off what is left of the old finish. We wash away mold, moss and grime with a cleaner made for wood. Then we use a brightener to bring back the natural color. We let the deck dry fully, which can take a few days in our damp weather. After that, we sand it smooth so there are no splinters.

Finally, we seal it with a stain or sealer that fits your wood. New boards and old boards take stain differently, so we blend them as well as we can and tell you what to expect.

If the repairs turn out bigger than the first look showed, we stop and talk with you. Then we clean up and walk the deck with you.

Restoration costs vary more than almost any other deck job. That is because no two worn decks are worn the same way. A deck with five bad boards and a deck with rotten framing are very different jobs.

The biggest factor is how much rot we find. A few boards are a small fix. Rot in the joists, beams or posts takes much more work. We always check the underside, since that is where the real damage tends to hide.

The next factor is how many parts need work. Boards, railings, stairs, posts and framing are each priced on their own. A wobbly railing is a smaller fix than a whole set of rebuilt stairs.

Size and height matter, as they do on any deck. A tall deck needs more setup and safety work.

The finish matters too. Heavy old paint or thick peeling stain takes longer to remove than a thin worn coat. And the stain or sealer you choose changes the price.

Sometimes restoring costs nearly as much as building new. When that happens, we tell you. A fair quote includes the honest answer that replacement may be the better buy.

Estimates are free, with no trip fee. You get an itemized quote up front, so you can see the repairs and the refinishing as separate lines. There are no hidden fees. If we find more damage after we open things up, we talk to you before we do anything extra.

Restoring a deck takes some judgment. You have to know which boards to save and which to replace. John Eric Fernandez has more than 25 years of hands-on experience, and his father taught him the trade. JE Remodeling Solutions is family-owned and based in Lynnwood, so we have worked on plenty of local decks like yours.

We are a licensed Washington State general contractor, bonded and insured. We answer in about 30 minutes on average, and you talk to one person from start to finish. No chasing a crew that stopped returning calls.

If a repair goes beyond boards and railings, such as rebuilding framing or stairs, we handle the permits in-house. Snohomish and King County do not always follow the same rules, and we keep track of that for you.

Our workmanship guarantee means that if something is not right, we make it right. We clean up after every job and dispose of the debris properly. Our hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 to 5.

We serve Lynnwood, Bothell, Seattle, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, Woodinville, Kirkland and Everett.