Ripped out a 20-year-old deck and the before/after was wild

The client sent me a pic of that old deck from 2004 when it was first built, all clean and new looking. Fast forward to me pulling up last spring and it was gray, warped, and half the boards had mushroom colonies growing between the gaps. I spent three full days ripping out the old framing cause they used galvanized nails that were all rusted through. New build took about two weeks with a helper and we went with a grey composite that matches their siding. The final walkthrough they literally said they couldn't believe it was the same spot. Has anyone else done a teardown that made you question how the old stuff even held up that long?

1 comments

1 Comment

mila3951mo ago

That old mushroom colony bit hit close to home. Pulled up some deck boards last year that had actual ferns growing through the cracks. Whole subframe was basically mulch with nails in it. Makes you wonder how much luck was involved with those old builds.