My deck ledger board pulled away from the house last night during the storm

The lag bolts were only sunk into the siding, not the rim joist behind it. Has anyone had to do a full deck reattachment and have tips on finding the actual framing?

3 comments

3 Comments

maxburns28d ago

Man, that sinking feeling when you see the deck pulling away is the worst. My old place had the same cheap lag bolt into siding trick, and it took me a whole weekend to fix it right. You'll need to pull off a section of siding to find the real rim joist, which is usually a 2x10 or 2x12. Get a stud finder that can detect deep wood, and once you mark it, use proper structural screws that are long enough to go through the ledger and well into that solid framing.

elizabeth22028d ago

Totally agree about pulling the siding off, that's the only way to be sure. I had to do this last summer and found a ton of rotten wood behind the vinyl. Once you get to the rim joist, drill some test holes to check its condition before you sink any new screws. If it's soft, you might need to sister a new board alongside it, which is a whole other project. Using a proper structural screw is key, those lags just don't hold as well over time. Did you have to replace any of the framing when you did yours?

patricia6343d ago

My neighbor's deck did that years ago and it's still standing. They just put in a few extra screws and called it a day. It might not need a full rebuild.