Deck Repair in Freeland, WA

Freeland sits on a narrow strip of southern Whidbey Island with water close on both sides. We are based in Everett and drive out to Freeland for deck work. If your deck has soft boards, a wobbly rail or a stair that no longer feels solid, we can look at it and tell you plainly what it needs.

What is particular about decks in Freeland

Freeland is on the southern part of Whidbey Island, on a mile-wide isthmus between the south end of Holmes Harbor and Mutiny Bay. With salt water close on both sides, a deck here often sits in damp conditions for much of the year. Damp is what wood decking handles worst. Boards that never fully dry grow moss and algae, hold water at the joints and start to rot from the underside first, where you cannot see it.

The community began as a cooperative settlement in the early 1900s, and the original townsite was laid out in five-acre tracts with wide streets. Properties here can be larger than a typical town lot, so decks tend to be bigger, with long board runs, several levels and stairs down to a yard. Longer spans and taller stairs put more load on joists, posts and footings, and those are the parts that fail quietly. Some homes in the area are also older, which means a deck may be attached to a wall that was framed long before the deck was added. We check how that connection was made before we say anything about the boards.

Deck repair problems we see and how we fix them

Most of the calls we take are for deck repair, and the cause is usually water. Here is how the common problems break down.

Soft or spongy boards: Press a screwdriver into the board near a screw head or along the edge. If it sinks in, the wood has rotted. Individual boards can be replaced with matching decking. If the joist underneath is also soft, the joist needs repair too, otherwise the new board only has a few seasons left.

Loose rails and wobbly stairs: A railing that moves is a safety problem, not a cosmetic one. The cause is usually rotted post bases, corroded fasteners or stringers that have lost their grip on the framing. We rebuild the connection so the rail or stair is solid again.

Sagging or bouncing floors: This points to joists, beams, posts or footings. Rot at the top of a joist, a split beam or a post sitting on soil instead of a proper footing can all cause it. We find which one it is before suggesting a fix.

Pulled ledger boards: The ledger is the board that fastens the deck to the house. If it was nailed instead of bolted, or the flashing above it was missing, water gets behind it and the connection weakens. This is the repair we take most seriously, because a failed ledger can bring a whole deck down.

Deck building and deck replacement when repair is not enough

Sometimes a deck is past the point where patching makes sense. If the framing is rotted in several places, or the footings have shifted, replacing a few boards only hides the problem. In that case we talk through two routes.

Deck replacement means taking off the old surface and, where needed, the old framing, then putting back a sound structure. If the frame is healthy and only the surface is worn, resurfacing can keep the existing framing and give you new decking on top.

If you want something different from what you have now, Deck Building covers new decks and changes to existing ones, including extensions, railings, covers and second-story decks. We also work with composite and PVC decking, which many homeowners near the water choose because it does not rot the way wood does. It costs more up front and it still needs a well-built frame under it, so we explain the trade-off rather than push one material.

Serving Freeland from Everett

We do not have an office in Freeland. We are based in Everett, and we travel to Freeland and the surrounding Whidbey Island communities for each job. Planning for that means we group visits sensibly and tell you in advance when we expect to arrive. Our hours are Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We are closed on Sundays.

Because we are not down the road, we try to arrive with what the job needs. That is why the first visit is for looking and measuring, not guessing.

What a deck estimate visit involves

We start by walking the deck and looking at it from above and below. We check the surface boards, then get underneath where we can to look at joists, beams, posts and footings. We probe suspect wood, check how the ledger is fastened and look for flashing, and test rails and stairs by hand.

Then we tell you what we found in plain terms: what is sound, what is not, and whether we would repair or replace. If a repair will not last, we say so. You get a written scope of work so you know what is included before anything starts.

How to request a deck estimate in Freeland

The simplest way to start is to call us on (425) 374-1971 or email info@deckrepaireverett.com. Tell us your address in Freeland, what you have noticed about the deck and roughly how large it is. Photos of soft boards, loose rails or the area under the deck help us come prepared. You can also use the Request a Deck Estimate button on this site, and we will get back to you to set a time.

About Freeland: Freeland, WA on Wikipedia · Freeland on Google Maps