Deck, Porch & Fence Repair in Fuquay-Varina, NC

The fence problem

Fuquay-Varina lots run larger than in the towns closer to our base, and larger lots mean more fence. Fence is also the exterior timber that fails most predictably, and almost always for the same reason.

A post rots at grade. Not above ground, where it is exposed and dries. Not below ground, where there is less oxygen. In the few inches either side of soil level, where the timber is permanently damp and there is plenty of air — which is exactly what wood-destroying fungi need.

The result is a post that is solid at the top, solid at the bottom, and gone in the middle. The first sign is usually a panel starting to lean, which people diagnose as a panel problem. It is not. The panel is just what you can see falling over.

How to check your own

Grab each post and push. A sound post resists. A failed one moves at ground level with very little effort, sometimes with a slight crunching feel. Do it along the whole run, not just at the leaning panel — every post in that fence was installed on the same day and has had the same weather.

The concrete question

This catches a lot of people out.

Concrete poured around a post in a collar with a flat or dished top holds water against the timber every time it rains. Plenty of the posts we dig out have rotted through inside a completely intact concrete collar, which is a good demonstration of the problem.

Where concrete is used, it needs to be shaped so water runs away from the post rather than toward it, with drainage below rather than a sealed cup. The alternative is a metal standoff or spike so the timber never contacts soil at all. Which suits your fence depends on the ground and the fence type, and we will tell you rather than default to one.

Repair versus replace

A single failed post is a repair. Half the posts moving means the fence is at the end of its life and replacing sections is throwing money at it. We will give you a straight count of how many are gone rather than a vague recommendation.

Steps and handrails

This is the deck item people postpone longest and it is the one most likely to hurt somebody.

Inconsistent step heights. Your feet learn the first step of a flight and then expect every other one to match. A step that is even slightly different catches people out, and it is a common cause of falls. On older or home-built deck stairs the variation can be considerable, particularly at the top and bottom where the flight meets the deck and the ground.

We measure the rise across the whole flight and correct the ones that are out. It is not a glamorous job and it is genuinely worth doing.

Handrails that are not graspable. A wide flat board on top of a railing is not something you can grip if you start to fall. A proper handrail is something a hand can close around.

Loose railing posts. Checked by hand, every one. A railing that gives when you lean on it is the difference between a stumble and a fall from height.

The deck itself

Fuquay-Varina spans a wider range of housing than the towns nearer us, and decks here range from twenty-five-year-old pressure-treated structures on the older properties to recent builds on the newer subdivisions.

The survey is the same either way:

• The ledger, where the deck attaches to the house, and whether it is flashed. This carries the whole live load and it is the failure that hurts people.
• Post bases, where they meet footings or ground.
• Joist tops, where debris collects under the decking and holds moisture.
• Board ends, because end grain drinks water fastest.

Where the frame is sound and the boards have gone, re-decking over the existing structure is good value — the expensive part of a deck is the frame.

Where the framing is widely gone or the ledger is compromised, that is structural work for a licensed contractor and we will say so.

Bundling out here

Fuquay-Varina is about twenty-five minutes from us. Deck work is a multi-day booking so the drive is not a factor, and it is the ideal visit to attach the rest of the list to — the door that sticks, the fixture nobody replaced, the shelf that never went up.

Getting a price

For a fence, send a photo along the run rather than of the one leaning panel, and tell us how many posts move when you push them.

For a deck, a wide shot, a close-up of the worst area, a photo of the underside if you can safely get there, and a photo of the steps taken from the side so we can see the flight.