Deck Repair · Ottawa
Deck repair and staining in Ottawa
Korvex Construction repairs and refinishes decks across Ottawa: new boards over a checked and repaired frame, loose stairs and railings fixed, and weathered decks cleaned and sealed or stained. We look under the boards first, then give you a written price after the free on-site estimate.
- Deck boards
- Joists and beams
- Joist tape
- Deck sealer
What goes wrong
What wears out on a deck, and in what order
Decks age from the top and rot from the inside. The surface goes first: boards weather to grey, check, cup and splinter, and dark stains set into the wood. Underneath, water that sits on the tops of the joists, under the boards where nobody looks, slowly softens the frame. Stairs pull away at the bottom and railings work loose at their posts.
Fresh boards on a soft frame hide the problem for a season and then fail early. So a Korvex deck repair starts with the boards off where they need to come off: joists, beams, footings and the connection to the house are checked, and the parts that have rotted or moved are repaired before anything new goes on top.
A deck with a sound frame and a tired surface needs less. Cleaning takes the grey and the dark marks off the boards, railings and stairs, and a sealer or stain goes on the cleaned wood, so the deck finishes in one even tone and sheds water again.
Spring is the time to look. Boards that flex or feel spongy, screws and nails backing out, dark patches that stay wet, a gap opening where the deck meets the house, stairs that bounce and railings that move when you lean on them are all worth a look before summer. Grey wood is a surface problem; soft wood is a frame problem.
Either way you keep the deck you have, with a surface that looks after itself again and a frame you know the condition of.
How we build it
What we check under a deck before repairing it
The boards are what you see. The frame and footings under them decide whether a repair is worth doing. With the boards off, every part of the frame is open to inspect, which is the right moment to fix it.
- Boards off where needed
Enough decking comes up to see the frame. A soft spot underfoot usually means a soft joist below.
- House connection
The joint with the house wall is checked, because water there damages both the deck and the wall.
- Frame repaired first
Rotted joists and beams are repaired before new boards hide them again.
- Water off the wood
Joist tape and gaps between boards let the frame dry after rain and snowmelt.
- Old lumber out
Old boards and rotted framing are hauled away as the work goes, so the yard stays usable.
- Finish on clean wood
Sealer or stain goes on boards that have been cleaned down, so it soaks in evenly.
- Deck boardsReplaced where worn, or cleaned and sealed where the wood is still sound.Fastened to the framing
- Joists and beamsProbed for soft wood and repaired before new boards go on.Checked level
- FootingsChecked for movement: one footing that drops shows across the whole deck.Bearing on firm ground
- Ground under the deckLooked at for standing water that keeps the frame wet.To firm ground
What we build
Deck repair and staining: the work we take on
Deck resurfacing
Old decking taken off, the frame checked and repaired, and new boards laid, notched around posts and finished with a border board.
Frame repair
With the boards off, rotted or damaged joists and beams found and repaired, and the connection to the house checked.
Joist protection
Tape on the tops of the joists before the new boards go down, so water does not sit on the wood under the decking.
Cleaning, sealing and staining
Weathered boards, railings, stairs and privacy screens cleaned down, then sealed or stained in one pass for an even finish.
Stairs and railings
Loose stairs supported at the bottom and squared to the deck, wobbly railings fixed at their posts or replaced.
Privacy screens and skirts
Lattice skirts and privacy screens cleaned and refinished with the deck, or rebuilt where they have broken, so the whole structure finishes in one tone.
Edges and borders
Broken border boards and fascia replaced, and the edge finished where the deck meets a patio or the lawn.
Real projects
Decks repaired and refinished
Korvex jobs where an existing deck was kept: resurfaced over a repaired frame, or cleaned and sealed.
Weathered deck cleaned and sealed
A grey, stained deck, its stairs and its lattice privacy screen cleaned down and sealed.
View project“Work completed within 24hours of request. Very quick. Friendly. Deck looks great.”
Carl Lanthier · Deck clean & seal · Orleans
The job in this review: Weathered deck cleaned and sealed
Related services
Often built together
Service areas
Deck repair and staining across the Ottawa area
Soil, lot grading rules and house age change from one part of Ottawa to the next. Here is what that means for this work in each area.
On request: Gloucester, Carp, Richmond, Russell, Embrun. To check your street, call or text 613-880-7679.
- KanataBeaverbrook and older streets
Beaverbrook’s first street, Tiffany Crescent, dates to 1964, and the area is known for its hedged houses. A rebuild on these lots works around established hedges, trees and older footings.
- BarrhavenFirst streets and new phases
The first subdivision houses along Larkin Drive date to the late 1960s and early 1970s, while Half Moon Bay is one of the newer areas. Older yards come with existing structures to remove, newer ones with a recent grading plan to follow.
- NepeanPost-war lots
Qualicum-Graham Park was built in the 1960s on large lots, and Trend-Arlington was developed from the 1960s to the 1980s. Wider yards leave room for bigger decks and patios with a proper slope away from the house.
- OrleansFirmer ground near the edges
Around the edges of Orleans and in a few central spots the ground is firmer, in places a thin layer of soil over bedrock. Two yards a few streets apart can need different footing plans.
FAQ
What homeowners ask about deck repair and staining
Is my deck worth repairing, or should it be rebuilt?
It is worth repairing when the footings hold and most of the frame is sound: new boards, a few repaired joists, fixed stairs and railings give you years more. A rebuild is the better spend when footings have moved or rot runs through much of the frame. Korvex checks the frame and footings first and tells you which side of that line your deck is on. Either way, the quote says plainly which parts are being repaired and why.
How do you check the frame without tearing the deck apart?
We look from underneath where there is room, probe the joists, beams and posts for soft wood, and check the footings and the connection to the house. Where the boards hide what matters, a few come up. A soft or springy spot underfoot points to where to look first. We also look at the ground under the deck: standing water or soil heaped against the posts keeps the frame wet.
Why are my deck boards soft and rotting?
Water stays on the wood. Boards laid tight, debris packed between them and frames with no air under them keep the wood wet after every rain and every thaw, and the tops of the joists rot under the boards. When Korvex resurfaces a deck, the joists are taped before new boards go down, and the boards are gapped so the frame can dry. Boards that have cupped or split along their length also hold water in their dips, which speeds the rot.
Do you clean, seal and stain decks?
Yes. Korvex cleans weathered decks down, boards, railings, stairs and privacy screens included, and seals or stains the cleaned surface so it finishes in one even tone. On a deck in Orleans, the boards, railings, stairs and lattice privacy screen were cleaned and sealed in one pass, and a cedar deck we rebuilt was stained once the new surface was down. Ask at the estimate which finish suits your deck.
How often does a wood deck need sealing or staining?
Wood decks need staining or sealing every few years to hold their colour and keep shedding water. Sun-facing boards and stairs wear fastest. When the wood turns grey or water stops beading on it, the finish has worn through, and a clean and seal brings it back before the boards start to check.
My stairs and railing are loose. Can they be fixed on their own?
Often, yes. Stairs usually loosen because the bottom of the stringers has lost its support or the top has pulled away from the deck, and railings because their posts have worked loose. Korvex supports the stringers, squares the stairs to the deck and fixes or replaces the railing posts, after checking the frame they connect to. A railing that moves when you lean on it is worth fixing before the deck sees another summer of use.
Does a deck repair need a building permit?
The City of Ottawa requires a permit for a deck attached to or next to the house once its walking surface is more than 600 mm (24 in.) above grade, for a raised deck that gives the main access to the house, and for a freestanding deck over 10 m² and more than 600 mm high. At the estimate, Korvex looks at what your repair changes against those rules.
When can a deck be repaired or stained in Ottawa?
Board and frame repairs can go ahead on most dry days. Sealers and stains need temperatures above freezing to set, so finishing a deck is a spring-to-fall job. Wet boards also have to dry before a finish goes on, so a rainy week can move the staining day. The schedule comes with the written quote.
Book a free deck repair estimate
Tell us what you want built and send a few photos. We come out, look at what sits under the job, and give you the scope and the price in writing.