Our deck is attached to the back of the house and I finally

[John]

Hello all. Our deck is attached to the back of the house and I finally got around to looking at how it connects. Pulled back some of the trim and the band of wood the deck bolts into looks dark and soft in a couple of spots. The deck itself feels solid and we’ve had ten people on it without a problem, but now that I’ve seen this I don’t want anyone standing on it. Am I being paranoid here, or is this exactly the thing everyone warns about? Seattle, deck is maybe fifteen years old and I don’t think it’s ever been inspected. How urgent is this?

[Konstantin]

You’re not being paranoid. That band is the rim joist, and deck failures overwhelmingly happen at that connection rather than in the deck framing itself. A deck can feel completely solid right up until the ledger connection lets go, because the fasteners are holding into wood that no longer grips. Keep people off it until it’s evaluated, that part is genuinely worth taking seriously. Repairs to that connection fall under igotrot.com/seattle-wa-wood-frame-repair/ – GotRot handles load-bearing repairs and the deck side too, with a twenty-four month workmanship warranty. Ask them to check the flashing above the ledger while they’re in there.