Wood decks make for great outdoor living spaces and provide a dedicated area to entertain guests. Though these are generally sturdy structures, over the years, the weather elements and use cause them to become worn out. While it’s possible to replace planks here and there, eventually, the entire structure will have to be torn down and removed from the home.
Attached Wood Deck Removal Guide
You will need several tools and at least one set of helping hands to tear up your wood deck. Gather your tools and safety gear, including: heavy boots, heavy leather gloves, eye protection, a dust mask, claw hammer, band sledgehammer, socket wrench and sockets, power drill-driver, pry bar, circular saw, and shovel.
…if you have extensive [deck] damage, with numerous rotting joists or bad beams, soft deck boards or rotting ledger boards, you may have no choice but to rip the whole thing out and rebuild. —Old House Web.com
After you’ve put on your safety gear, you can begin to disassemble the deck, starting with the handrails, if applicable:
- Unfasten the top of the rail using a power drill driver or a pry bar. Once the handrails have been removed you can use any sledgehammer to knock down the balusters, those vertical studs attached to the base running perpendicular across the top of the planks. You might be able to jostle these loose by hand or with a hammer.
- Remove the base from the deck planks, unfastening the screws or prying the nails holding it in-place.
- After the base of the railing system has been taken-up, pry the floor planks off the frame, one by one.
- Separate the joists from the rim by prying them apart from one another.
- Unfasten the ledger board from the exterior of your home by loosening the bolts with a socket wrench.
- Disassemble the rest of the frame, or cut it apart using a circular saw, leaving only the support posts protruding from the ground.
The support posts will likely be sunk into the ground about three feet, surrounded by concrete footers. These will have to be dug up by hand or with a skid steer. Backfill the holes and pack down the dirt.
Wood Deck Disposal How-To
Because the wood was treated to repel water and might have been treated with another sealant, it should not be cut up and burned. To dispose of the wood, phone a junk removal service to pickup all the debris and haul it away. This will less laborious and won’t cost more money to rent a truck or trailer and pay dumping fees.
If you need deck debris removal, just phone 800-433-1094 or visit
AAA Rousse Services.
