Who to hire for a deck that has rotted

Short answer

A carpenter or builder. The distinction that matters is between deck boards, which are a replaceable surface, and the structure below — joists, bearers, posts and the ledger fixed to the house — which is what collapses. Deck and balcony failures are a documented cause of serious injury in Australia, and the ledger connection is the most common failure point.

Soon, not tonightIt will not usually get cheaper by waiting, and it is rarely worth an after-hours rate.

When it is someone else

Calling the wrong trade costs an attendance fee to be told so. These are the cases where this problem belongs to someone other than a Builder.

  • a painter

    it is sound but grey and tired. Cleaning, sanding and re-oiling is a fraction of the cost of rebuilding.

What to do before anyone arrives

  1. Push a screwdriver into the timber at the places water sits: the ends of boards, the tops of posts, and especially where the deck meets the house. Soft timber that takes the blade easily is rotten.
  2. Look under the deck at the bearers and at the ledger fixed to the wall. Rust-stained fixings and damp timber against the house are the warning signs.
  3. Check the balustrade by leaning on it — firmly, while holding something else.
  4. Note the height above ground, because that decides whether building approval applies.

What to ask when you book

  • Is the structure sound or is it boards only?
  • How is the ledger fixed to the house, and is it flashed?
  • Does this need approval and compliant balustrade at this height?
  • What timber or product are you using and what is its durability class in this exposure?

What changes the price

No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.

  • Boards only versus structure.
  • Height, and whether approval and a compliant balustrade are triggered.
  • Access underneath for the work.
  • Material choice — hardwood, treated pine and composite differ substantially.

What you can do yourself

Is this licensed work?

Structural building work, licensed above a threshold. A deck above a certain height generally also requires building approval and compliant balustrading.

There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.

Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.

Common questions

Who should I hire for a deck that has rotted
A carpenter or builder. The distinction that matters is between deck boards, which are a replaceable surface, and the structure below — joists, bearers, posts and the ledger fixed to the house — which is what collapses. Deck and balcony failures are a documented cause of serious injury in Australia, and the ledger connection is the most common failure point.
How do decks collapse?
Most often at the connection to the house. Water gets behind the ledger board because it was not flashed, the timber and the fixings corrode out of sight, and the deck separates from the wall under load — typically when a lot of people are standing on it at once. It is the part you cannot see and the part worth having inspected.

Find a Builder near you

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Who to hire for

General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.