Deck Maintenance
Tom Hanks, owner, 24/7 Express Handyman Service · Updated September 2026
Check the ledger board, the fasteners and the railing each spring — that's where a deck actually fails first.
Start where the deck meets the house
The ledger board — the piece bolted to the house that the rest of the deck hangs from — is the single most common point of structural failure. Look for water staining, soft wood, or flashing that's pulled away, and check that the lag bolts are still tight.
Every board and post connection is worth a walk-through: loose screws, popped nails, and any post that rocks when you push it are all cheap to fix in spring and expensive to ignore into fall.
The railing is not optional
A railing that flexes more than an inch or two under firm hand pressure has a loose post connection somewhere, and that's a safety issue, not a cosmetic one — it's the first thing worth fixing on the whole structure.
After the structural check, the rest is maintenance: re-seal or re-stain a wood deck every one to three years depending on sun exposure, and clear leaves and debris from between boards so water actually drains instead of sitting.
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