Utah's freeze-thaw cycle works on every deck. Wood and fasteners expand and contract through the seasons, and water that gets into cracks and end grain freezes and widens them. Most deck damage starts at those open grain and fastener points long before a board looks bad from above.
The ledger, the board that ties an attached deck to the house, is where most serious deck failures start. Water behind a poorly flashed ledger rots the rim joist and loosens the fasteners holding the deck up, and it often looks fine from the surface. Stains or gaps where the deck meets the house, or a deck that moves when you walk across it, are reasons to have it inspected before anything else gets repaired.
Posts that sit in wet soil, or on concrete without proper standoffs, rot from the bottom up, and shallow footings can heave when the ground freezes. Footings in this area go below the frost line, typically 30 inches or more, and on a sloped foothill lot the soil and drainage matter too. We check post bases, footing depth where we can see it, and whether the frame is still worth saving.
Decks more than 30 inches above grade need a guardrail, commonly at least 36 inches tall, and the railing has to hold when someone leans on it. A wobbly rail, soft stair stringers or loose treads are safety repairs rather than cosmetic ones, so they come first. We repair or replace them so they hold, rather than just tightening what's loose.

Elevation from public records; snow load method from the Utah State University and Structural Engineers Association of Utah ground snow load map. Permit guidance is general; confirm your specific repair with Draper City.
We price a repair after we inspect the deck, because decks that look alike can need very different work. Damaged boards, a loose railing or a resurface are straightforward jobs. A rotted ledger, joists or posts can mean a partial rebuild, and sometimes replacing the whole deck costs less than patching a failing frame. We'll tell you which one it is before you spend anything, and your free quote covers the work, the price and the schedule.
Built along the Wasatch Front

Support posts on an elevated deck we built. See our full project gallery for more of our work.

Tell us what you're seeing: soft boards, a loose railing, a sagging section. We'll inspect it, tell you whether it needs a repair, a resurface or a rebuild, and send a free quote. You can also call 435-660-1944.
Start My ProjectSoft or spongy boards, a wobbly railing, rusted or loose fasteners, stains or gaps where the deck meets the house, and sagging or bouncy sections are the common signs. If the posts, joists and ledger are sound, repair or resurfacing is usually the better value. If they're rotted or the ledger is failing, a rebuild is safer.
It depends on the scope. Replacing a few boards with the same material generally doesn't need a permit, but structural work such as replacing a ledger, joist or post usually does, and changing stairs or railings can too. Draper's permit checklists come up in its online portal when you start an application, so we confirm what your repair needs with Draper City's Building Division before we start rather than assume.
Yes, when the frame is sound. We can replace damaged boards, railings and stairs, or resurface the whole deck over a solid frame. When the frame isn't worth saving, we'll say so plainly and quote the rebuild instead.
Treat it as a safety issue now, not something for next season. A railing is what stops a fall, so keep people off that section until it's fixed. It's often a quick repair once someone looks at the posts and connections.
Yes. We inspect the existing framing, ledger and footings first and tell you what's sound and what isn't, whoever built it.
See our deck remodels page, browse the Draper service area, or read about the signs of deck collapse.Planning a new deck instead? See our Draper deck builders page.