My neighbor's deck collapsed because he didn't check the ledger board

I was helping my neighbor, Frank, clean up after a storm in his backyard in Springfield, and he pointed to his old deck, saying 'It's held up for 20 years, it's fine.' Two weeks later, the whole thing pulled away from the house during a cookout because the ledger board was rotten and not flashed right. Has anyone else had to fix a ledger board attachment, and what's the best way to seal it against water?

2 comments

2 Comments

perez.elliot1mo ago

Oh man, that's rough! My buddy had a similar scare when his deck started sagging, and the whole problem was a rusted ledger board. He ended up using a proper flashing tape over the new board before bolting it back on, and it's been solid ever since. Water just finds a way in if you don't seal it up tight.

derek_burns1mo ago

Yeah, my deck's ledger board is probably held together by hope and rust.