CASE STUDY · LEBANON, PA · 4 DAYS
New Deck, Old Bones: A Composite Resurfacing in Lebanon
JOB CARD
Two contractors had already told the owners of this Lebanon deck the same thing: tear it all down, start over, five figures. The boards were genuinely finished, gray and splintering past the point of sanding. But nobody had crawled underneath, and underneath was where this deck was quietly saving its owners eight thousand dollars.
The frame was fine. Built well twenty years ago, protected from the worst weather by the boards that had sacrificed themselves above it. This is the deck resurfacing scenario, the best value move in exterior work and the one least offered, because replacing everything writes a bigger invoice with less explaining.
The inspection that decides everything
Resurfacing only works over a frame that earns it, so we probed every joist, checked the ledger flashing and bolts, and shook the posts like an insurance adjuster with a grudge. This frame passed everywhere it counts: solid wood at every probe, a ledger properly bolted, footings that had not moved since the Clinton administration.
One thing needed correction: the joists ran at 16 inch spacing, fine for the old wood but at the limit for some composite. The specific boards the owners chose were rated for it, and we added blocking at the butt joints, where composite needs support wood never asked for. Checking the decking manufacturer's span chart before committing is the step that separates resurfacing from regret.
Same afternoon shade, new twenty year surface
Old boards off, frame checked and corrected, joist tape down over every top edge, then composite with hidden fasteners and a picture frame border. Joist tape is a cheap detail that keeps water out of the screw penetrations, the exact spot where good frames start dying. The railing went to a matching composite system, because gray boards with the old weathered rail is a haircut with the old glasses.
Four days, no footing work, no permit drama, no dumpster full of structure. The NADRA deck safety checklist is still worth an annual walk underneath any deck, resurfaced or not, and we handed the owners a copy with the warranty paperwork.
Resurfacing math for your own deck
Resurfacing runs $25 to $45 per square foot against $60 to $95 for full composite replacement, per the ranges on our deck building page. The gate is entirely structural: if the frame fails inspection, resurfacing is money stapled to a countdown, and we will show you the rot on camera rather than sell you boards over it. Our full decision guide lives in Refinish, Resurface or Rebuild.
SHOT ON SITE BY OUR CREW. NO STOCK, NO STAGING.