Saturday, June 21, 2008

Doing It Right

A recent deck repair revealed improper weatherproofing (actually none). Any time wood meets concrete there should be a barrier to prevent moisture from wicking up into the wood. In the case of this deck, there was no flashing and no caulking so the wood rotted. The subsequent repair used pressure treated lumber, primed and set in a bed of caulk then flashed (also bedded in caulk) to provide the ultimate in waterproofing. Correct weatherproofing is a system. It takes more time and money but once done correctly, you will not have to redo it later.