Deck Repair & Remodeling

Not every tired deck needs to come down. A deck with a sound frame and worn boards, a railing that has worked loose, or stairs that have gone soft is a repair, and often a small one. Osnova Construction repairs, resurfaces and remodels decks across Glendale Heights, Wheaton, Naperville, Aurora and the rest of the western suburbs, and we tell you plainly when a repair is throwing good money after bad.

Start with two photos, the underside and where the deck meets the house. We reply with a first opinion and a rough scope, usually the same day, before anyone drives out. Send us a photo.

The decision comes down to the frame. Boards, railings and stairs are replaceable; a ledger that is rotting into the house or posts that have heaved out of shallow footings are not worth building on. Every visit starts with a screwdriver in the joist ends and a look behind the ledger.

Why small deck jobs come to Osnova

• We take the small ones. A few boards or one stair stringer is a real job here, booked and done, not a call that never gets returned.
• You get the honest call. If the frame is gone we say so, and we quote the rebuild next to the repair so you can compare.
• Resurfacing is our specialty. The 1,000 square foot West Chicago deck and the Aurora composite remodel in our gallery both kept their frames.
• Licensed, insured, written workmanship warranty, even on a one-day repair.

Repairs we do most

• Rotten or split boards: replaced and matched as closely as the age of the deck allows.
• Loose or rotted railing posts: re-anchored through solid framing with through-bolts and tension ties, or replaced.
• Soft stairs: new stringers and treads, with the landing checked for frost heave.
• Rotted joists and rim boards: sistered or replaced, with the ledger flashed if it never was.
• Sinking posts: a proper footing poured under a post that was sitting on a block.

Resurfacing: a new deck on your old frame

The most rewarding job on this page. If the frame passes inspection, we strip every board and the railing and lay new decking, almost always composite, with a matching or black aluminum railing. The deck looks and performs like new for a fraction of a rebuild, because the footings, permit-scale work and framing are already done. The one condition is joist spacing: composite wants 16 inches on center, and we add joists where the old frame was built at 24.

Remodeling

Sometimes the deck is fine and the layout is wrong. Stairs on the wrong side, no shade, a railing that blocks the view, too small for the table you now own. We rebuild stairs, add a level, extend the footprint on new footings, swap wood railing for glass or cable, and build a pergola over the sitting area. A remodel that extends the deck needs a permit; changing the surface and railing usually does not, and we will confirm with your village.

When we will tell you to replace instead

Rot in the ledger or the wall behind it. Posts you can push over by hand. More than about a third of the joists soft at the ends. A deck from before flashing and hangers were standard. In those cases the repair bill approaches the rebuild, and the rebuild comes with new footings and a warranty. That is a deck replacement, and we do those too.

How long repairs take

Board and railing repairs are typically a day. Stair rebuilds and post work, one to two. A full resurfacing of an average deck runs three to five days, with no permit wait in most villages.

Ready for the on-site look instead? Request a free estimate and we will check the frame, measure and quote in one visit.