You walked out back, a board flexed under your foot, and now you are working out whether this is a Saturday problem or a five-figure problem. The rule we use: if the frame is sound and the trouble is on the surface, repair it. If the ledger board, joists, or posts are rotted, or the repair quote lands above roughly half the cost of a new deck, replace it. In Jacksonville, sanding and re-staining runs $2 to $4 per square foot, swapping rotten deck boards runs $400 to $900, re-decking over a sound frame runs $18 to $30 per square foot in pressure-treated pine and $30 to $55 in composite, and a full tear-out and rebuild runs $35 to $70 per square foot.
Most of our work is building decks rather than selling repair contracts, so we have no reason to push you toward the expensive answer. Plenty of the decks we look at have years left in them.
The five red flags that mean replacement, not repair
Take a flashlight and a flat-head screwdriver under the deck. Ten minutes tells you most of what a contractor will tell you.
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Get under the deck and look for these five things
- The ledger is nailed, not bolted. The ledger holds the deck to the house. Nail heads instead of through-bolts, or no flashing on the top edge, is among the most dangerous defects a deck can have. Dark streaks on the siding above it mean water got behind it years ago.
- Rot on the top edge of the joists. Water sits on the flat top of every joist, under the gaps in your boards. Probe near the hangers: if the screwdriver sinks a quarter inch under thumb pressure, that joist is decayed, not weathered.
- Soft post bases. Posts sitting on soil or damp sandy fill rot from the bottom up, invisibly. Two bad posts and the deck is no longer carrying load as designed.
- Rot at the fastener line. Boards cupping around every screw mean the hardware corroded and took the wood with it. Much faster at the Beaches, where salt air goes after most hardware that is not hot-dipped galvanized or stainless.
- The frame moves. Stand mid-span and rock your weight. Sway means lost bracing. Bounce means undersized joists.
One red flag is usually a repair. Two or more on a deck past ten years old and you are usually rebuilding whether you like it or not.
What each path costs in Jacksonville
| Work | Typical Jacksonville cost | When it is the right call |
|---|---|---|
| Clean, sand, re-stain | $2 to $4 per sq ft ($600 to $1,200 on 300 sq ft) | Frame and boards both probe solid |
| Replace 5 to 15 rotten deck boards | $400 to $900 | Isolated rot, known water source |
| Railing replacement | $25 to $50 per linear ft in wood, $60 to $150 in aluminum or composite | Wobbly or below-code guardrail |
| Ledger reflash or structural repair | $800 to $2,500 | One defect, everything else healthy |
| Full re-deck over an existing frame | $18 to $30 per sq ft pine, $30 to $55 composite | Frame passes, surface is finished |
| Full tear-out and rebuild | $35 to $70 per sq ft | Structural rot, or repairs above half of rebuild |
On a 300 square foot deck, refinishing costs under $1,200 and buys two years before the Florida sun takes the finish back. A rebuild costs $10,500 to $21,000 and buys fifteen to thirty.
When we tell people not to replace
Under eight years old and only looks bad
Gray boards are UV damage, not decay. Pressure wash, sand, seal, and spend $900 instead of $15,000.
The rot is in one corner, under a downspout or a planter
Fix the water and the wood stops rotting. If you get standing water after every storm, read why water pools on decks after rain first.
Your budget for a 300 square foot deck is under $8,000
A full rebuild rarely lands at that number here, since the table above puts a 300 square foot rebuild at $10,500 and up. Refinish now and do it properly in two or three years rather than paying twice.
Why Northeast Florida decks fail sooner than the brochure says
Jacksonville averages roughly 52 inches of rain a year, and our humidity holds wood at a moisture content decay fungus is perfectly happy with. Add relentless UV, subterranean termites that find any post in ground contact, sandy soil that stays damp against footings, and Duval County design wind loads near 130 mph, and the national lifespan numbers stop applying.
Pressure-treated pine decking lasts 10 to 15 years here, the frame 15 to 20 if the ledger was flashed and the posts stayed off the dirt, composite 25 to 30. That is why so many replacements around here go back in as composite, and we compared the two in what type of deck lasts the longest.
The Duval County permit line
Swapping boards and re-staining is maintenance and generally needs no permit. Touch the ledger, joists, beams, posts, or footings and you are in permit and inspection territory, with the repair required to meet current Florida Building Code, including guardrails on any surface over 30 inches above grade. Once you are paying for permits and code-compliant custom deck railings, the gap between a serious repair and a clean rebuild narrows fast.
FAQ
What is the average cost to repair a deck?
Is it better to repair or replace a deck?
How to fix rotted wood on a deck?
Can a handyman repair a deck?
Will homeowners insurance cover deck repair?
What is the most expensive part of a deck?
How much does a 14×20 deck cost?
What accounts for 90% of deck collapses?
What is the lifespan of a wood deck?
Get a straight answer before you spend anything
If you want a second opinion on whether your deck is done, we will come out, probe the frame, check the ledger, and tell you which side of the line you are on. If it is a refinish, we will say so rather than talk you into a rebuild you do not need. If it has reached the end, you get a written number for full deck replacement and installation in Jacksonville alongside rebuilding in composite decking, so you can see the fifteen-year cost and not just the sticker price. Assessment first, decision second, no pressure.
Written By:
Coastal Outdoor Construction
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