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Price the repairs item by item — boards, joists, posts, railing, stairs — and see whether replacing makes more sense.
With these inputs:
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Contractor repair cost | $270 – $510 |
| New deck the same size | $3,840 – $4,800 |
| Repairs as share of replacing | 9% |
| Verdict | Repair — well under the cost of a new deck |
| 6 deck boards | $270 – $510 |
Planning ranges per item, including removal and disposal when a contractor does it; most carpenters charge a minimum for a small call-out. Hidden rot is the usual surprise — probe joist tops and post bases with a screwdriver before you get quotes. Any repair to a ledger, post or beam should be checked against local code and may need a permit.
Deck repairs are priced by the piece, not by the square foot: so many boards, so many joists sistered, a post or two, a run of railing. Enter what needs fixing and this adds it up, then compares the total with the cost of a new deck the same size, because once repairs pass about half the price of replacement most homeowners are better off rebuilding.
Most repairs are priced by the piece. As a planning range a contractor charges roughly $45–$85 to replace a pressure-treated deck board, $90–$160 for a composite one, $150–$350 to sister a joist, $300–$700 to replace a post, $30–$60 per foot of railing and $800–$2,000 to re-flash and re-bolt a ledger — plus a minimum call-out charge.
A common rule of thumb is to price replacement once repairs reach about half the cost of a new deck, or when the framing itself — joists, beam, ledger or posts — is rotting in more than a few places. New boards on tired framing only buy a few years.
Yes. Pull the damaged boards, check the joist tops underneath, and fit new boards the same thickness. New wood will look different from weathered boards until it greys or is stained; composite colours drift between production runs, so buy from the same line if you can.
Sudden damage — a fallen tree, a storm, a fire — is often covered. Rot, insect damage and wear are maintenance and usually are not. Check your policy and photograph the damage before you start.
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