Complain about a 7-year-old deck that is already rotting?

PBord · 8 Sep 2022 at 4:11 PM

What do you think about this? I hired a carpenter to rebuild an old deck and we replaced the entire railing and posts, which were built with untreated wood because the correct dimensions are not available as treated. Some parts of the deck railing are now rotting. It's not that you'll fall down yet, but the wood is soft and you can pick away rotten wood pieces. The problem as I see it is that the carpenter didn't protect the end grains at all before assembling it, it was just painted afterwards (with facade paint Alcro Bestå) as a finished construction. I mentioned it then too, but as I recall, he said there wasn't time for that. Alternatively, he would have to charge for doing it himself, but he said it wasn't necessary. My gut feeling then was that this is bad. But at the same time, it's not something I know about... but isn't it obvious that you oil or otherwise protect the end grains before building? How would you have done it? Is it possible to file a complaint?

mattias1343 · 8 Sep 2022 at 4:17 PM

You probably have nothing to add, you yourself say you knew it probably should be done but still you refrained, is it your fault or his? Did you seek further info from other sources since you didn't fully trust the craftsman after all?

What maintenance have you done in these 7 years and how often?

PBord · 8 Sep 2022 at 4:22 PM

M mattias1343 said:
You probably have nothing to come with, you say yourself you knew it probably should be done but still refrained, is it your fault or his? Did you seek further info from elsewhere since you didn't fully trust the craftsman?

What maintenance have you done on these 7 years and how often?

You're right, of course, but my thought is that if it's normal to always protect end grains, then maybe I can get him to help me replace the railing. The problem is the end grains, and these can't be maintained. I don't understand your last question, you don't paint more often than every seven years, right?

Utsliten och utdömd · 8 Sep 2022 at 4:27 PM

I don't believe that "there was a lack of oil" is the biggest problem. I would say it's the choice of paint for that purpose. Plastic paint on all surfaces where there can be standing water will lead to rot.

PBord · 8 Sep 2022 at 4:30 PM

U Utsliten och utdömd said:
I don't think "there was no oil" is the biggest problem. I would say it's the choice of paint for that purpose. Plastic paint on all surfaces where there may be standing water will lead to rot.

Aha, thanks. I didn't know that. That might explain...hmmm.

PBord · 8 Sep 2022 at 4:33 PM

U Utsliten och utdömd said:
I don't think "there was a lack of oil" is the biggest problem. I would say it's the choice of paint for that purpose. Plastic paint on all surfaces where there might be standing water will lead to rot.

I think the carpenter should have mentioned something about this, that is, the choice of wood protection...or??

Utsliten och utdömd · 8 Sep 2022 at 4:39 PM

P PBord said:
I think the carpenter should have said something about this, i.e., choice of wood protection...or??

I thought you said he was a carpenter?

Jonatan79 · 8 Sep 2022 at 5:49 PM

Who painted and why do you paint porch railings that can only be oiled or scrubbed with soap…

Holmspel · 8 Sep 2022 at 5:54 PM

Jonatan79 said:
Who painted and why do you paint porch railings that you can only oil or scrub with soap…

Because maybe you want a specific color on the Untreated wood? dumb question….

Jonatan79 · 8 Sep 2022 at 6:13 PM

H Holmspel said:
Because you might want a specific color on the unprinted timber? dumb question….

No, now I wasn't asking you Adolf!

Holmspel · 8 Sep 2022 at 7:35 PM

Jonatan79 said:
No, now I didn't ask you Adolf!

Tough guy!

Jonatan79 · 8 Sep 2022 at 7:35 PM

H Holmspel said:
Tough guy!

Kiss!

Villaägarenr1 · 8 Sep 2022 at 7:36 PM

P PBord said:
What do you think about this? I hired a carpenter to remodel an old patio and we replaced the entire railing and posts which were built with untreated wood because the right dimensions are not available as treated. Part of the patio railing is now rotting. It's not to the point where you risk falling off yet, but the wood is soft and you can pick away rotten wood parts. The problem as I see it is that the carpenter did not protect the end grains at all before he constructed it, it was only painted afterwards (with facade paint Alcro Bestå) as a finished construction. I mentioned it then too, but as I remember it, he said that there wasn't time for it. Alternatively, he mentioned he would need to charge to do it himself but said it wasn't necessary. My gut feeling then was that this was bad. But at the same time, it's not something I know... but isn't it obvious that you oil or somehow protect end grains before you build? How would you have done it? Can it be complained about?

Oh please. You knew it was wrong, let it be for 7 years.

What you can't. How can you then sit and write that it's incorrect?

BirgitS · 8 Sep 2022 at 8:32 PM

V Villaägarenr1 said:
You knew it was wrong, let it be so for 7 years.

No, TS didn't know because the carpenter said it was correct.
Since when is it worse to believe a craftsman telling the truth than to be a craftsman who lies?

Villaägarenr1 · 8 Sep 2022 at 8:35 PM

BirgitS said:
No, TS didn't know that because the carpenter said it was correct. Since when is it worse to believe that a tradesman is telling the truth than to be a tradesman who lies?

Is it the tradesman's fault that ts doesn't maintain their deck? That's something one should understand. Pretty obvious.