How We Restored 14 Decks After Last Month's Storm

What a Major Wind Event Does to Seattle Decks

The windstorm that moved through the Puget Sound region last month was a good reminder of how quickly outdoor structures can go from functional to compromised. Our crew responded to 14 deck repair calls in the two weeks following the event. Here is what we found.

The Most Common Damage We Saw

Fallen trees on deck surfaces.

Three of the fourteen calls involved direct tree contact with the deck. In two cases, the deck surface and substructure took the full weight of a substantial branch or trunk. Both required complete teardown and rebuild. In the third case, the tree glanced the railing and outer joist run but left the main structure intact. That one was a targeted repair.

Post failure at the base.

Several decks had posts that were compromised at ground level, where the base had been sitting in moisture for years. The storm loading, the combination of wind force and water weight, was enough to push already weakened posts past their load capacity. A few of these had been showing warning signs that hadn't been acted on.

Ledger pulling from the house.

This is the one that concerns us most from a structural standpoint. Two of the calls involved ledger movement, where the deck connection to the house had shifted under storm load. In one case, the ledger had never been properly flashed, and years of moisture infiltration had significantly weakened the rim joist it was attached to.

Railing damage.

The most common and the most straightforward. Wind loading on railing systems is significant, and several posts had snapped at the base or pulled from the decking surface.

What We Did

For the two full teardowns, we coordinated with the homeowners' insurance adjusters on documentation and scope before starting work. Both projects were permitted and rebuilt with upgraded hardware and proper flashing throughout.

For the structural repairs, post replacements, and ledger work, we addressed the root cause, not just the visible damage. Replacing a snapped post without addressing why it failed at the base means you're rebuilding the same vulnerability.

For railing repairs, most were same-week turnarounds. Straightforward work, but important to address before the next loading event.

The Takeaway

Storm damage is sometimes unavoidable. The severity of it usually isn't. The decks that sustained the most serious damage in this event had one thing in common: deferred maintenance that had been quietly building for years before the storm arrived.

If your deck hasn't been inspected in the last two seasons, now is a good time. Call us at (425) 600-2051.