Remediate Deck Ledger? Or, Demolish and Rebuild?
We bought a house that was recently remodeled before our purchase, including a new deck that was installed a couple months before we moved in. The inspector told us it was missing flashing around the deck ledger board and that it was not properly bolted to the house. At the time, he told us remediation would be fine.
Now that we’ve moved in, I’ve had a few contractors out for quotes, and every one of them has first said, “You need to demo this and rebuild it.” They’ve reluctantly given me quotes for adding flashing and bolts instead, but all of them are encouraging a full rebuild.
The inspector also failed to notice a large hole cut into the ledger board for the clothes dryer vent, which the contractors are also telling me is a problem.
The deck is entirely new pressure-treated wood, and we just spent a lot on this house, so we’re trying to decide whether to go further into debt to rebuild it now or remediate it by adding flashing/bolts and rebuild it properly in a few years once we’re more settled.
We’ve had a lot of rain recently, but I haven’t seen any evidence of water getting into the house yet. The basement is partially finished, and in the unfinished laundry room I’m planning to buy a moisture meter and pull back the insulation to check the exterior wall there.
Thank you to anyone with more experience than us for any advice you can give.
[ UPDATE ] Responding to some great comments. Thank you! ❤️
The deck is 15' x 20' and elevated to the second floor. I added more photos here if anyone is interested. I took close-up photos of ledger, anything that looked wrong to me, a photo of nails I'm find around the deck if they are the right size and one overall photo for reference. I can provide specific photo requests in the comments if that's helpful.