Rot & Damage Repair North County San Diego
Balcony Wood Rot Repair and Rebuild
A second-story balcony with failed joists and a rotted railing rebuilt with new structure, a new railing, and a finish that matches the house.
The project
The balcony railing had been losing pickets for a while, but the real problem was underneath: the exposed joist ends and the ledger area had rotted where water had been sitting for years. Cosmetic repair was not an option.
Levi removed the railing and decking, cut back every joist to sound wood, sistered and replaced framing as needed, flashed the connection to the wall properly, and rebuilt the railing with a cleaner picket pattern and a sturdier top rail. The new work was finished in two tones to tie into the trim and the stucco.
Before & After
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Materials, challenges and highlights
Materials and finishes
- Pressure-treated replacement framing
- New flashing at the wall connection
- Kiln-dried railing stock, primed and painted
- Stainless and hot-dip galvanized fasteners
Highlights
- Structural repair, not a cosmetic patch
- Proper flashing added where there was none
- Railing redesigned for code-compliant spacing
- Finish matched to existing trim
Challenges and solutions
Working at height on a small footprint, and finding more damage once the decking came up than was visible from the ground. Levi scoped the hidden structure first so the owner had a complete picture before the work started.
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