Deck Restoration in Lisle, IL

Lisle sits in that stretch of DuPage County where the older neighborhoods have mature trees and decks that have been quietly losing the fight against freeze-thaw cycles for years. The pressure-treated pine deck at this home was about 200 square feet — single level with stairs — and the surface told the whole story on arrival: a hard, failed coating that resisted stripping, railing assemblies that had gone soft at the base, and floor boards that flexed underfoot in a way that meant rot had already moved into the framing. The customer knew the deck needed serious work, but the full extent of what was underneath wouldn't be clear until we got into it.

We soft-washed the entire deck first, including the accessible undercarriage, then power-washed to strip the old coating — stubborn in places, requiring extra passes before the wood came clean. What the wash exposed was worse than the estimate had anticipated: 17 floor boards and 10 joists had deteriorated past the point of saving. The customer approved the additional scope, and we replaced all of it, sistering new joists to the existing framing where they ran into the wall and replacing 10 deck boards and one lower rail 2x6. The original staircase was demolished and rebuilt entirely — new treated pine stringers, treads, risers, blocking, and structural fastening hardware on a reinforced frame. We matched about six linear feet of new stair railing to the original profile, then built a custom privacy railing section at the landing with a slat layout that keeps airflow while adding screening, fitted with an exterior-grade access door on corrosion-resistant hinges and latch hardware. All new support posts were secured to the ground and concrete with pressure-treated lumber and corrosion-resistant fasteners throughout. After full power sanding of horizontal surfaces and hand sanding on the verticals, we applied one coat of Benjamin Moore WoodLuxe solid stain, color-matched to the existing finish so the rebuilt staircase reads as part of the original deck.