Deck Repair in Mountain View

Smaller yards mean decks built close to fences and planting — moisture held at posts and rim joists from both sides. The ledger stays priority one, as everywhere; post bases and the fence-side rim joist are the Mountain View-specific second look.

The exemption is worth reading slowly, because every one of its parts has to be true at once for it to apply. Under 200 square feet and not more than 30 inches above grade at any point and not attached to the dwelling and not serving the required exit door. Fail any single one and the deck is on the permit side.

In practice that is most decks people actually have. A deck attached to the back of the house is attached, whatever its size; a deck stepping down a sloping yard can be under 30 inches at the door and well over it at the far corner, because the threshold is measured at any point rather than at the entrance. None of this touches a like-for-like repair, which is why the distinction between repairing what is there and changing it is the one worth getting straight first.

Boards go one at a time — they fail at ends and fastenings, not across the middle. A soft joist gets sistered rather than replaced wholesale. The rim joist on the fence side, where two damp sources meet, is the one to catch early: while it is a section it is a section, and once it is the length of the deck edge it is the deck edge.

Ledger and joists from below if reachable, worst boards, any railing that moves — through the form for a range and a straight repair-vs-rebuild call.