Deck Replacement
Out with the old deck. In with one that's built to outlast it.
Is It Time to Replace Your Deck?
A deck can look fine from the patio door and be unsafe underneath. Most of the decks we replace in Southeast Michigan were built before 2015 — before Michigan had a specific building code for decks — and they share the same problems: a ledger board nailed to the house with no flashing, posts sitting on or in the ground instead of on footings below the frost line, joists and beams with rot that started years ago, and railings that move when you lean on them. Paint doesn’t fix any of that.
If your deck is 15 years old or more, if the boards are soft, if the stairs feel spongy, or if it has never been inspected, the honest question isn’t “what color should the new boards be?” — it’s whether the structure under them deserves new boards at all. That’s the question a deck replacement starts with, and we answer it before we quote anything.
Replace, Resurface, or Repair? How We Decide
Every project starts with a framing inspection by a NADRA-certified deck inspector, with you standing next to us. We check the ledger, joists, beams, posts and footings for rot, movement and code problems, and we show you everything we find as we find it. Then one of three things is true:
- The frame is sound and will outlast new boards. That’s a candidate for deck resurfacing — new Trex decking and railing on the frame you already have, at a fraction of the cost of a new deck.
- The frame is compromised, undersized for composite, or you want to change the layout. That’s a replacement. Composite decking weighs about two and a half times what wood does, so a tired frame that carried wood for 20 years is not automatically able to carry Trex — and putting a 25- to 50-year board on a frame with five years left is a bad deal for you, which is why we won’t do it. Adding a tier, a hot tub, a pergola or an outdoor kitchen almost always means a new frame too.
- The problems are cosmetic only. We’ll tell you that as well. We don’t do repair work, and we’d rather tell you your deck has years left than sell you one you don’t need.
Above: time-lapse of the old deck coming down, filmed by one of our clients.
Not sure which you’re looking at? Our post on six questions to ask before you resurface an existing deck walks through the same checklist we use.
Why Replace Your Deck With Custom Deck Creations
Because the reason you’re replacing this deck is the reason we build ours differently. The old deck failed underneath — rot at the posts, a ledger that let water in, footings that heaved with the frost. Every deck we build is designed so that doesn’t happen again:
- Rot-proof galvanized steel ground screws instead of poured concrete footings — no excavation, no curing time, no frost heave, and nothing in the ground that can rot.
- Waterproofing on every joist and beam, so the wood frame under your Trex deck lasts as long as the boards on top of it.
- Zero visible face screws — hidden fasteners, so the surface stays smooth and the boards can’t lift around a screw head.
- A ledger done right — through-bolted and flashed. If the old deck let water into the house’s rim joist, we show you and bring it up to code before the new deck goes on.
- Our Lifetime Transferable Workmanship & Materials Warranty — workmanship and materials, for as long as you own the home, transferable to the next owner. It is the only one of its kind in Michigan.
Our Design Consultants aren’t salespeople, the owner personally manages every job, and the project is guaranteed on time and on budget with our No-Surprise Costs Guarantee — the price you sign is the price you pay. Michigan’s most trusted deck builder: 1,000+ decks since 2017, rated 4.9★ on Google by hundreds of homeowners.
What Does Deck Replacement Cost in Michigan?
A deck replacement is a new deck plus the removal of the old one, so it’s priced the same way a new deck is — with one extra line. The 2025 Cost vs. Value Report (Zonda / Journal of Light Construction) puts the national average for a composite deck addition at $25,096, and Trex’s Decks.com resource site puts professional labor at $20–$35 per square foot for a deck contractor on top of $5–$15 per square foot for the boards, with railing at $25–$100+ per linear foot and permits at $100–$500. Tearing out and hauling away the old deck typically adds $5–$10 per square foot.
Two things move that number more than anything else: height (a walkout or second-story deck needs longer posts, more bracing and a full stair run) and railing. Our 2026 deck cost guide breaks all of it down, with every figure sourced.
For your number: the free online estimator prices the new deck in about two minutes, and we add the tear-out at your free in-home consultation, where the price becomes firm and guaranteed.
Find out if it’s time. Request a free in-home consultation — a NADRA-certified deck inspector checks the old deck with you and gives you a firm price for the new one. Or call (734) 931-6700.
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The Deck Replacement Process
Free consultation with a NADRA-certified deck inspector
We come to your home, inspect the framing with you, and give you a plain answer on the spot: resurface or replace. If it’s a replacement, we talk through what you liked and didn’t like about the old deck — that’s the best design brief there is.
Design your new deck
Your Design Consultant brings physical Trex samples to your kitchen table, you pick the color, railing and options, and you approve a 3D design — with the furniture on it — before anything is ordered. Your price is locked in with our No-Surprise Costs Guarantee.
Tear-out and build
We pull the permit, take the old deck down and haul it away, set rot-proof galvanized steel ground screws instead of digging and pouring new footings, and build your new Trex deck — waterproofed joists, hidden fasteners, new railing and stairs to current code. Most replacements are finished in one to three weeks once materials are on site, depending on the size of the project, weather, and inspections.
Deck Replacement Questions
How do I know if my deck needs to be replaced instead of repaired?
The three connections that matter most are the ledger (where the deck attaches to the house), the posts and footings, and the beams. A ledger attached with nails or without flashing, posts on or in the ground, or rot in joists and beams are each a replace-not-repair finding — resurfacing over them isn’t safe or code-compliant. The inspection is free and takes under an hour.
Can you replace a wood deck with composite?
Yes — that’s most of what we do. If the frame passes inspection, we resurface it in Trex; if it doesn’t, we replace the whole deck. Either way you end up with a composite deck that never needs staining, backed by a 25- to 50-year manufacturer warranty on the boards and our lifetime warranty on the deck.
Do you remove and haul away the old deck?
Yes. Demolition and disposal are part of the replacement — you don’t rent a dumpster or find a hauler. If the old deck had concrete footings, more often than not they stay in the ground: we cut the old posts off level with the concrete and set the new deck on ground screws.
Do I need a permit to replace a deck in Michigan?
Yes. A new deck is a permitted structure in every Michigan community we build in, and the inspections are how you know the ledger, footings and railing meet current code. We prepare the drawings, pull the permit and schedule the inspections. If your old deck never had a permit, replacing it is also how that gets resolved before you ever sell the house.
What if you find damage to my house when the old deck comes off?
It happens — a ledger that leaked for years can rot the rim joist or sheathing behind it. Because we inspect first, we usually know before we start, and we quote the worst case up front so there are no surprises. If we find more once the deck is down, we show you and bring the structure up to code before the new deck goes on; siding or brick repair sometimes needs another trade, usually after we’re done.
How long does a deck replacement take?
Once materials are on site, most replacements are finished in one to three weeks, depending on the size of the project, weather, and inspections. Design, permit and material lead time come before that; we give you the full schedule at the consultation.
Can I change the size or layout when I replace the deck?
Yes — this is the moment to. A replacement means a new frame, so a second tier, a bigger footprint, wider stairs, built-in seating, a louvered pergola or an outdoor kitchen can all be designed in from the start instead of bolted on later.
