Guide to Deck Leveling Problems

Why does a deck become not level after being built? Many people who build a deck them-self are not aware of the fact they must dig the support holes deep enough. These types of poor deck building habits can lead to a deck having a life time of problems. There are many reasons to why a deck can become not level. One leading cause is building a deck in a cold weather climate and not sinking the deck support holes deep enough into the ground.

That's right, if you do not place the support deep enough in the ground in cold weather climates, the deck can become uneven. I was just looking at a large two story deck and this was the exact case. The deck was a two story deck which was over 20 ft up in the air. The second deck built above the first deck, used the main beam of the lower deck to support the upper deck. The second story deck was then not level either, because the the first deck was not level. This deck was over 6 inches different from one side to the other side. There is no need to have a level on this particular deck you could easily see the problem. Most cases are not this severe. A lot of times the deck supports lift up causing the deck to tip back towards the house.

When decks tip back towards a house it will cause water to run towards the house, instead of running away from the house. A deck is not to tip back towards a house, it should tip slightly away. The tip or pitch away will help the water to run away. Just like concrete patios. Patios and decks should pitch away from the house. A deck will normally have small slots between the boards. This helps to get the water away, but if it tips towards the house it can cause water to get in the house. The above deck was so bad, that during a heavy down pour the water ran to the patio door and came in the house and onto the kitchen floor.

Many decks can have this same problem. This particular one we are talking about here is one with 4x4 supports that are not deep enough in the ground. Supports need to be below the frost line in your area. Many builders make holes 48inches or 4 ft. deep to ensure it is below the frost line in many areas. If you don't the frost will set in below the supports and cause the support to be forced up and out of the hole causing the deck to become uneven or not level. As this happens many times over the years it will weaken the supports of the deck. The deck supports will be flexed and moved more then what they should.

The solution to the deck I spoke of above was to support the deck by jacking it up and digging out around the front supports. The dirt and concrete in the area will have to be removed and then have concrete footings placed under the supports to stop the frost from pushing the supports out of the ground when it would freeze. The jacks would have to stay under the deck until the new footings could cure. Once the new footings are cured enough, the deck can be placed back down onto its front supports. This will then keep the deck level in the future.

So, a deck can be fixed if the supports are not deep enough. The first solution is to build the deck right from the start.

As with all home projects safety first.