Deck Overhaul
CASE STUDY | Decking | Mr. Elson | Vestavia Hills, AL

The Objective
To tear down an old and unsafe rotten wood deck, and rebuild a new composite deck with vinyl hand rails from the ground.
The Issue At Hand
Not too long ago, Mr. and Mrs. Elson called us to replace their old wood deck with a sparkling new composite deck. The Elson’s live in a beautiful home in a great neighborhood in Vestavia Hills. They saw our composite deck display down at the big home show, were intrigued by the benefits of composite decking, and had us come out to their home to see about what could be done.

Nail heads were everywhere.
The good news: They have a beautiful home. With a beautiful view. Of a beautiful yard. With a beautiful pool.
The bad news. Their deck was a dilapidated, rickety and was probably going to collapse and fall into the pool if someone didn’t do something about it.
There’s really no other way to say it. Their old deck was a real mess. The deck’s level of safety had been seriously compromised year’s ago.
It was about 12′ by 18′ and when you walked up the rickety stairs, you could feel the entire stairway wobble and shift to one side. The handrails were very shaky. Shaky handrails are never a good sign- especially since the deck was 9 feet off the ground.

See all the wood rot?
And where the deck connected to the home had been rotted out by water being able to leak down around their bay windows. The deck was in danger of quite simply, falling off the house.
Walking on the old deck really made you think to yourself whether or not you were current on your tetanus shot. Rusty, jagged nail heads were sticking out all over the place, especially on the deck surface.
So the Elson’s decided, to Hire us, to overhaul the whole thing. Here’s what we did:
Here’s Exactly what The Remodeling Process Looked Like:
Our workers tore down the old wooden deck and got to work rebuilding the new deck from scratch. Watch this video below to see the Elson project in action from start to finish.
Watch this video to learn more about what makes the structure of a Durante deck so strong and durable. All of the things we do that you can’t see may be even more important than all the things we do that you can see.
Here’s How It Looked When We Were Finished
When you step onto their new deck, you can’t help but notice how clean and elegant their new deck looks. They never have to worry about splinters or safety, and Mr. and Mrs. Elson now have a deck they can love and be proud of.
BEFORE Durante

AFTER Durante

Now when you step out onto it, the deck feels extremely safe and secure, there is not even an ounce of wobble any more, it’s completely safe and solid. The old deck boards have been replaced with durable and low-maintenance composite. You can walk out onto the deck with bare feet and not have to worry at all about nail heads or splinters any more.
We also installed new vinyl handrails which have internal heavy duty steel posts. You should see these handrails. If you were to lean against the railing, there is zero shaking. Solid. Solid. Solid.
The composite deck that Durante installed is built like a tank and made to last for decades. The Elson’s are truly tickled with there new deck. They finally have a new deck space they are not embarrassed about, their grand kids now have a safe and secure area to play on, and they have the perfect place to enjoy entertaining family and neighbors.
Here’s What You Need To Do To Learn More:
If you would like to learn more about Durante’s low maintenance deck products and would like to schedule a free site inspection to replace or remodel your existing deck, fill out the form to your right. If you fill out the form, our friendly office will receive an email that has your contact info, and they will contact you within 24 hours to help you out.
Durante covers all of Central and Northern AL and Middle and Eastern TN. We offer an outstanding line of products that include replacement windows and doors, vinyl siding and James Hardie siding as well as screen rooms.
Project Highlights
- Demolish the old wood deck
- Demolish the unsafe stairs
- Rebuild a brand new deck from scratch
- Install Composite Deck boards with hidden fasteners
- Install new vinyl handrails
- Rebuild stairways and install composite stairs
Featured Customer Review
Total transformation. The old wood deck was wobbly and unsafe, nail heads were popping up everywhere. The new composite deck is a night and day difference, looks so much better, and we could not be happier with how beautiful the deck looks.
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Featured Customer Review
We love our new sunroom! Our expectations have been exceeded! Jack was very pleasant to work with. He managed the job from start to finish very well. Everything took place as scheduled and was done in a timely manner. John and his crew did a very thorough job. They were punctual and clean throughout the entire process. The workmanship is impeccable. We couldn’t be more pleased!
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