How to Repair a Plywood Sundeck

Plywood sundecks can provide years of service for entertaining outdoors. Unfortunately, sundecks are exposed to weather elements 24 hours each day, seven days each week year round. Because of that ongoing exposure, a plywood sundeck may warp or even crack, which makes the structure unsafe and in need of replacement. Rather than hiring a contractor to fix your plywood sundeck, you can do it yourself over the course of one weekend.

Goggles
Dust mask
Work gloves
Circular saw
Pry bar
Nail puller
Tape measure
Plywood
Medium-grit sandpaper
Orbital sander
Stainless steel nails
Nail gun
Wood sealer
Paintbrush

Instructions

- 1
  Put on goggles, a dust mask and work gloves.
- 2
  Look under your plywood sundeck to determine which direction its joists run. Joists are beams that support the sundeck's plywood floor. They are either parallel or perpendicular to the house.
- 3
  Set the cutting depth of a circular saw to 3/4 inch, and then cut into the plywood sundeck parallel to the joists.
- 4
  Insert a pry bar into the cut you made, and pry the plywood off the joists. This task takes sufficient effort.
- 5
  Pull out nails sticking out of the joists with a nail puller.
- 6
  Measure the size of the area you pried up using a tape measure. Use that measurement to draw cut-lines on new plywood with a pencil.
- 7
  Cut the new plywood to fit over the sundeck joists using the circular saw. Sand the new plywood with medium-grit sandpaper using an orbital sander.
- 8
  Lay the new plywood over the deck joists, and drive stainless steel nails through the plywood into the joists with a nail gun.
- 9
  Apply an even coat of wood sealer on the new plywood sundeck using a paintbrush. Let the sealer dry according to its manufacturer's directions before using the repaired plywood sundeck.

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