This page is for homeowners to share tips for maintaining their EYA built town homes. If you would like to include links or videos to external sites, contact the webmaster.
- Deck Beam
We have had deterioration issues with our wooden engineered main deck Although we have painted them for every other year for the last 10 years, water has been running through the middle of the beam, dissolving the glued-up fibers and weakening the beam. We have had 2 contractors point out that the beams are interior grade engineered beams and are not rated for outside use. Additionally, they were not treated with preservatives or painted, and should have had a joist tape flashing applied on top of the beams when it was installed – among the many EYA gifts we inherited.
We painted the top of the beam with LEAK STOPPER Rubber Flexx 1-Quart Waterproof Roof Sealant in the Roof Sealants department at Lowes.com. I also installed joist sealing tape between the joists, Imus Seal Butyl 4” Joist Tape for Flashing Deck Joists and Beams, from Amazon. The work involved for the tape was just cutting the tape into strips and applying the self-stick tape. The whole effort was about an hour and a half. I think either one would have been sufficient, but the water infiltration has completely stopped.
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