Marina del Rey Decks & Patios, Posts Tested at the Footing
Marina del Rey decks and patios tested where posts meet concrete: rot in the collar, weak footings and old wiring found first, then rebuilt on metal bases.
Under an older Marina del Rey deck, we dig for a wood post cast straight into its concrete footing. Water collects in the gap where the wood shrinks from the concrete, and the post rots inside the collar while the part above stays firm. Finding one changes the scope. Every post comes out, the footings are cored or poured new, and new posts stand on metal bases that keep the wood clear. On a sloping lot, the tallest posts get tested first.
Testing the posts
The test is plain. Soil is pulled back from the collar, an awl goes in at the line where wood meets concrete, and a sharp tap with a hammer gives back a hollow sound or a crisp one. Where one post fails, the rest get the same check, since they share the same detail. Temporary supports hold the beam while a post is cut out. If the old footing is sound and large enough, a new anchor is set into it with epoxy. If it is small or cracked, the engineer sizes a replacement, and the hole is dug beside the old one.
Hardware, wiring and the county permit
Metal bases and connectors on a coastal lot are hot-dip galvanized or stainless, with fasteners to match, because mixed metals corrode faster in damp, salty air. Wiring is the second hidden item: a light or outlet fed under the old deck without conduit or ground-fault protection is brought up to current code once the boards are off. As an unincorporated community, Marina del Rey gets its permits from Los Angeles County building and safety, and if the lot falls within the coastal zone, a coastal permit can come first. The county inspects the new footings and the frame.
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Decks & Patios in Marina del Rey: questions
An old footing can stay only if the engineer finds it big enough and deep enough for the new post load, which means digging beside it to measure. In soft or wet ground, a Marina del Rey footing may need to go deeper or wider to reach adequate bearing.
State fire hazard maps cover unincorporated land too, so the Marina del Rey parcel is looked up there before any board is picked. Clear of a mapped zone, the general deck provisions apply and any board they accept can be used. If the parcel were mapped, only boards with an ember listing could go down.
Both shape the new frame, taller decks through posts and bracing and wider ones through joists and boards. On a Marina del Rey rebuild the bigger unknown sits at the old footings, so each failed post, each new or cored footing and any rewiring is priced once the testing is done, line by line.
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