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Kaminskiy Care and Repair repairs loose boards, wobbly railings and soft spots so the deck feels solid again, and most repairs take one visit. Balcony work is done to California inspection standards where they apply. We serve Lafayette and the surrounding California communities.
Ten minutes down Highway 24. Redwood decks under the oaks lead the Lafayette list.
Lafayette decks sit under oaks, over creeks and on the downhill side of hillside lots, so the redwood never fully dries from October to May and the posts stand in ground that stays wet. We replace the boards that went soft at the ends, reset the rail posts, rebuild stair stringers at the dirt line, sister the joists the carpenter ants found, correct the ledger flashing, and clean, sand, stain and seal, with the fire map and the protected oaks in mind.
AFTERBEFOREShade does not dry a deck on its own. A Kaminskiy-certified technician from our Walnut Creek office, ten minutes down the 24, prices most of these from a photo. One list.
Priced and on the calendar during the first call.
A written quote you approve before anyone drives out.
One crew, the whole list, warranty in writing.
A one-year workmanship warranty, in writing, on every Lafayette deck and balcony repair.
Shade and slope, again. Lamorinda's oaks keep a deck out of the sun for months, the winter rain drips off the canopy onto the same boards every storm, leaves pile against the posts, and a creek or a pool keeps the air damp. Redwood resists rot but not forever, and the end grain and the post bases give up first, under paint or stain that still looks good. On a hillside lot the frame moves a little every winter and the connections loosen. Early, it is boards and posts; late, it is the frame.
Lean into each post, not just the rail. Movement means the post has lost its connection to the frame: a rotted base, a corroded bolt through the rim, or a rim joist gone soft behind it. We cut back to sound wood, through-bolt the post to the framing or add a tension tie, and set the rail so it holds a real load. A tightened screw in soft wood is not a repair, and we do not sell one.
Lafayette has few large buildings, but the apartment buildings with three or more units carry SB 721 and the condominium associations carry SB 326: an inspection of the elevated balconies, decks and walkways by a licensed inspector or an engineer, and a report to the owner or the board. The soft decking, rotted joists, loose railings and failed membranes the report flags are our work, done to the re-inspection standard with photos for the file. A failed ledger or a balcony that has moved is the engineer's to stamp.
Rake the leaves off the deck and away from the posts every fall, keep the gaps clear so the boards drain, trim the branches that drip on the same spot, and restain before the redwood goes gray and green. Walk it each spring with a screwdriver at the post bases, the stringer feet and the ledger line. The first soft board is a visit; a soft frame is a project with a permit.
Big hillside lots with 1950s and 1960s ranch houses and newer custom homes, and the deck on the downhill side carrying the weather for the whole house. Long redwood runs under the oaks, tall posts on the slope, stairs down to the yard. The board ends go soft under the leaf litter, the post bases rot at the footing, and the frame racks a little as the lot settles. We rebuild boards, posts and stringers where they stand and name a ledger or a moved frame before anyone opens the wall.
Smaller older lots from the 1940s through the 1960s, kept damp by the creek and the mature trees, with porches, small rear decks and the occasional balcony over a garage. Porch posts rot at the base, the deck boards nearest the creek go first, and the stairs to the street sit on dirt. We splice new wood into old, get the posts up on standoffs and the grade back below the wood line, and match the stain.
Family streets from the 1960s and 1970s with redwood decks around pools, patio covers and sliders to the yard. Board ends go soft over the water, rail posts rot where the pool splash lands, patio cover beams check in summer and soak in winter, and the fasteners rust. We replace the boards and the beam ends, reset the posts and railings, refasten with coated screws, then clean, sand and seal.
Call 925-302-5955 or text a photo of the soft board, the post base and the stairs. Most Lafayette deck repairs get a range on the call and a date for the look.
A technician probes the posts, the stringers and the ledger, leans on the railings, checks under the deck for ants and water, and writes the scope: what comes out, what gets refinished, what the engineer or the county has to see, and the price.
Boards replaced, posts set on standoffs, railings re-bolted, stringers rebuilt, joists sistered, flashing and fasteners corrected, usually in a day or two on a residential deck.
The surface is cleaned, sanded and stained or sealed, the yard raked, and the one-year workmanship warranty is on the invoice.
California lets a job under a small set amount go without a license when it needs no permit and no employee, and a deck crosses that line by the first post. Kaminskiy Care and Repair holds a California contractor license (License #1120648), is bonded and insured, and sends Kaminskiy-certified, background-checked technicians; anything over the state's written-contract threshold is on paper before the first board comes up.
Lafayette's building permits are plan-checked and inspected for the city by Contra Costa County under the state residential code, which asks no application for an ordinary repair: replaced boards, a reset railing, a new stringer, a sistered joist, a refinish. The city's own list puts dry rot repair that adds no square footage outside its zoning check. A freestanding deck under the state's size and height limits is exempt from a building permit; a new deck attached to the house, a replaced ledger, a frame rebuilt from the posts up or a cut into a beam is a county permit, and in the hillside and fire zones the fire district looks too. We say which before we quote.
The 2025 map put most of Lafayette's hills in the high fire zone and a few streets in very high, where a deck built new has the state wildfire standard to meet; a like-for-like board, post or stringer repair is not new construction. Native oaks of twelve inches and up are protected, so we trim the branch that drips on the deck and dig no new footing under a canopy without asking the city. Where an association reviews the outside, a repair stained to match rarely needs a form.
Ten minutes down Highway 24. Your Lafayette crew dispatches from our East Bay office on Quail Court in Walnut Creek, one exit east, so a hillside list is usually on the calendar within days. Call 925-302-5955, text a photo, or send the form.
Can't find your answer? Call 925-302-5955 and ask us anything.
Call 925-302-5955We answer in under three rings and our Walnut Creek office is ten minutes down Highway 24. A board, a post or a stair tread is priced from a photo on the call and usually done within days; a deck over the creek with rot into the framing gets a look first and a written scope.
Repair first, and in Lafayette that usually holds: new redwood boards, posts reset on standoffs, a sistered joist and a proper restain, with years left in the frame. When the ledger has let go, the posts have rotted through at the footing or the deck has moved with the hill, we show you why and price both ways in writing, and a new deck is a county permit the engineer may have to stamp.
Yes. On the apartment buildings with three or more units the SB 721 report, and on the condominiums the SB 326 report, flag soft decking, rotted joists, loose railings and failed waterproofing; that carpentry and membrane repair is ours, done to the standard the re-inspection expects, with photos and the invoice for the file. A failed ledger or a balcony that has moved goes to the engineer first.
Not for an ordinary repair: boards, railings, stringers, a sistered joist or a refinish needs no application under the state code the county inspects to, and the city's own list keeps dry rot repair that adds no square footage out of the zoning check. A new attached deck, a replaced ledger or a frame rebuilt from the posts up is a county permit, and in the fire zone the district looks too. We tell you on the call.
A like-for-like repair to boards, posts or stringers is not new construction and goes in to match. A deck built new, or rebuilt from the frame, in the high or very high zone may have to meet the state wildfire standard for the decking and the space underneath, so we check your address and ask the fire district before you buy material.
It is set by what comes out once the first board is lifted, how tall the posts are on the slope, and what the stain has to match. Text a photo of the soft spot and the stairs and you get a range on the call; after the look, a written scope with the boards, the posts, the refinish and anything for the engineer or the county, priced before we start.
Yes. Every Lafayette deck and balcony repair carries our one-year workmanship warranty in writing and is done by Kaminskiy-certified, background checked technicians.
All of Lafayette, including Happy Valley, Upper Happy Valley, Reliez Valley, Acalanes Ridge, Burton Valley, Springhill, the Trail neighborhood and the Reservoir streets, plus Orinda, Moraga, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill. Call 925-302-5955 to confirm your address.
Tell us what the deck or balcony is doing. We'll call you back with a price and a time. Calling is still the fastest way: 925-302-5955.
Priced on the call, rebuilt solid, warranted in writing.
We answer in under three rings, 24/7.No price games. You get a clear written quote before any work begins, backed by our workmanship warranty.
