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My neighbor's deck is sinking because they skipped the gravel base
I was helping my neighbor look at his deck that's been leaning for a few months. He built it last spring and just set the posts right on the dirt. We dug down next to one and sure enough, it's sitting in a puddle of mud. Water pools there every time it rains. I learned the hard way on my own shed project three years ago. You need that 6 inch layer of gravel under the post to let water drain away. Otherwise, the wood rots and the ground shifts. It's a simple step that stops a big headache later. Has anyone else had to fix a sinking post after the fact, and what did you do?
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holly_garcia7mo ago
Yeah, that "puddle of mud" is the whole problem. It freezes in winter too, which pushes the post up. Then it thaws and drops. That cycle wrecks the level. I had to fix a fence post like that. Jacked up the structure, dug out the old hole way bigger, filled it with crushed stone, and tamped it down hard before setting a new post on top. The gravel base acts like a tiny French drain.
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shanejackson7mo ago
But what if the ground is really solid clay? I've seen posts set right in clay that held for years because water can't soak in. Gravel might just make a pocket that fills with water anyway. Sometimes just digging a deeper hole and using concrete is a better fix for a sinking post.
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