DIY Deck Renovation Turns Into a Money Pit After Homeowners Uncover Hidden Damage

For homeowners, a DIY renovation project can be an easy way to save a few bucks on labor. And while there are plenty of renovation tasks that are best left to the pros, there are plenty of things that most handy homeowners can tackle with the right tools and materials.

Unfortunately, sometimes a DIY can take a wrong turn, transforming what originally sounded like a simple project into something else. That’s what happened to TikToker @swayandsarahbuild, who says that their deck renovation turned into a major nightmare.

Unlike many DIY fails, this one wasn’t because the homeowners themselves did something wrong. Instead, the family discovered a serious issue with their home while demolishing the old deck, putting that project on the back burner. 

Now, they are looking at a major issue that could cost far more than the deck renovation. The good news is, this is one of those issues that is easier to deal with the sooner it’s discovered. 

Homeowner Finds Extensive Damage 

@swayandsarahbuild There’s ALWAYS surprises with DIY 😂 #diyfail #diyrenovation #deckrebuild #homerenovation ♬ Saxophones getting louder – Sped Up – AntonioVivald

Most homeowners never want to find out that their homes have structural damage, but it’s probably even more alarming when they discover it purely by accident, as these TikTokers did. According to the post, they were demolishing their existing deck so that they could build a new one.

But when they got to the part where the deck was connected to the house, they discovered that one of the beams that holds the house up was severely damaged, with at least half of the beam totally rotted out. 

Commenters Think Termites Are to Blame

There was no shortage of theories in the comment sections. “Looks like termite damage,” one person wrote. 

“Oh, that’s termites, not rot,” another person wrote. 

Meanwhile, others said that they experienced something similar. “We were replacing our door because of the frame. I left for an hour to get paint and a few other things. Came home to my deck being hauled away to the junk hole,” another person wrote with a photo of their own damaged wood. “Turns out everything underneath the door was rotted, so now I don’t have a deck by my door.”

If this does end up being termites, the family isn’t alone in facing the issue. That’s because Sentricon says that termites cause an estimated $5 billion in damage every year. Not only that, but this type of damage is rarely covered by traditional homeowners insurance policies, which means that most homeowners need to pay out of pocket. 

Hopefully the homeowners are able to get to the bottom of whatever is going on with that beam and quickly get it fixed.