Whatcom and Skagit County Home Inspections (King of the House): Building In Your Wood Destroying Organisms

   I saw this deck over the weekend. I have seen this design element before, but not in a long time. The deck is non pressure treated lumber and this stump had either had the deck built around it or it is conceivable that, originally, the stump was really a tree and protruded up from the deck. It might have rotted so they cut it off. Either way, a stump that is decomposing is not what you want sticking out of your deck, or next to the house. Such a stump, especially in the damp climate in the Pacific Northwest, will rot and is likely to attract wood destroying organisms such as dampwood termites or carpenter ants. The correct solution is to try to completely remove the stump or, at least, get it so it is cut a few inches below the soil.

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