Can my deck posts wait until after winter to be replaced?

[crispycabbages]

I have three posts two of which are shown in the pics. The third is surrounded by concrete that needs broken to get to. They look in pretty bad shape but I’m not that experienced. The middle column also has carpenter ants near the deck surface that made it their home. The whole deck was built with untreated wood.

I know they need replaced but can it wait til spring or would I have to do it now? Are there any temporary fixes if I am able to wait?

First pic is center, second is left when facing deck.

EDIT: I realized there is some more damage that I would like to ask about. There are a couple more pics showing rot where the ledger attaches. Can you guys recommend the best course for repair considering the ledger and posts? Should I just call in someone experienced?

 

[bud16415]

To me the posts don't look too bad, but that ledger board attachment to the house looks not done too well.
It is hard to tell from the photos but looks like where it was tied into the house made a situation that trapped water and let the bugs move in. IMO that is where your major problems will show and I don't know if there is an easy fix for that without pulling the deck off the house.

 

[Jeff Handy]

The ledger is probably not flashed, so water is running behind it.

Take better pictures in good light, from above and below, very hard to see anything.

 

[Steve123]

Some rot on the bottom of the post is not an imminent problem. You can poke a screwdriver into the bottom of the post to see how bad the rot really is --- severity can't accurately be determined from a picture. I can't see the ledger board very well from those photos, but consider that the number one cause of catastrophic deck collapse is the ledger board pulling away from the house. If you see evidence of movement of the ledger board, you should be concerned.

 

[billshack]

How much snow do you git on your deck ?

 

[crispycabbages]

I’ll get some clearer pics of the ledger board this weekend.

Is there something like a max depth I should be able to poke into to see how bad the posts are? I don’t see movement from what I can tell.

There’s not much snow here in central MD. I’ve only been in the area a couple years but I’d say maybe like 1-2 inches at most.

 

[bud16415]

I’ll get some clearer pics of the ledger board this weekend.

Is there something like a max depth I should be able to poke into to see how bad the posts are? I don’t see movement from what I can tell.

There’s not much snow here in central MD. I’ve only been in the area a couple years but I’d say maybe like 1-2 inches at most.

You could maybe add in new posts attached to the PT ledger board to change the deck to free standing or mostly free standing. My brother in law did that as his attachment to the house was pretty shot. If you take off that soffit you will get a clear look at the damage and if you had it supported maybe even get in there and rework it.

 

[crispycabbages]

Sorry this is late but here are a few more pics. They aren’t great but hopefully they are a little more helpful. The ones at the end are shots of the top. I didn’t want to pry the board off right now but it looks like it was caulked at one time.

bud thanks for that suggestion. I think that will be the route I go because this looks shot too.