Case Study · SB 721 · CSLB #1060736

Trex Deck, Walkway & Stair Replacement — 12-Unit Apartment Community, Menlo Park

Residents walked the same tired wood the whole way from the parking lot to their front door — stairs, walkway, balcony. We replaced the route, not just the balconies.

Menlo Park, CATwo-story apartment communityCompleted Q2 2026

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Rebuilt exterior stairway in Menlo Park with Trex composite treads, black aluminum guardrail and a round graspable handrail

Deck Repair

Project facts

Location: Menlo Park, CA
Service: Deck Installation
Property: Two-story apartment community
Units: 12
Elevated elements: 12 balconies, the connecting walkways and 2 exterior stair runs
Client: Owner / property management company
Scope: Tear-off of painted wood decking and guards, composite decking on balconies, walkways and stair treads, new aluminum guardrails and handrails
Timeline: 4 weeks
Completed: Q2 2026
Budget range: $70k–$95k

01 The situation

The challenge

The whole route was the same material and the same age. A resident came up a flight of wood stairs with a flat board for a handrail — wide enough that you cannot close a hand around it — crossed a walkway of painted decking that had cupped and split along the grain, and reached a balcony surfaced in those same boards, with a solid wood knee wall standing in for a guard. Everything had been repainted often enough that the paint was doing work the wood no longer could. Replacing the balconies on their own would have left the two parts residents actually touch every day exactly as they were.

02 Execution

What we did

We handled the stairs, the walkway and the balconies as one job rather than three:

Stripped the painted decking, wood knee-wall guards and stair rails off every balcony, walkway and stair run

Repaired the framing and stair stringers where the old boards came off, and corrected the deck-to-wall transitions

Laid Trex composite decking across the balconies, the connecting walkways and every stair tread, with a matching fascia band

Set powder-coated aluminum guardrails throughout and added a round graspable handrail to both stair runs

03 Outcome

The result

12 / 12balconies re-decked

2stair runs given graspable handrails

4 wksfirst tear-out to handover

Residents now walk one material from the bottom of the stairs to their own door. The composite does not cup, splinter or come back onto the maintenance schedule every few seasons, the guards are aluminum instead of painted wood, and both stair runs finally have a handrail that can be gripped rather than rested on. The SB 721 items covering the guards and the walking surfaces were closed together instead of in two separate rounds.

Results at a glance

Balconies, connecting walkways and stair treads re-decked in Trex composite
Solid wood knee-wall guards replaced with powder-coated aluminum guardrails
Round graspable handrails added to both stair runs
Deck maintenance reduced to washing — no sanding, no repainting

What the client received

SB 721 closure covering the guards, the stairs and the walking surfaces
Trex manufacturer warranty plus our workmanship warranty
Photo record of the framing and stringers before the new decking went down
One finish detail repeated from the stair landing to every unit door
Maintenance schedule running through to the next inspection cycle

Transformation

Before & After

The walkway along the units

Worn painted wood walkway with a solid wood knee-wall guard at a Menlo Park apartment building before replacement — Before

The same walkway re-decked in Trex composite with a black aluminum guardrail — After

The exterior stair run

Old wood apartment stairway with a flat board handrail and weathered treads before replacement — Before

A private balcony

Split and stained painted deck boards on an apartment balcony before composite replacement — Before

The same balcony finished in Trex composite decking with a new aluminum guardrail and gate — After

“The stairs were the part I worried about. The old handrail was a flat board — you could put a hand on it, but you could not hold it. That one is fixed.”

Property Manager12-unit community, Menlo ParkSB 721 · Deck Repair

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