Haha, totally feel your pain on this one. Last summer I thought I'd breeze through replacing a few deck boards—ended up discovering a whole mess of rusty nails and rotted joists underneath. Turned into a full-blown rebuild... classic weekend project curse strikes again.
Sounds familiar... rusty nails are usually just the tip of the iceberg. Did you check if moisture's getting trapped somewhere? Often, poor drainage or ventilation is the real culprit behind all that hidden rot.
Had a similar issue a couple years back when I was fixing up my shed. Thought it was just a few rusty nails, but turns out the whole corner was quietly rotting away thanks to a sneaky gutter leak. Took me a weekend longer than planned, but once I sorted the drainage, things stayed solid. You're definitely on the right track checking for moisture—it's usually lurking somewhere unexpected. Hang in there, projects like these always throw curveballs, but they're worth it in the end.
Had something similar pop up when I moved into my first place. Thought I'd just swap out a few deck boards, but ended up discovering the joists underneath were half rotted from years of hidden moisture. Took way longer than expected, and I learned more about drainage and flashing than I ever wanted to know, haha. Did you end up having to replace any structural parts, or was it mostly surface-level fixes?
Ran into something similar on a roofing job last summer. Homeowner thought it was just a few rusty nails causing leaks—easy fix, right? Once we started pulling shingles, found out the plywood underneath was soaked and rotting from years of slow leaks. Turned into a full tear-off and decking replacement. Like you said, learned way more about proper ventilation and moisture barriers than I'd planned that weekend, haha.
Curious if your issue was mostly from rainwater runoff or maybe condensation buildup underneath? Seems like hidden moisture always turns a quick weekend project into a week-long headache...
