It can rot interior woodwork or saturate a deck core, leading to delamination, structural degradation and costly repairs. A leak signals that you need to rebed your stanchion bases. If they were properly fitted in the first place, this is not a big job. You can do one at a time, but it s wiser to rebed them all at once. When one springs a leak, chances are the others won t be far behind.
Some stanchions are two-piece affairs with separate bases and upright posts.
Backing pads spread stress loads. Flexible bedding compound seals joints against leaks and, in a cored deck, sealed bolt holes keep the core dry. Step 1 Remove the wire lifelines. Lay it aside. Place masking tape flush alongside the edges of the base and tamp down firmly.