Wymore Decks & Outdoor Living Addresses Deck Risks After Dry Winter

OMAHA, NE – September 08, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Wymore Decks & Outdoor Living, the deck and outdoor living contractor formerly operating as Wymore Deck & Fence, is drawing homeowner attention to how an unusually dry winter and spring across Nebraska may affect existing decks and the structures being planned this year.

According to the Nebraska State Climate Office, the state recorded its second warmest and fourth driest winter on record between December 2025 and February 2026, with statewide precipitation totaling 0.66 inches. March continued the pattern as the third warmest and fifth driest March on record at 0.34 inches. Taken together, the December through March period was both the driest and the warmest on record for the state. The U.S. Drought Monitor, maintained at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has tracked drought conditions across the eastern portion of the state through the same period.

Extended dry weather changes what the ground beneath a deck is doing. Soils across the Omaha metropolitan area contain a mix of clay, silt and sand, a composition documented in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service soil survey for Douglas and Sarpy counties. Clay content is the operative factor, because clay takes on water and expands during wet periods, then contracts as it dries out.

“Ground movement is the thing homeowners never think about and the thing that determines how a deck ages,” said Levi Wymore, Owner of Wymore Decks & Outdoor Living. “A dry stretch like this one pulls the soil in. Then the rain comes back and it swells again. What a deck feels is that cycle, over and over, and every connection in the structure has to absorb it.”

That movement transfers upward through the structure. As footings shift, the frame above them carries the load unevenly. Wymore said the observable results tend to appear at connection points rather than in the middle of a span, showing up as fasteners working loose, joists moving out of alignment, or separation where the deck attaches to the house.

Footing depth is the primary defense against seasonal soil movement in the region. Ground in eastern Nebraska freezes to roughly forty-two inches in a typical winter, and footings that do not extend past that depth are subject to heaving as the frost line moves through them. Footing type is evaluated against site conditions at each property rather than applied uniformly, and the company works with a range of footing methods depending on what a specific lot presents.

Framing material factors in as well. The company builds with pressure treated lumber, engineered lumber, steel, aluminum and composite framing systems, selected according to the exposure and structural demands of the site. Wymore said metal framing options hold their dimensions more consistently in ground-level moisture than wood does, which becomes relevant on lower decks and on properties where drainage keeps the area beneath the structure damp.

Decking surface materials respond to ground conditions differently than framing does. Composite and PVC boards resist the moisture that rises from damp soil below a deck. Natural wood options including cedar, redwood and denser tropical hardwoods such as ipe and tigerwood carry their own decay resistance, with density and maintenance requirements varying considerably between species. The company does not install standard pressure treated lumber as a decking surface, a decision Wymore attributes to how the material performs over time in high-moisture conditions.

Site drainage sits underneath all of these decisions. Water that collects beneath a deck slows drying at the framing connections and creates conditions where mildew develops on the underside of decking boards. Grading a site to move water away from the structure is handled during design rather than corrected after a build is complete, and it affects how long every component above it stays serviceable.

“The material conversation usually starts with color, and it should start with the ground,” Wymore said. “What the soil does at a specific address changes what makes sense for footings, for framing and for the boards on top. A record dry stretch is a reasonable moment for homeowners to walk out and look at what their deck is telling them.”

Homeowners assessing an existing structure can look for gaps opening where the deck meets the house, railing posts that have developed movement, and stairs that no longer sit square against their landing. Those signs point to movement below the structure rather than to a problem with the decking surface itself. Wymore said the distinction matters because a surface issue and a footing issue call for very different work, and homeowners who replace boards on a frame that has shifted often find the same problems returning.

The same conditions apply to structures beyond the deck itself. Pergolas, cabanas and covered patios are set into the same ground and go through the same seasonal cycle, and their posts and footings are subject to the same movement. Screened porch enclosures and underdeck drainage systems add a further consideration, because both change how water moves around and beneath a structure once the work is finished.

Wymore Decks & Outdoor Living is a family owned deck and outdoor living contractor founded in July 2017, serving Omaha and surrounding communities across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. The company builds custom decks, underdeck drainage systems, pergolas, cabanas, gazebos, patios, porches and screened porch enclosures. Owner Levi Wymore entered the construction trades through family work and took his contractor exam after high school before founding the company.

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For more information about Wymore Decks & Outdoor Living, contact the company here:

Wymore Decks & Outdoor Living
Levi Wymore
+14027714846
levi@wymoredeckandfence.com
3610 N 163rd Plaza Suite 212, Omaha, NE 68116, United States

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