I am repairing my deck. It has 2x4 top rails nailed into the ends of 4x4 posts. I will replace all the top rails. The posts, treated syp, are in pretty good shape. Replacing posts wouldl be a problem involving crawling in a narrow space under the deck and figuring out how to remove the posts that are nailed into some pretty tight spots. I can probably nail the new rails into a sufficiently strong area on most posts. However, the ends are cracked considerably on some posts.
People talk about firming up old wood. Would that work here? Could running some epoxy or something else into the end grain toughen up the posts? Should I consider using deck screws instead of nails? Any other suggestions?
Thank you for the help.
John