...replace the original top boards with composite boards, but once I removed the skirt I found rotted legs. Since I'm doing this myself, I really don't want to have to pour concrete footers if I don't have to. Several of the videos I've recently looked at show builders removing grass, tamping down the dirt, then pouring crushed limestone on top (and tamping that down), then using those plastic footers. What's great about that, other than NOT having to pour cement pads, is that it's easily adjustable. You can move those plastic pads around to line up the boards. Just talking about a relatively small, ground level deck, and not an elevated "2nd story" monster size deck. My current deck is even with my backdoor, and has two steps to the ground. What I want to do is to keep the current hight out to 3-4', then have the rest down a step so (a), you only need one more step to reach ground level, and (b) a railing is not necessary for the lower section. Frankly the current one is <36" off the ground, so it doesn't require a railing. But I do want it lower than it's currently sitting. Why keep it the same height several feet from the door, you might ask? I have one foundation vent that's currently located under the deck, and I want to continue to have access to it with the new deck. I also don't want to have to step down right out of the door. That seems like a good compromise. Construction to begin this year...lol