Deck boards gap spacing too wide?

[Eran Erez]

Hello there,

Recently purchased this rental with quite large decks - one at the front and another at the back - and making it ready to be rented.

I noticed the gap spacing between the deck boards is quite large, typically 1/2".

Reading online I found that ideally the spacing should be 1/4". This deck has been there since 1981 and it may well be that originally it was built properly and over years the boards shrunk as they dried.

My concern is that these 1/2" may be a safety issue (high heals gets stuck and ankle twisted). Otherwise I would just leave it as is.

Any advice appreciated.