With kids out there, you’re right to get the structure looked at before anything else. A dark ledger board can mean water got behind the flashing, and that’s the part that matters most. We had a similar deck in Schaumburg and called Handy Eagle Pro https://handyeaglepro.com/deck-construction-repair/ for an inspection. The guy checked the ledger, joists and posts, showed me exactly which parts were fine and which weren’t, and gave two options: targeted structural repairs plus new boards, or a full rebuild. We went with repairs since the frame was mostly solid, and it cost a lot less than I expected. Stairs got new stringers and treads too. Honestly, ask them to probe the ledger with a screwdriver while you watch, it tells you a lot in about two minutes.
