Wood Rot Replacement and Repair

If you see some wood rot on the outside of your home, there may be more hidden from you.Unfortunately, wood rot can devalue your home. It’s not just a cosmetic problem, it’s a problem that can, over time, threaten the structural integrity of your home and become dangerous.

The dark side of wood rot.

Wood rot happens when water works its way into the wood. Fungal spores make their way into the wood after that, and thrive in the dark, wet environment. They’ve got plenty of food in the form of the wood fiber. As the fungus grows, it continues to eat away at the structural integrity of the wood.

Here in Boston, we get both heavy rains and heavy snows. Wood rot is not at all unusual.

This is true of both “wet rot” and “dry rot.” The only real difference between the two is that dry rot needs less moisture to thrive.

We’re expert at rotted wood repair.

In some instances, we can use a wood filler and wood hardener to stop the rot, if it hasn’t progressed too far. A high-performance wood hardener can strengthen the wood fibers and kill the fungus inside. We can then smooth out the repair and cover the result with a moisture-resistant paint or stain that protects your wood in the future

In more serious cases, the rotted section of wood simply cannot be repaired. It will have to be cut away and replaced.

When’s the best time to replace rotted wood?

Really you should look at repairing or replacing a piece of wood that’s starting to rot pretty much as soon as you notice the problem.

Repairing or replacing the wood beam will come down to the extent of the rot. If the structural integrity hasn’t been threatened yet, then you can make the minor repair.

If it has, it’s best to have a handyman replace the entire piece.

Wood rot repair and replacement may be covered by your homeowner’s insurance.

Most of the time homeowner’s insurance treats wood rot repair and replacement as a routine maintenance issue that is the homeowner’s responsibility. The only exception would be in cases where accidental water damage or water damage from a natural disaster causes the loss.

So, if a pipe bursts and damages wood structures, you might be able to get those repairs covered.

Fungal growth over time can’t be covered by homeowner’s policies.

In addition, other damage caused by the wood rot may not be covered by homeowner’s insurance as they will see that damage as the result of your own failures to maintain your home, rather than as a result of events beyond your control.

If wood rot is left untreated, you can count on this. It’ll get worse.

If left untreated, wood rot can literally bring the house down. The moment that rot spreads to load-bearing timber the entire house can collapse.

Even rot on timbers that don’t bear loads is a problem. Rot around your doors and windows can cause leaks in your home. Rot that works its way up trim is unsightly and can certainly spread to more vital areas of your home.

It’s important to address the problem just as quickly as you possibly can to avoid long-term damage.

What ever wood repair and replacement costs, it’s worth it.

What it costs to fix wood rot depends on how extensive it is. We’ve done very small jobs for less than $300, but we’ve also seen $12,000 jobs where large portions of the home’s wood needs to be replaced.