Repairing Siding From Rot Damage

The heads will break the paper face allowing water to soak in and deteriorate the siding.

Repairing siding from rot damage. Carefully examine your t1 11 siding for signs of mold wood rot or beyond minor water damage. Nail it to the sidewall or glue it if nailing isn t possible. If your siding has a lot of damage due to pests or rot then that s probably the time to think about replacing it for a more robust siding like this fiber cement lap siding. Generally fiber cement sidings last a lot longer than their wooden counterparts.

Inspect the sidewall around and underneath the fascia and inside the house for signs of moisture damage and repair any rotted areas. Gap at corner and butt joints. Not only is this faster but the fixed wood is stronger than the original. Seal these joints with a 35 year paintable acrylic caulk.

In most cases the original layer of building paper or housewrap at the bottom of the wall was enough to prevent water infiltration and damage beneath the siding. The goal was to get 2 3 inches above the inside of the siding. This can be tough since so many times the siding is nailed down. Caulk any nailheads that break the paper face.

A couple easy solutions that saved me tons of time was to gently pull up on the siding at the studs with a pry bar careful enough not to damage the siding but enough to loosen a nail or two. When you come across rotted wood in your old house projects instead of replacing the damaged wood you also can repair it with specialty epoxy penetrants also called consolidants and fillers to make repairs. The sheathing and framing sometimes need repairs too but that is less common. Softwood damaged by wood rot is not salvageable and should be replaced as soon as possible to keep the rot from spreading.

If the wood is discolored but the screwdriver test did not detect. We tear off the damaged hardboard and replace it with fiber cement siding.