Each year, seasons change, and your home experiences different weather conditions, leaving its structure susceptible to repairs and possible replacements that you must attend to ASAP. Every time a season passes, you must make a habit of inspecting your property’s exterior to determine if you require calling a professional to initiate the needed maintenance.
If your foundation and structure are made mainly of wood, you are bound to witness dry rot slowly creeping through the years of living in your home. It’s crucial to tackle the problem while it’s still early, whether it’s a siding that requires repairs or a window replacement and patching job.
Keep reading below to find out how to deal with dry rot and guarantee your home remains in excellent condition, no matter how many rain showers, hot summer days, and snowfall occur.
Take Out the Dry Rot
The first thing you need to do to address rotten wood in your home after detecting the problem is to remove the affected surface. Try to dig deeper into the rot and scrape it all off until you’ve removed the loose material. Note that the area doesn’t have to be completely smooth, but it does have to show that a healthy part of the wood is left.
Apply Fungicide on the Area
It’s crucial to know that dry rot is a breeding ground for fungus to grow and spread, causing more damage than before. To stop it from affecting the entire wood, you should quickly spray fungicide all over the cavity where you took out the rot and wait for the region to dry up.
Use a Wood Hardener
Once it’s dry, apply a good amount of wood hardener in the same place to halt the dry rot from spreading further even though you’ve removed the damaged part already. Don’t forget to paint the exposed areas of the wood. If the damaged portion is quite extensive, you may want to bore a hole or two into the cavity and put a liquid hardener to guarantee the entire affected area is covered.
Restore Rotten Wood with Epoxy
Once the wood hardener becomes dry, it’s time to replace the damaged wood with epoxy. For smaller portions, you can settle for a sticky epoxy that you smooth over with a plastic putty knife. Meanwhile, if the affected region is much bigger, it’s better to use a moldable epoxy with a texture similar to modeling clay to fill in bigger holes or reshape certain sections.
Sand the Surface Until Smooth
If you wish to accomplish your project and make it look good as new, you must learn to smoothen the surface to achieve a high-quality outcome. Sanding the area requires skill, so it’s much better to leave it to the professionals to initiate the wood replacement process. For those who have the budget, you could opt for an electric palm sander, but don’t forget to put on eye protection and a respirator to avoid unwanted accidents.
Put a Special Primer and Paint It
Once the surface is seamless, smooth, and flawless, you can move on to the last step, which is painting it. For best results, you should apply an exterior acrylic primer and paint all at once to manage your time and money. You will need to take out a paint chip from your home to get an exact color match for the area. But if you plan to replace your house’s paint, you can perform the paint job in one go.
Conclusion
While it’s much easier to take care of a home built from concrete and plaster walls, wood structures are also reliable because of their durable qualities and timeless aesthetic. If you’re dealing with dry rot, you should remember to follow the steps above to ensure your home continues to be a safe and comfortable place for you and your family in the years to come.
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