Repairing Siding From Rot Damage

To learn how to repair wood siding remove rotted boards with a flat pry bar.

Repairing siding from rot damage. The interesting solution here was borrowing siding from the back of the house to replace damaged pieces in the front of the house as we could never match the color of the siding painted. The goal was to get 2 3 inches above the inside of the siding. The sheathing and framing sometimes need repairs too but that is less common. You simply have to remove the damage section and fill in that particular area.

After you remove the rotted courses use a small hacksaw to cut any protruding nail shanks or if you have a very strong grip use a good pair of wire cutters. However the amount of present rot can be deceptive. Even the most well kept wood siding is susceptible to moisture and damage which will lead to rotted wood. If you find a small portion of rotting wood you can prevent it from affecting the entire wood siding.

Scrape off flaking paint and debris from the damaged area using a paint scraper. If the area of the siding you need to repair is larger than two to four inches the best and most permanent solution is to replace that particular panel of siding. This can be tough since so many times the siding is nailed down. 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 customer accepted our recommendation to use azek along the edge of the deck siding as it won t rot thus avoiding a repeat of this problem. Softwood damaged by wood rot is not salvageable and should be replaced as soon as possible to keep the rot from spreading. 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. Protect sound siding with a scrap piece of 1 4 in.

Pry off the rotted boards. A single rotted clapboard can usually be replaced by the homeowner or the commercial maintenance crew by using the old rotted clapboard as a measurement board for the new siding plank. If the wood is discolored but the screwdriver test did not detect. Scrub the surface of the rot or damage with a wire brush to remove loose fibers and soft spots.