How to Repair Exterior Trim Dry-Rot
Exterior trim is a natural target for dry rot. Precipitation, such as rain, sleet and snow, is often the culprit, but other factors can lead to dry rot in exterior trim pieces. Lawn sprinklers that continually spray water on windows and doors on the outside can lead to dry rot, as can runoff or leaks from overhead rain gutters. All of these factors should be corrected to prevent future problems, but the existing dry rot must be repaired in order to salvage the exterior trim. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Safety glasses or goggles
- Probing tool (pocket knife, screwdriver, awl, ice pick)
- Wood chisel and hammer
- Wood preservative or fungicide and rubber gloves
- Wood filler (wood putty, epoxy; polyester wood filler)
- Putty knife (metal or plastic)
- Sandpaper (medium- and fine-grit)
- Paintbrush
- Primer
- Exterior paint to match original trim color
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Instructions
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Wear safety glasses or goggles. Use probing tool to identify all dry rot in the exterior trim. The wood will be soft and spongy. Use wood chisel and hammer to dig out dry rot, making sure to remove all affected wood.
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Put on rubber gloves and apply wood preservatives or fungicide to the area where dry rot has been removed. Allow to dry per the manufacturer instructions.
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Fill void with wood filler, pressing firmly with a putty knife to bond putty to the solid wood. Use enough filler to bring its top surface to a level slightly above surrounding exterior trim, up to 1/4 inch. Allow to dry per manufacturer instructions.
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Use medium-grit sandpaper to sand down dried wood filler flush with surrounding exterior trim. Use fine-grit sandpaper to feather together edges of wood filler and exterior trim.
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Apply primer to the repaired area of exterior trim with paint brush. Allow to dry per the manufacturer instructions. Paint repaired trim with exterior paint, blending new paint in with surrounding trim.
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Tips & Warnings
Always wear safety glasses or goggles, rubber gloves and even protective clothing to apply chemicals such as wood preservative or fungicide.
Larger portions of exterior trim damage may require cutting out a length of the trim with a jigsaw, reciprocating saw or saber saw and replacing the length with new wood.
Whenever possible, probe all surrounding areas for further dry rot, especially any wood that damaged exterior trim is nailed to or abuts.
Use pressure-treated wood when replacing any lengths of exterior trim with extensive dry rot damage.
For large areas of dry-rot damage that do not require new wood replacement, shape a piece of solid wood to fill a major portion of the hole and supplement with wood filler. This saves on wood-filler expense and makes for a more solid fill overall.
Wood hardener can be used to further fortify the repair. Use a drill with a ¼ inch bit and make shallow indentations (about ½ inch) around the rim of the void at a distance of ½ inch to ¾ inch. Fill these holes using an eyedropper or a turkey baster. (Reference 2)
References
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