How to Fix Rotten Exterior Wood Trim
The wood trim outside your house provides a visual break between different sections of the exterior, separating and highlighting them. Some trim, as around windows, also aids in sealing out air. If your trim has started rotting, replace it as soon as possible, since rot can spread to other sections. Get trim that's as wide or wider than the old trim, so you won't have to touch up the house paint under it. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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1
Remove the rotted trim with a pry bar and hammer. Take off the entire section of trim, all around the window perimeter, even if only one side is rotted.
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2
Measure the width of the window opening, from top corner to top corner, using a tape measure. Transfer the measurement to a piece of trim, making two pencil marks on it, with the measurement in between them, so there is excess trim beyond each end of the measured span.
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3
Lay the trim on a miter saw, face up, the bottom edge along the rear guide. Move the trim so one mark is under the blade. Turn the blade 45 degrees outward (pointing away from the measured span). Cut it.
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Move the trim so the other mark is under the blade. Turn the blade to 45 degrees in the other direction (so it's again pointing away from the measured span). Cut it.
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Set the trim along the top edge of the window opening, with the two mitered cuts starting at the two upper corners and angling out and upward. Secure the board with finish nails and your hammer, driving them in about every 8 inches along both edges of the trim.
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Repeat the process for each side of the window opening. The angled cuts should butt against each other to form the corners. Nail them all in as before.
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Caulk everywhere the trim meets the wall of the window casing.
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References
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