Wood Rot Repair Tips and Tricks
Wood rot like this can be minor or serious. It can be repaired without removing the wood in some cases. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
"Wood rot is caused by different fungi that are consuming the wood. The fungi need water to live."
Wood Rot Repair Checklist
- Determine if repair or replacement is the best solution
- Replace with rot-resistant wood like redwood or cedar
- Treat wood with copper naphthenate or borates
- Repair with easy-to-use wood petrifier and epoxy
DEAR TIM: It seems like we’re constantly doing wood rot repair at my home. The latest project involves numerous places on the inside and outside of our home where wood is rotting.
My carpentry skills are better than my husband’s but that’s not saying much. Is there a way to repair wood rot without having to be a master carpenter? What are my options? What can I do to prevent wood rot in the first place? Amy S., Buffalo, NY
Related Links
DIY Wood Rot Treatment Magic Liquid
DANGER! Treated Lumber Can Rot!
DEAR AMY: Wood rot seems to be a growing epidemic in homes. The complaints I’m receiving are growing by the month. Some of the rot can be traced to poor maintenance habits by homeowners, some to poor building practices by the trades, and believe it or not some traced to the lumber companies.
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How Do You Prevent Wood Rot?
You prevent wood rot by keeping the wood dry. Look around your home at the wood that's always dry. You never see this wood rotting.
Wood rot is like the fire triangle. You need fuel, heat and oxygen to create fire.
You need fungi, wood and water to create wood rot. Remove water from the equation and there's no rot.
What Causes Wood Rot?
Wood rot is caused by different fungi that are consuming the wood. The fungi need water to live.
How Do You Keep Exterior Wood Dry?
You keep wood dry by keeping it painted and sealed. It's also a great idea to keep it above horizontal masonry or concrete surfaces by at least 2 inches.
I prefer to keep wood up off of soil at least one foot and to keep air moving if possible to dry the wood.
A year ago, I had to rebuild my front porch. I didn't build the house I currently live in. The builder installed a composite decking material without the proper spacing between the pieces of wood. The underside of the decking material was covered with fungi that were eating the wood particles in the composite lumber. Even composite lumber can succumb to wood rot!
What Should I Do Before Repairing the Rot?
You need to stop the water problem before you attempt to repair wood rot. It's imperative that you hunt down and eliminate the water source that's causing the rot.
If the wood has been placed too close to the soil, a sidewalk, a patio, a roof, etc., you may have to re-engineer the situation so the wood doesn't get wet, or if it gets wet it dries rapidly.
Should The Wood Dry Out Before Repairing the Rot?
Once you have the water situation solved, then the wood needs to dry completely. This can take days, weeks or months depending on the season. Blowing air across the wood will accelerate the drying time. Be very careful about using a heat gun or other artificial heat source to dry the wood. Wood that's rotted and dry ignites very readily and can burn fiercely.
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Can You Revitalize Rotted Wood?
Yes, you can revitalize and strengthen rotted wood by using a liquid wood hardener/petrifier. Petrifier is slang for petrified wood.
I've had great luck revitalizing rotted wood using PC Petrifier. It soaks into the dry wood fibers and makes the rotted wood hard again.
This is PC Petrifier wood hardener. It comes in different sizes. This is the gallon jug. Get this size if you have to repair lots of wood rot. CLICK THE PHOTO to have this delivered to your home.
These liquids appear to be heavy bodied resins that adhere readily to the rotted wood. Drilling hole into the rotted wood can enhance deep penetration of the liquids.
Does The Wood Hardener Strengthen The Wood Rot?
Yes, these liquids, once dry, add considerable strength to the rotted wood fibers. Using this milky liquid is the first step in wood rot repair. The second step is filling holes and gaps with special wood epoxy.
Is the Wood Epoxy a Special Product?
Yes, the wood epoxy I prefer, PC Woody, is a special filler meant to fill holes, cracks, and gaps in the rotted wood.
This is a great wood epoxy that will fill larger cracks in wood decking and outdoor wood. If the wood is starting to rot, get the kit that has the PC Petrifier component. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO HAVE THIS PRODUCT DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME.
Any gaps, holes, or voids can be filled with paste epoxies that adhere very well to the wood. The dry epoxy can be sanded and painted. You don't have to be a master carpenter to work with these DIY friendly epoxy products.
Should I Read the Epoxy Instructions?
As with any repair products, you have to read all the instructions on the product labels. What you'll discover with most, or all, of the chemical and epoxy repair products is the wood needs to be dry. You want this anyway so the good wood doesn't rot further!
What are Wood Rot Prevention Tips?
Preventing wood rot is not as hard as one might think, but it requires a mixture of common sense and best practices. Purchase lumber that has built-in rot resistance if possible. Redwood and cedar are exterior wood species that have natural chemicals that stave off wood rot except in the worst conditions.
Beware of hybridized lumber that's now grown by lumber companies if possible. This lumber has vast quantities of spring wood in it. Spring wood is the lighter-colored band of wood when you look at the end of a piece of lumber. It's softer and readily absorbs water.
What is the Easiest Way to Prevent Wood Rot?
Keeping wood painted and sealed is the easiest way to prevent wood rot. It's not the silver bullet, but it can help. Caulk cracks that allow water to penetrate into wood crevices.
What DIY Wood Rot Chemicals Can I Use?
If you want to give untreated lumber a chance to fight fungi, you can also treat it with borate powders and copper naphthenate.
This is copper naphthenate. It's a magic DIY wood preservative. CLICK THE PHOTO now to have it delivered to your home.
These borate powders readily dissolve in water. If you then soak the dry lumber with the borate solution so it soaks into the wood fibers, the borate chemicals stay behind after the water evaporates.
Fungi dislikes the borate chemicals and will not eat the wood. The only problem is the borates are water soluble. This means you can't leave the wood unprotected from repeated wet / dry episodes. If that happens, eventually the borate chemicals are leached from the wood and the fungi move in and begin to feast!
You can paint, stain or seal borate-treated lumber successfully once the wood dries thoroughly after it's treated.
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