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There is some moderate deterioration and cracking in part of the exterior trim of my house. I believe the trim in question is cedar.

Looking for repair advice.

My thoughts were:

1) Get some epoxy wood filler (Abatron WoodEpox) and attempt the repair. My only fear here is that the decay seems to be fairly deep.

2) Attempt to find lumber of the same size. Use a multi-tool to cut out that section of trim ~ 3 feet from the corner and replace.

Are there any alternatives to what I was considering? Is it worth attempting the epoxy route?

Photos of damaged area:

Picture 1 Picture 2

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    That’s water damage. The repair is more extensive than cosmetic/trim. What is your skill level? You also need to figure out why because it will re-occur/continue. The damage may also be far more than what is visible.
    – Tyson
    Jun 20, 2018 at 1:31
  • Thanks for the response. I'd consider my skill level to be intermediate, although most of the projects I've done have been interior. So the repair is going to be more extensive than replacing a section of that wood piece (what I had referred to as 'trim')? This of course assuming the best case scenario that there's not large amounts of water damage underneath.
    – glanglois
    Jun 20, 2018 at 2:10
  • The real question is how/why did water get in from above/behind? Just replacing the board won’t solve the problem, it will just come back until the original error is identified and corrected.
    – Tyson
    Jun 20, 2018 at 2:13

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Don’t fiddle with epoxy. You’ll want to remove those boards and see what’s happening on the other side. You’ll want to replace the boards. As mentioned in the comments - you’ll need to assess why the wood rotted. First place to look is the flashing/trim right above the rotten boards - is water getting behind it and the rotten boards? Around it? Next time it rains go have a look at the situation - is water dripping off the edge of the flashing/trim to the ground, or is it working around the flashing/trim and running down the face of the rotten boards? Water is somehow collecting somewhere it’s not supposed to be.

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It doesn't look rotted. It looks like the material behind the board is swelled and possibly rotted. Guessing you have a window right above this and water is entering the sill or window frame and making its way down the wall. Start another question with pictures of your window about why water is entering it.

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