Questions tagged [dry-rot]

Wood damage caused by current or prior elevated moisture levels.

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1 answer
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moisture control inside of brick house

I am partially gutting a bathroom. It has been redone once. When I tore up where the sink was, underneath the Ditra on the layer of OSB that was laid down there was water damage. So I tore that up, ...
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1 answer
49 views

How can I stop the rot of window?

I've chipped away at all the very rotten parts. Is there a sealant I can apply that will stop further rot?
1 vote
3 answers
3k views

Should I Let my PT Fence Dry Before Installing

I'm installing 300+ LF of fence in the next month or so and am getting ready to start ordering my materials. My main question is should I dry out my PT lumber before installing, posts rails and ...
2 votes
2 answers
671 views

How would you go about repairing the wood rot on this beam?

I'm looking for some advice on repairing this beam on the front of my house. I'm considering trying it myself but am not opposed to hiring a handyman if it's over my head. I suspect this is due to ...
1 vote
2 answers
18k views

How to repair rotten plywood board under vinyl bay/bow window?

This vinyl bow window was installed about 15-20 years ago: Overall it looks and works OK, but the underside is wood and has severely rotted around the outer edges: Here's a detail of one corner. ...
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2 answers
113 views

Do I replace or repair rotted board in 100 year-old house?

I have removed plaster and lath on the inside of an exterior wall of a 100 year old house in preparation for spray foam insulation. Two of the boards are partly rotted. See pictures. Everything else ...
1 vote
1 answer
193 views

Rebuilding a badly rotted corner [closed]

I should have suspected something when I noticed softness in the hardwood floor in the back corner, but I wasn't using that area much. Then, when a couple of exterior shingles fell off and I noticed ...
0 votes
1 answer
149 views

2" x 11" Actual Floor Joist Sistering Question

Remodeling our home and found out a few of the floor joists have dry-rot where the floor joist sits on the wall top plate. The wall to wall span that the joist sits on is 11'. Three questions on best ...
2 votes
1 answer
532 views

Door frame rotting on top edge

I have an exterior door (~7 y/old) and the top frame is rotting. The door is on the SE side of house and gets almost no rain (weather comes from west normally). There is no screen door. The door is on ...
0 votes
1 answer
976 views

Replace rotted plywood sheathing behind stucco

I have a chimney chase where water was leaking down the side for years. I had the fireplace and flue removed. In the chase, the plywood sheathing has all rotted away from the stucco. I can remove ...
17 votes
6 answers
12k views

Why is all this exterior trim rotting and how do I fix it?

We realized there was some rot on the exterior of the house when we bought it two years ago, and I knew obviously I would want to deal with it eventually. As I've been looking more around the outside ...
1 vote
2 answers
497 views

Care and maintenance of wood fence that is rotting because of damp leaves on the other side

I have a wooden fence around my garden. I share parts of the fence with my neighbour, who has a shed close to the fence on his side. Between the fence and the shed on my neighbour's side, leaves ...
2 votes
2 answers
514 views

Are the rotting windows and window sill salvageable?

My windows and window sill have rotted on the bottom. The quote for the windows without installation are thousands of dollars. Could this be salvaged with epoxy, bondo, and making frames for the glass?...
2 votes
1 answer
967 views

Cause of white rot on floor joist

The structural floor system on the 4th and top floor of a house in Rotterdam that was built in 1906 consists of 20cm x 7.5cm wooden joists which are spaced at 67cm center to center. There is nothing ...
1 vote
1 answer
62 views

Need help identifying materials needed to replace rotted and damaged wood

Need the names of materials or any suggestions as to what I should do.
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1 answer
643 views

Are these holes in my garage's wall indicative of flushing out carpenter ants?

I just bought a home and discovered a substantial amount of wood rot in the garage. I had to tear away a lot of drywall to see it, and when I did, I found obvious evidence of carpenter ants. However, ...
0 votes
1 answer
28 views

how do i prevent rot on a porch?

i don't understand why there have to be gaps between deck boards but not porch boards. our porch boards got rotted from rain water settling between them and needless to say there were no gaps when it ...
2 votes
1 answer
6k views

How to protect stair stringers from water rot?

I'm repairing the stairs of a deck structure, replacing dry-rot stringers with new ones. The stringers rest on top of a cement pool deck. The pool deck is sloped towards the stairs, so I expect rain ...
0 votes
3 answers
362 views

Is it safe to use old, rotted wood fixed to an attic joist?

I had a pack of old attic boards in my shed. They've been there for 10 years or so. I got them out today to lay them in the attic and found the packaging had broken and some damp had got in. One end ...
2 votes
2 answers
577 views

Dry Rot (?) in Exterior Trim, patch or replace?

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 ...
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0 answers
58 views

Building square tapered porch columns that won't rot

I have 4 columns originally built with 7 ply plywood and some are starting to rot. I've rebuilt one with cedar but am looking for a material that will last even longer without breaking the bank. The ...
0 votes
1 answer
45 views

Wood rotted on thermal pane windows

The wood that is up against the glass on the double pane windows has rotted. How do we repair them without taking the glass out? We have to paint them every summer but with our Montana winters they ...
6 votes
3 answers
3k views

What to do with post with dry rot?

We’re getting ready to paint and I was checking around my porch. There are three columns that support the roof over my porch. One of them had a decorative cross member that was dislodged because of ...
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Replacing rotted brickmold and sill - what’s the sill piece called?

Thanks for your time. I’m replacing exterior brickmold and don’t want to spend good money after bad so I could benefit from others’ experience. Here’s a picture, I’ve circled the piece in question: ...
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2 answers
111 views

draining sauna into crawlspace

I'm thinking of setting up a drain from my sauna through the floor of my house into my crawlspace. Practically speaking, would this damage the house?
2 votes
2 answers
9k views

Replacing Rotted Deck Footings

Afternoon, folks. I have a deck that I am re-decking. Easy job, until I found that all of the footers were rotted out. The deck is bolted to the house on two sides, and the remainder of the deck is ...
0 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is involved with replacing floor joists [closed]

I need to replace 3 joists on the second story of our 2 story + basement 1920s townhouse. The joists are rotted on one side all the way into the cement block wall. There is not enough good wood to ...
2 votes
1 answer
5k views

Replacing a sill, on a factory built Marvin window?

The following windowsill, and the ones like on the same building, have failed. Patching with Smith's Flexible Epoxy kept the sills alive for a few years, but now the entire sill feels like balsa wood ...
3 votes
2 answers
703 views

Prevent dry rot from spreading

Last winter, I had serious dry and wet rot issues in the basement. The reason seemed to be that the wall was not watertight. This has been corrected and repair works were carried out by professionals (...
1 vote
1 answer
8k views

Repairing rot in window framing

I recently noticed some soft spots in my T1-11 siding around a window. In hopes that the problem was just in the siding I started the process of removing the rotten piece. Once I removed it I found ...
8 votes
5 answers
5k views

Does siding rot propagate upwards?

Parts of the bottom of my siding have rotten (images attached). The wood feels soft to touch and breaks easily. The cause of the problem is probably dripping water from rain (I am not sure about this)....
1 vote
1 answer
7k views

How can I patch a subfloor going under an exterior wall?

We recently replaced our leaky patio door, and are left with two ugly water damage spots (pictures below). I'm pretty sure the rot extends below the door and the wall on either side. If the problem ...
3 votes
3 answers
4k views

If it is important to humidify the air in winter for one's health, how then do you prevent condensation from forming on the inside of windows?

The optimum zone of the relative humidity of one's home at any given time is between 40% and 60%. This is the range to ensure that the humidity does not damage one's health or one's furnishings, in ...
1 vote
0 answers
203 views

White substance on roof timbers

I've just inherited my dad's house and I've been looking over it's condition, and one of the walls was getting damp when it rains, I had a look in the loft and saw the following: Is this dry rot? It'...
6 votes
3 answers
4k views

How to fix eaten/rotten rafter

I need to repair some rotten 5"x3.5" (actual size) rafters (the one in the pic is the worst). I'm thinking about using a pair of unequal length 2x6s to create a sort of half-lap joint with the cut-...
0 votes
1 answer
4k views

Worried about cracked rafters in house built 1985

There are cracks and dry rot in the rafters of this house, and I'm wondering how urgently they need to be fixed: support rafter where brace is located, crack runs widthwise almost entire width ...
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

What kind of jacks are used for lifting of framing in various situations?

I have two vertical house jacks from the local tool library, which I've used to support framing during extensive dry rot and termite repair: I'm into a section where the house jacks won't work. I ...
0 votes
2 answers
3k views

How much condensation is okay on storm windows?

I have an old house that has both wooden and aluminum storm windows. Many of the windows develop condensation and frost on the storm windows when it's cold outside. I made sure weep holes were clear,...
2 votes
0 answers
349 views

Best way to dry out wet, painted wood

So I just got this boat. It has a painted plywood roof, but it's been neglected for many years, and the paint has begun to chip/peel. Parts of the roof are a bit rotten, and most of it is damp when ...
3 votes
1 answer
531 views

Internal walls supported by rotten wood

We've an old house from 1890 and are replacing rotten and wood worm eaten beams and floors. But, whilst doing this we've found that the internal walls have been built on top of planks of wood placed ...
0 votes
0 answers
114 views

How to properly hire contractor(s) to fix deck and railing deterioration?

During home inspection while buying our place the inspector underestimated the cost of the job to fix rot that got inside the railing on a tiny (~3'x3') balcony/deck. He said it would cost ~$1000 to ...
7 votes
3 answers
15k views

What to do about a rotten top plate in the wall of old home addition?

This week's rainstorms brought a leak in my roof above a set of windows that are at the low end of a single-story addition with a shallow roof. Our search for the source of the leak (which turned out ...
2 votes
1 answer
5k views

Replacing rot in wooden porch column

I have a porch column which has some rot at the bottom. These are smaller porch columns similar to http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-6-in-x-6-in-x-8-ft-Pine-Porch-Column-709721/202087424. I've ...
0 votes
2 answers
4k views

Using wood filler on garden furniture

I want to repair some weather battered garden table, bench and chair set. It has had some in places, so I will be replacing the severely rotten sections, and scraping out the rot from the partially ...