What "Wood" a Handyman Do: How to Stop Wood Rot

​Wood rot can destroy large sections of your home if you're not careful. Keeping a watchful eye and taking the necessary steps to prevent wood rot could save you thousands on repairs. Rebuilding a porch, for example, could cost you $10,000-20,000 nowadays.

Wood rot is unfortunately very common, due to a number of factors like poor building practices, cheap timber, and the moisture in the environment. For this reason, we've put together a short guide on how to stop wood rot.
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If you follow these tips, you might be able to save yourself a lot of money and grief.

Checking for Wood Rot

To see if you are vulnerable to wood rot, take a slice from the trim of your wood and look at the end of the wood grain. You'll see a mixture of dark and light wood grain. Ideally, you want to see half of that slice comprised of the darkest grain.

Fungi that cause wood rot survive on the lighter wood grain, as it is softer for them to eat. If your home is built with hybridized lumber, it is extremely important to take steps now to prevent rot.


How to Stop Wood Rot

Your biggest enemy when fighting wood rot is moisture. Keeping wood dry is the only way to prevent and stop it from spreading. The fungus that causes wood rot travels everywhere, and soon as it finds wood and a water source, it spreads like fire.

How do you prevent water from touching wood surfaces? Well, you put up a barrier. You either need to put down a coating of paint or sealant. Paint is the more effective of the two, but it isn't something all homeowners will want.

Bare cabinets, for example, can get attacked by wood rot over the years and need to be fixed. Painting your cabinets can really transform the way your home looks and feels, so it doesn't need to be seen as a sacrifice in style.

Boron is a common anti-rot chemical that can be used to soak the wood fibers and kill any fungi spores that come into contact. A coating of boron is followed by primer for a 99.9% effective defense against wet rot.

Preventing Wood Rot

There are a few features that you can look for to see if your home is a higher risk of wood rot. For one, take a look at the roof construction.
Are there wide roof overhands to prevent collection on sidings?
You should have a foot of separation, at least, between wood and soil foundations. Gutters should also have good clearance to prevent water from hitting the sides and foundation.
Masonry should have up to an inch of clearance between wood pieces to allow air to flow. Kickout flashings should also be installed to path water away from the home.

Repairing Wood Rot

We know that most readers will be learning how to stop wood rot after it becomes visible. If you're trying to recover lost wood due to rot, you can fill in the gaps with commercial-grade epoxies. A combination of soaking the edges with boron and resilient epoxies can save an otherwise disastrous run-in with rot.

If you need to repair wood rot damage to your home as soon as possible, Handyman Arc is here. You can get a free estimate for a repair.
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We'll talk you through all the necessary steps that need to be taken and how we can prevent wood rot in your home.