Ask the Builder: Repairing Wood Rot

Wood rot is a sibling to mold growth.
Ask the Builder: Repairing Wood Rot
Rainwater splashing up from the gravel just below this dryer vent outlet is the primary cause of this wood rot. My guess is the painter never coated the bottom edge of the wood block, allowing water to soak into the end grain. Tim Carter/TNS
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Do you have wood rot happening at your home? It’s a very common problem, and it’s getting worse each year, in my opinion, because new lumber is more susceptible to rot, and many tradespeople are not coating the fresh cut ends of wood with paint or preservative. As you might expect, clever alternative products have appeared in the marketplace to take wood rot off your plate. I’ll discuss those in a moment.

Wood rot is a sibling to mold growth. Mold growth requires but three things: a food source, mold spores, and water. Those three things are almost always available in and outside your home.

Tim Carter
Tim Carter
Author
Tim Carter is the founder of AsktheBuilder.com. He's an amateur radio operator and enjoys sending Morse code sitting at an actual telegrapher's desk. Carter lives in central New Hampshire with his wife, Kathy, and their dog, Willow. Subscribe to his FREE newsletter at AsktheBuilder.com. He now does livestreaming video M-F at 4 PM Eastern Time at youtube.com/askthebuilder. (C)2022 Tim Carter. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.