Rotted Trim – Where is it Rotting?
Rotted trim shows it’s ugly side every year. Here is what I have found in the past 28 years of where we see trim areas that rot the most.
- Bottom areas of Door Frames
- Bottom Areas of Window Frames (the sill area); and
- Fascias Behind the Gutters (especially at the corners)
So what is going on here and how can we solve this?
Rotted Trim – Door Frames & Window Frames
First, let’s take the bottom of the door frames and bottom of the window frames. Generally, things are not properly caulked, not properly primed or painted. They are generally sitting on a concrete surface next to a brick surface. What the challenge is here is that concrete and brick have a tendency to be extremely porous. So, let say it rains, water can penetrate the brick or the concrete and have a tendency to leach or weep up into the wood and stay there. So if you have it properly sealed and properly caulked, you generally won’t have any issues that is one of the big challenges.
Rotted trim, if not addressed, can start to attract critters such as insects. Once the insects make a home within your rotted trim, then woodpeckers start to come around your house which will require siding repair. We can also take care of any rotted siding boards or woodpecker damaged siding boards too.
Rotted Trim Behind Gutters
The second one that I find is one of the big challenges for rotted trim is behind a gutter at a corner. Actually, where the gutter meets at the corner. It is not properly flashed and/or the gutter has a hole in it and water gets behind the fascia board. It is a tricky area to fix so you want to make sure your gutters are properly sealed. Have good flashing. Make sure you have caulking going on everywhere and all your surfaces are protected.
Sometimes you can have other areas on your home’s exterior that are starting to rot or dry out as well, such as warped wood siding. This needs to be fixed and repaired as soon as you notice it happening.
Don’t forget, if you need an estimate on repairing your home’s trim or siding, give me a call. My team and I have been serving the St. Charles, Warrenville, Wheaton, Winfield, Geneva, Batavia, and all of the Chicago area for 30+ years.
