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Wood is probably one of the most beautiful and popular siding material in Cincinnati Ohio. The downside, however, is that it is also more susceptible to rotting. But don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you’ll need a full siding replacement right away. There are many ways how to repair rotted wood siding.

But before we’ll go through the step-by-step guide on how you can do so, let us first discuss whether or not rotting wood siding can still be repaired. This way, you wouldn’t have to waste your time and resources trying to fix something that was unrepairable in the first place.

Can rotted wood siding be repaired?

The answer to this depends on the extent of the rot and the areas affected. Keep in mind that the siding is supposed to protect your home and help provide insulation. If it is rotting even a little bit, it wouldn’t be able to function properly as it should.

Fortunately, if the rot is only limited to just a few siding boards, you can repair them easily without having to do a full siding replacement. But if the rot already affects almost the entire siding itself, a full replacement may be the best way to go instead.

A step-by-step guide on how to repair rotted wood siding

Now, let’s say for instance that the rot in your siding affects only one or few boards. Here’s how you can repair them:

Identify the rotted siding board/s. Carefully walk around your property and look for visible signs of rotting in your sidings. Mark them up so that later on, you can easily go back on them to have them repaired.

If there are no visible signs, it doesn’t mean that your wood siding is already safe entirely. It can also suffer dry rot, which is hard to see with the naked eye. It happens when the outer layer of the wood is still intact but underneath the surface, it is already rotting.

To spot dry rot, you can press on the siding boards one by one and look for soft spots as these are indications that the inside is already rotting. But if you’re not comfortable doing this yourself, you can call a siding expert and have them perform a thorough siding inspection for you.

Remove the rotted siding. This is the second step on how to repair rotted wood siding. Go back to the marks you left on the affected siding boards. Measure each and draw a straight vertical line.

And using a knife, cut out the caulk and the paint around the damaged board. Make sure the cut is deep enough to break the bond so you would be able to get the board off in one piece.

Then following the vertical lines you made, saw off the rotted wood siding. Be careful in doing this so as not to damage the support systems beneath the surface or disturb the adjacent siding boards.

Once you’re done sawing, remove the nails and gently pry the wood siding loose to pull them free.

Replace the rotted siding. After you’ve successfully removed the rotted wood siding, it’s time to replace them. Buy a siding board that matches exactly the color and design of your existing siding. Then cut them to match the size of the siding you just removed.

Slide the new piece into place and make sure it fits correctly. Nail it down and make sure to seal it using outdoor caulk to close all the seams. This way, water wouldn’t be able to seep through inside.

Then apply primer. Once it has fully dried up, paint it with the same color as your existing wood siding. For full coverage, you would need at least two coats of paint.

Assist Restoration can help repair your wood siding!

We are Ohio’s favorite siding expert so we can help you how to repair rotted wood siding. We can thoroughly examine and inspect your siding to determine exactly where the damaged areas are. Then we’ll remove and replace them the right way so you’ll never have to worry about the rot again. So let us assist. For all your siding needs, call us to get a free inspection today!