Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [dry-rot]

Wood damage caused by current or prior elevated moisture levels.

Fungus damage in wood caused by an elevated moisture level. Thus it is really 'wet rot', but we call it dry rot. Once rot starts, the fungus can continue to grow with more moderate levels of moisture.

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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 of the house, getting ready for new projects…
Prototype958
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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). I am wondering if further rotting will stop if…
Ned_the_Dolphin
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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 to be a small hole in the EPDM membrane roof)…
Kate Golden
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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-back timber, and adding a trim board. Is there a…
Phil Esra
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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 dry rot at the location where the cross member was…
milesmeow
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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 either direction. My hygrometer notified me that…
Fil
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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 need to support, and then slightly jack up, a load…
Bryce
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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 on top of the foundations ... this has also…
mrtimdog
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Can I treat/fill this rot in the exterior face of my wood patio doors?

I have a 4-panel wood patio door that's the original from 1992. There's some obvious rot in two panels on their exterior faces, as shown in the photos. The previous owner just painted over the issue, but I'd like to do something that's actually…
Justin R
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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 (changing the ceiling of the basement/floor of…
Mickael
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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 I chip off the paint. Overall though, the roof…
Peter
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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 seen some videos (e.g.…
Mike
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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 and crumbles with finger strength. These are…
Bryce
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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 water infiltration over time (and possibly some…
cavein
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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 the first floor, at my "workshop" room which is…
Chris Paveglio
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