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Handyman Articles - Solving Common Water Damage Problems

While siding replacement is at the top of the remodeling value rankings (highest payback when selling the house), home owners don't always put new siding on their homes because they want to. My Handyman frequently goes out to repair a small water problem, which turns out to be much larger. The customer then needs to decide if they want to replace the siding on their entire home (with a siding contractor) or stagger the cost across multiple years, completing one side each year to stay with in their budget. My Handyman can handle repair of all structural damage, replace the siding as needed and install gutters and missing flashing over windows and doors, to provide a water tight envelope.

Typical symptoms which cause a home owner to call My Handyman, and often result in uncovering serious water damage are:

Difficulty opening/closing doors to decks
Spongy wood found when doing touch-up painting
Black spots on siding coming through from water damage behind the siding

Most Common Exterior Water Problems

Water damage should NEVER be deferred. The load bearing wall under the sliding door below (lower left) was almost totally gone after 20 years of ongoing water damage. The window surrounded by Masonite siding had similar structural problems. The most common exterior water problems My Handyman deals with include:

Rotted door thresholds that were not installed properly
Decks not attached properly to the home
Rotted window sills that are not cleaned and painted frequently enough
Rotted trim boards that are not flashed properly
Masonite siding

The most important message here is that water damage, once it starts, will continue to travel. This means that deferred repairs will cost more, so it is always better to make the repairs as soon as you discover the problem. Every repair involving water damage involves 2 steps:

First you should isolate the source of the problem and correct it so that no more water damage will occur.
Second you need to repair and/or replace the materials that have been damaged by the water. If you are lucky, the damage will be more superficial and you can dig out the rot, fill the void with an epoxy mix, sand, prime and paint

There may also be interior water damage that needs to be addressed. Minor ceiling damage may only require a coat of stain block while other repairs might include replacing the sheetrock on the ceiling. Probably the worst example of this was a kitchen ceiling that simply fell down due to water building up - the kitchen was on the first floor with 2 floors and a ceiling over it.

If you do not complete both repairs, the moisture causing the damage will continue to travel and the scope of the repairs will increase over time. You must remove and replace all rotted (and moist) wood to maintain your home's structural integrity. We have worked in homes where the wall joists behind rotted siding were almost gone.

Testing for Rotted Wood
The best way to avoid major problems is to inspect your home annually. Where you see any type of discoloration (brown, yellow or white) on the wood's surface, a thorough inspection of the area should be done. You can test the wood by pressing your finger to see if the area is soft and spongy. Do not be surprised if the wood crumbles or breaks off into small pieces. An alternative approach is to use a thin, sharp object like a pencil or the tip of an ice pick. If the wood crumbles or an object can easily penetrate the wood, you have a problem which should be addressed immediately.

Rotted Door Thresholds
Door thresholds are a typical place to find rotted wood. The rot is caused by an excessive amount of water penetrating the wood due to one/more problems:

Front doors typically step down to a landing where rain water bounces and splashes back onto the vertical kick plate below the threshold. If this kick plate is not sealed properly, the wood absorbs the water and this moisture enables fungi to live. The fungi breaks down the wood fibers and decomposition occurs and may be invisible to the human eye for quite some time. The moisture travels up the kick plate to the threshold, and may extend to the vertical wood (interior and/or exterior) sitting on top of the threshold.

The home owner of the front door shown here found the wood rot when she started to touch up the paint on the trim around her door. My Handyman found extensive wood rot requiring the following repairs:

Siding removed and sheathing behind replaced
Front door, threshold and kick plate replaced
Home owner chose to replace all trim surrounding the door using Azek, a composite with no wood content, to avoid future problems.

Sliding patio doors have problems similar to front doors (described above) when it comes to splash back from the deck immediately outside these doors.

Decks
More often the problems associated with thresholds under sliding patio doors stem from the ledger board, used to attach the deck to the house, not being installed incorrectly. The ledger board needs to be flashed to keep water from getting behind the board where water can collect and create an environment for fungi to thrive. This moisture can travel to the siding and sheathing on the house above and/or below the deck surface.

The photo above illustrates the tip of the iceberg as My Handyman had to replace a significant amount of structural wood, insulation, plywood sheathing and siding running about 8 ft back from the door. The technician also re-framed the door, replaced the threshold and replaced rotted deck boards. The home owner had just retired and was shocked at the extent of the damage. Where he originally thought he could get the house ready to put on the market by himself, turned into a 6 day project for My Handyman.

Rotted Window Sills
While the design of window sills is meant to allow water to drain off, dirt has a tendency to collect in the inside corners and trap water which left alone can start the cycle of wood rot. Window sills should be checked every year and cleaned to reduce the chance of wood rot starting. Wood sills also need to be painted/stained more frequently to insure any sitting water is not absorbed by the wood, especially on the side(s) of the house that have significant tree cover or the worst weather conditions.

Like kick plates under doors, home owners should consider replacing rotted window sills with Azek or a similar composite with no wood content should be considered to avoid further water damage.

Rotted Trim Boards
Other types of wood trim that are vulnerable to water damage include:

Wood columns where water can enter at bottom or top
Eaves and roof overhangs, especially where gutters are attached to fascia boards and trap water
Any corners or joints where water can get trapped
Garage doors where the trim touches the ground
Fences where ground water can seep into the wood
Decks and railings that aren't sealed frequently can have water seep in

Replace Masonite Siding NOW!

In the 1980's and 1990's, hardboard siding known most commonly by the brand name, Masonite, was popular as an inexpensive siding for homes. Unfortunately this material, if not properly maintained, absorbs water naturally and a variety of problems occur.

There was a class action suit and settlement to reimburse owners for damage as a result of this faulty siding. Many people are unaware of this lawsuit and continue to defer replacing this siding. Unfortunately, the delay creates far more serious problems including:

Siding & sheathing rot (1 & 2)

Structural wood damage (3 & 4)

Insulation (3)

Exterior wood trim (1)

... other water damage resulting from moisture seeping into the home's interior

(1) Damage Not Readily Visible

(3) Carpenter Ants

(2) Siding Viewed After Removal

(4) Structural Damage at Window

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