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How Poor Siding Installation Will Cause Wood Rot

Wood Rot Caused by Poor Siding Installation

Interior Wood Rot Caused by Leaking Siding

Interior Wood Rot Caused by Leaking Siding

The other day I got an interesting call from one of craftsmen saying, “You gotta come out here and see this!” So I grabbed the video camera and went to the site and you will not believe what we found! Most people don’t think much of it, but poor siding installation will cause wood rot and other damage to your home. Sadly, once the damage is discovered, it can be time consuming and costly to repair. When I arrived on the scene, my craftsmen had already peeled back some of the vinyl siding to uncover rotted sheathing, damaged insulation, framing, drywall and rotted subfloor. It is amazing how much damage a small leak an do in just a few years!

Video Case Study on Wood Rot Repair

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Wood Rot Develops Slowly

This house had siding replaced a few years back by a very large, reputable company. While most of the work was pretty solid, they missed one little spot which caused a disaster inside and cost a lot of money to repair.

Subfloor Wood Rot Repair

Subfloor Wood Rot Repair

The homeowner luckily saw this when they went to replace their carpet, otherwise the problem would have worsened. They removed a corner cabinet and peeled back the carpet, only to see the wall and floor were wet and rotted. This problem with their siding was completely out of sight to these homeowners, as it did not appear anything anything was out of place. Often this is the case with wood rot–it develops quietly and you don’t discover it until it is too late. In this case, all we need to to is replace the subfloor, drywall and trim, as the wood joists underneath were fine. However, it could have been much worse!

How Poor Siding Installation Causes Wood Rot

Siding Defect Caused Wood Rot

Siding Defect Caused Wood Rot

When the siding was replaced, they missed a cap on the corner of the home, allowing water to seep down underneath the siding for years. Compounding the problem was the absence of any house wrap to protect the home from water making it past this siding. House wrap is essential to protect the home’s sheathing from water damage should the siding fail. Unfortunately, many builders did not install house wrap until the early 2000s in conjunction with vinyl siding. Consequently, many homes in the Cincinnati area suffer premature wood rot damage from water intrusion. In this case, given that the water intrusion went unnoticed, the walls and floors  rotted.  Unfortunately, another homeowner horror-story was in the making.  But never worry, ProMaster Home Repair and Handyman is on the scene!

How ProMaster Repairs Wood Rot

To repair this problem, we had to replace the damaged subfloor and the floorboards as well as cut out the wall, replace the framing and insulation.

Make Sure to Research Your Home Repair Company!

This just goes to show that you can’t choose a company, no matter how reputable without the proper research. I suggest everyone read our article, Three Golden Rules for Better Home Improvement to educate yourself before contracting any company to work on your home.

If you have had siding work done in the past 5 years, I’d suggest you go out and check your home for problems like this. Replacing the cap or repairing some flashing is much easier and a lot cheaper than waiting a few years to find out your floors and walls are rotted and ruined.  To see the effects of neglected maintenance or small construction defects left unresolved, take a look at some of our other articles and videos:

Do You Have a Siding or Wood Rot Problem Like This?

If you find any problems like this, contact ProMaster and we will be out there in a hurry to stop any further damage from occurring! Call ProMaster Home Repair and 513-322-2914 right away.  As always, we’d love to be your friend on Facebook, keyword “ProMaster Craftsmen”.

For Siding Repairs Call (513) 322-2914
or Click here for ProMaster Home Repair & Handyman

Comments

  1. Question,
    I am having my wood siding replaced with vinyl, but on the inside drywall I am getting holes, cracking and bowing. Are the guys using nails that are too long. It seems now, I have much work to do with spackle and new paint. Is the siding company on the hook for this? It seems the nails they are using are extremely long. They are doing a great job, but seem to create more work for us to do on the inside of the house. Thanks for opinion/help.

    • Jacob Addison says

      Hi Tim.

      It’s certainly possible that they are using nails that are too long. I would imagine, though, that it’s just as likely that the percussive force of whatever nailing they are doing is disrupting the interior construction of your home, especially if they are nailing by hand. Are you actually seeing nail points come through the wall?

      Thanks,
      Jacob

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