Five Simple Wood Rot Replacement Tips

What I'm about to share with you is the do's and don'ts for replacing wood that has been damaged by wood rot. Here are five simple tips that homeowners, handyman and contractors can use to deal with wood rot problems.

1. Replace the entire piece of damaged wood. One of the biggest mistakes that homeowners and some handyman make when dealing with wood that is damaged from wood rot is that they only replace the damaged section of the board, creating structural framing problems.

2. Structural wood rot damage might require a professional. I don't advise any amateurs to replace structural posts, beams, roof rafters or floor joist.

3. Solve the original problem that caused the wood rot damage. This is often overlooked and should be a priority. If you have water leaking, fix the water leak and then fix the wood damage.

4. Rebuild the damaged area correctly. Inexperienced carpenters might choose the easiest path to repairing the damaged wood and this could lead to future problems. This would be extremely important to structural framing members.

5. Know the difference between wood rot and termite damage. One of the worst things that could happen to you is to fix an area that you think has rotted, only to find out that termites are in the area.

Like I said in tip number three, don't replace any wood damage that you're not comfortable replacing. If you don't have a basic understanding of home framing construction, you should leave it to a professional who does.