Your home is subjected to a myriad of stresses throughout the year, such as strong wind, snow, rain, extreme heat, and humidity. All of these can cause damage to even the best exterior paint job done on wooden features. After some years of exposure to natural environmental stressors, the paint will wear off, leaving your woodwork vulnerable to rotting.
Not only is rotted wood an eyesore for your home, but it can quickly become a breeding ground for pests and termites. Ignoring rotted wood can be highly hazardous to your property and pose a severe threat to the health and safety of your family.
Can I Paint Over Rotted Wood?
Many homeowners attempt to resolve rotted wood by simply painting over it. However, paint isn’t the silver bullet to this common home occurrence. Yes, it may seem like a quick and easy fix, but like a mask, it only hides the rot rather than actually fixing the wood underneath. Painting does not stop rotting wood from further deteriorating; it simply delays the process. As a homeowner, be aware that this can lead to severe issues down the line.
If you’re starting to see signs of rotted woodwork and wood beams around your home, here are 4 reasons you should consider replacing it rather than just painting over it.
1. You Are Compromising Your Home’s Strength
Rotting wood means that its strength and integrity have been compromised. Usually, this happens when moisture combined with other elements such as mold or mildew has penetrated the surface and has weakened the interior. Once this happens, painting over it does not stop the deterioration.
2. You Are Wasting Time And Money
Paint won’t do much! Painting over rotted wood may serve as a band-aid, but is a waste time and money. The paint won’t adhere well because of the moist surface of the wood. At this point, achieving a polished finish is impossible. Soon, you’ll notice cracks, bubbles, and fades on the paint, meaning that the moisture on the rotted wood is seeping through, ruining the paint job.
A professional contractor can help inspect your rotten wood structure to identify issues, and replace the wood before the problem worsens.
3. You Are Inviting Unwanted Pests
Termites usually start at the lower parts of your home and slowly eat their way through every woodwork they can find. They can significantly damage wood and gnaw right through your home’s structural integrity. When you start seeing a colony of termites, that’s your sign to get your wood replaced immediately. Trust us, termites move VERY fast and are hard to get rid of, so seeking professional help is a must.
4. You Are Creating A Health Hazard
Moisture is the leading cause of rotted wood and accelerates mold growth. Mold is a known health hazard and painting over it only adds insult to injury. Did you know that exposure to mold spores can trigger allergy symptoms and is especially dangerous for children? Both dry and wet rot are the perfect breeding ground for mold, and not replacing the damaged or rotted wood will only allow it to grow further.
Inspect Your Home’s Woodwork
Rotted wood suggests deterioration and indicates a considerable amount of its innate natural resistance has been lost. Even with a thick coat of paint, harsher elements such as high winds, hail, sleet, and rain can easily penetrate rotting wood. Replacing the rotted wood is a sure-fire way to guarantee a safe and structurally sturdy home.
Are you seeing signs of wood deterioration that need immediate repair, replacement, or inspection inside your home? This summer is the perfect time to get them replaced. Consult with CCS professionals who can do the job, provide expert advice on the best approach, and finish any job involving wood treatment, rotted wood replacements, and painting.
One top name for this service is Clarksville Construction Services. You can call us at 443-386-3099 for top-notch construction work from home remodeling, repair, renovations, painting, carpentry, and more! They are known for respecting their client’s property and providing high-level services that ensure 100% customer satisfaction.
Should You Paint Over Rotted Wood?
If your home has some trim pieces that seem to have a little bit of rot or mold, you might be thinking that painting over them is a quick and easy solution. However, while this might take care of the visual aspects. It will not address the real underlying issues and could actually make the problem worse. For the most part, “out of sight, out of mind” isn’t the best way to deal with possible structural damage to your home.
We have laid out some of the reasons for dark spots or damaged wood that painting over just won’t fix. Some articles floating around on the internet will tell you that it is fine to do. But the truth is that ignoring the real causes of wood damage can have major consequences. By understanding these issues and how they should be properly addressed. You can identify what you are dealing with and get to the root of the problem instead of simply covering it up.
Termites
If you are noticing cracked or damaged wood on or around your home, including fences or gates. Tthis could be a sign that you have a termite infestation. Termites eat and damage wood and can greatly reduce the structural integrity of your home if they are allowed to remain in the area. The only way to deal with a termite problem is to find their epicenter and remove it so they can’t proliferate and damage your home’s foundation, walls, or subfloors.
Painting over termite damage isn’t just ineffective, in some cases it may also be a legal problem. If you are planning on selling your home eventually. An inspector will be able to tell that you have simply covered the damage with paint. This could make the home ineligible for sale until the damage is fixed, which may be incredibly expensive.
Moisture
Moisture can easily cause rotting and splitting in wood. And a new coat of paint will not do anything to fix the problem. When water soaks into wood, it can cause wood to expand and swell as well as deteriorate to the point of falling apart. So, painting over the problem only won’t fix it, it will just add to it. The paint won’t be able to stick to the wet and damaged wood. Which means it won’t look very good when you paint over it.
While paint can help protect your home from wet weather. It won’t fix the problem if the moisture has already soaked in. If you have moisture rot in the wood of your home. The odds are good that you have a leak somewhere in the house. Before you can paint an area, you will have to make sure that the leak is fixed and that it won’t contribute to additional wood rot down the road.
Mold
If moisture is allowed to sit in one place for a long time, it can eventually start to grow into mold. Mold can have serious health consequences if it isn’t taken care of and properly removed. Homes with mold problems can be a cause of lung irritation, allergies, and many more concerns. Which is why painting over mold should never be done. All painting over mold will do is agitate the spores, which will then grow elsewhere in the house.
