Exterior Wood Trim and Wood Rot

Homeowners often select an improvement feature for it's looks without considering the time and cost to maintain the it. Most homes bought today have exposed wood trim all around the house. Wood trim is vulnerable to wood rot because it sticks out from your house. This means it’s exposed to more wind, sunlight, rain and other elements than most of your home. If you don’t consistently inspect and paint on a yearly basis then the exposed wood is open to water penetration and wood rot begins. A simple and cost effective solution is to have your wood trim wrapped with metal. These metals come in a variety of colors so you can be creative.

We pick exterior trim for our homes as a way of adding beauty and appeal to our home. It is true that a home needs dressing up and the most common features include a dressy front door, landscaping and shutters. Fortunately most new shutters are vinyl and don’t need painting, just cleaning. Choosing to trim your home 's wood is also a way to add beauty and curb appeal at the same time as adding value and protection.

Let’s look at a few examples of wood rot, what happened and why, so that you will have a better idea of what to look for and where to begin wrapping your wood with metal.

• Bay windows are lovely and they bring extra sunlight into your home. They also use a lot more wood so painting them, especially if it can’t be done from the ground, becomes a home maintenance chore that can easily be deferred until you have serious damage like the window shown here. With bay windows, one option is to use a vinyl clad window to reduce your risk of wood rot and many of these offer a wood interior option.

• Columns are a popular option to dress up the front entryway, deck or many outdoor settings. Obviously, if you home has wodden comlumns or railing then you already are aware of the strict painting schedule required to keep their appeal. Vinyl Columns and railing are becoming extremely popular ways to replace old wooden columns and railing; they require no painting, just cleaning and will always maintain a clean and attractive look.

• Corner boards give depth to your home’s exterior. On houses with wood siding, the corner boards are made of wood most of the time. These types of trim stick out from your home, making them more vulnerable to wood rot. Check out this BEFORE picture and the AFTER from our "before and afters" and you will see what we mean.

• When the Victorian in the lower right corner was built around 1900, the intricate trim finishes, varied siding and decorative ledges where common. Owners painted the Victorian accent pieces in different colors and they popped to create that “Victorian” look and feel. Beautiful to look at but challenging to maintain as you can see here, needing scaffolding to replace rotted trim and siding on the third floor. Modern types of siding made with materials that resist the elements can be put on your home in a combination of ways to give it a one of a kind look.