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The Hidden Rotted Wood That is Leading Your Home to Be Eaten Away

My name is Tom Lopatosky. I’m the President of LOPCO Contracting (www. LopcoContracting.com) & I’m honored to have the opportunity to talk to you about home improvement on a monthly basis. I love answering your questions! Please send them to tom@ LopcoContracting.com or call 401-270-2664. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this column!

Two homeowners that we recently worked with have had about as good of an attitude as one might imagine, while addressing issues at their homes that were far from ideal.

In the rst instance, we were working on the client’s home and uncovered signi cant additional rot.

In this case, both the client and the company knew that this was a possibility, but the client’s mindset of the extent of the additional rot was revealed when what was originally anticipated truly became clear.

Instead of trying to encourage us to band-aid things and/or stop short of truly repairing what was rotted, the client urged us to keep going with the attitude of “it has to get xed!”

In the second instance, we were hired to replace a rotted kickboard under a slider door, and throughout the conversation with the client, it quickly became evident just how savvy our newfound client was from a construction standpoint, as she began walking me through what she expected us to nd.

is was very pleasing to me because usually I am the one walking someone through the potential horror of rotted wood, which was very realistic in this case due to where the issue was located.

Both the client and I acknowledged that once we took that kickboard o , the sill under the door would most likely have to be replaced, which meant that the door would have to come out and/or be properly braced, and the vinyl siding around the door area would have to be carefully peeled back and then reinstalled a er the repair was completed. No small task for sure, but a perfect example of underscoring the value of addressing hidden rot.

In the rst example, prior to its repair, although there was no evidence of bug damage, this client’s home was a juicy snack, ripe for the picking for the next set of carpenter ants or termites that were looking for a nice feast.

e second client had an actual presence of termites, and their subsequent eradication is what led her to give us a ring in the rst place. As many that are in the thick of working through a termite or carpenter ant challenge are quick to nd out (if they were not already aware), termites and carpenter ants gravitate toward areas in homes where wood has become moist. Wood rots from the inside out. Once you see a piece of rotted trim on your home, the chances are fairly high that the piece of trim is already rotted thoroughly on its backside, if not masking even deeper, structural rot behind it.

Typically, the way this happens is that moisture gets behind the trim through some type of a crack or crevice and begins to do its dirty work. If not discovered soon enough, damage, which is exempli ed in the two examples here, can surely set in before you know it.

Your best bet is to stay diligent, inspect your home twice a year (once in the spring and once in the fall) for potential rot, and reach out to a professional for further examination of anything that appears a bit concerning.

Providing maintenance along the way in the form of making sure your paint/stain coatings are intact, seams are properly sealed, siding and trim are tight, etc., is the best preventative approach. If you are able to catch something that is rotted ‘in the bud’ and have it corrected, you may be able to save yourself a great deal of headache then if the situation were to continue to develop and you nd yourself in a place which requires monumental repairs. ese steps will help to avoid circumstances that may come along, where you are attached at the hip with a plethora of creepy crawlies, chomping away at the exterior of your home.

About Tom Lopatosky

Tom Lopatosky has run his own carpentry and painting business in Providence since 1995; LOPCO Contracting – the “Personable, Particular Professionals” – specializes in carpentry and exterior & interior painting. Recently LOPCO Contracting was named ‘RI’s Finest Painting Contracting Company’ by ShopInRI Magazine. In 2013, Tom was named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA) and a “40 Under 40” award winner by Providence Business News. He is a member of both the PDCA and RIBA (Rhode Island Builders Association). Tom has weekly ‘Home Improvement Tips’ that air on the radio on 630 WPRO AM (during the weekday morning news) and on television on WPRI 12 (during the Saturday morning news.