Subject: Dry Rot (house)
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998Greetings!
I discovered your web site while looking for wood fillers to repair (as opposed to replace) dry rotting wood around my home. I'll make this short. If I am on the right track, I'd appreciate you letting me know and I will be glad to call and talk to a sales rep about exactly what I need.
Yep, you're on the right track.
I have recently discovered several places dry rot is present. Here are a few I would like to fix as opposed to replace, primarily due to the location and complexity of the pieces that would have to be replaced.
This generally how people use our products. We recommend that even replaced wood be coated with the Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES) to help avoid future wood deterioration.
-- Facia...a 2"x8" Douglas Fir facing around the bottom of the roof of the house. I have a patio cover attached to some of this facia and have discovered that leaks between the patio cover and the roof have left the facia susceptible to absorbing rain and subsequently dry rot. To replace this wood I would have do dismantle a 14'x38' patio cover (UGH).
If the rotted areas are reasonably dry, the CPES will penetrate the bad wood and consolidate it. If there are gaps, then we recommed following the CPES with some Layup & Laminating Resin. Otherwise, the CPES alone should do the job. If posssible, you might want to think about following the CPES treatment by sealing the areas that allow the water in, although CPES impregnated wood will never rot again.
-- Wood box...around the bottom of a wood box in which I keep firewood, I have discovered rot. The box sits on the patio but there is a low spot in the patio in which water "pools up" around the bottom of the wood box. The water is not deep, probably not more than 1/16"-1/8" but I suspect the "wicking property" of the plywood from which the wood box is made is responsible for the bottom inch or two becoming soaked and rotten. When I press on the side of the wood box at the bottom, it "gives" as there is apparently nothing solid behind it. This will have continued exposure to water when the patio gets wet.
Turn the wood box upside down, let the sun dry the wood, and then soak the ply with the CPES, especially any areas where there is edge-grain. Allow the wood to absorb as much of the CPES as it can. Let it cure (3-5 days) and then go back and do it again. You might as well give the rest of the box a CPES coating while you're at it, again concentrating on the end-grain areas. Once CPES-soaked, the ply should be able to sit in water without problems.
-- A small portion of the base of a 4"x4" post that is one of the supporting posts for the header of the patio cover. Here again, water "pools" around this post and the post has apparently absorbed the water and started to rot.
Same deal with the CPES, except this time we'd suggest that you drill holes with a downward slant and inject the CPES into them, as well as brushing it on the surface. You can fill the holes with a little of our L & L Epoxy Resin (mixed in with wood flour if you want) after you're finished.
-- I would like to *prevent* the aforementioned and other three posts from absorbing water at the bottom and rotting. The posts are set with a post anchor that is supposed to keep the wood about 1/2" from the surface but it is apparently not working in practice as well as it works in theory.
I'd suggest is that you simply let the underside of the post (the end grain) absorb as much CPES off a brush as it will, in addition to brushing the outside of the post with a little CPES. You could go through the whole drilling process, but the fact is good wood doesn't absorb enough CPES to make this really worth your while. If the wood has some bad spots, it will readily absorb the CPES. Again, wait until the wood is reasonably dry.
Thank you for your time. If you offer products that you feel might be helpful in this regard, I would appreciate your reply.
Also, thanks for a great web site. I have already learned more from your web site about epoxy sealer and filler than I have from all the friends I have asked.
Have a great day...
-= Mike =-
Mike:
Some suggestions are interjected above. We are just a week or so away from having a whole new section of our site devoted to the use of our products in homes. In the meantime, you're headed in the righ direction. If you look at the application chart, as presented in the Testing Link, you'll see the logic of our system. These products are all compatible and each will bond with the other to produce a strong structure. What you use depends on what you're looking at. It sounds as you describe it that the CPES is mostly what you need.
But every wood rot situation is in some way unique. We are constantly on-line (even on most weekends), and available by phone to give whatever advice we can concerning your particular situation. Let us know if we can be helpful.
Doc