Rot Damage Is Common On Siding Renovations
Make Sure Your Contractor Has A Plan
By Bjorn Delblanc
Blue Jay Exterior Renovations is Edmonton’s only siding contractor that focuses exclusively on renovation projects – so we’ve had quite a bit of experience dealing with rot repairs over the years.
Since homeowners are often asking us questions about rot damage and repairs, we thought it would make for an interesting blog post. And when you’ve been writing a siding blog for as long as we have, you can’t let a good idea go to waste!
1: Exterior Rot Repairs Aren’t As Common As You Might Think (In Edmonton, Anyway)
Anytime you get unwanted water leaking into the wall, there’s a risk of rot - but Edmonton’s hot summer days help to limit the damage.
We find rot damage requiring repair on about 20 percent of our projects. (This is much less than we expected when we started the company back in 2017.) We find signs of water penetration much more often, but just because water is getting in doesn’t automatically mean your walls will rot.
If your siding is breathable, the walls can dry out. And if the walls get hit with lots of warm sunshine, they dry that much better! Edmonton’s low humidity combined with our beautiful sunshine do quite a bit to protect our exterior walls.
2: Most Rot Damage That We Fix Is Caused By Leaking Windows
A massive amount of the rot damage that we find can be traced back to a problem with windows. It’s more than 80% of the damage!
It makes sense when you think about it. The window openings are a literal hole in your wall, after all. When the seals on your windows fail, they create a very inviting path inside for any water. So if you think your older windows are leaking into the wall, it makes sense to change them out.
But even if you have new (or “new-ish”) windows, that doesn’t mean that you’re leak-proof. Because of the way renovation windows go in, it’s basically impossible for the installer to seal them to your house wrap.
3: OSB Sheathing Is Way More Likely To Cause Moisture Problems Than Plywood
In the ongoing battle between plywood vs. OSB sheathing, you can put Blue Jay’s vote firmly on the side of plywood.
OSB (oriented strand board) is very strong (and cheap) but it’s a nightmare if there’s ever a leak. That’s because the wood chips in OSB panels act as a sponge and soak up a ton of water. The water wicks back into the insulation and framing, and the whole wall assembly stays wetter for longer. That’s the perfect condition for rot damage to form.
Because plywood is made from full sheets rather than wood chips, it has fewer layers than OSB does. So it absorbs less water, and dries out much more quickly.
Over and over again, we find plywood sheathing that’s water stained but still perfectly strong and durable. This is a sign that the walls have been wet, but were able to dry out again.
With OSB, this is very rare. Once it gets wet, it almost never dries out.
OSB (oriented strand board) sheathing is known for soaking up water just like a sponge. And once it gets wet, it’ll almost never dry out. On this siding project in north Edmonton, the OSB was so damaged that you could peel it apart with your bare hands. Luckily there wasn’t any damage to the studs this time!
4: Keep Trees Trimmed
You’ve probably noticed a theme here with the lessons about rot damage. When wet walls don’t dry out, you’re bound to have problems. And if you’ve got trees that are too close to your exterior walls, they really don’t help.
Trees will throw shade on your walls, which keeps the warming sunshine from drying out any water that does get into the wall. And when it rains, the tree will get wet (I feel like a “Captain Obvious” writing that). If wet leaves or needles are in constant contact with your siding, they’ll act as another pathway for water to get into your walls.
So do yourself a favour and call that arborist when you have a chance!
5: Rot Repairs Are Messy, And Might Cause Damage To Interior Walls
OK, so let’s say we’ve found some rot damage during your siding project. Now it’s time to fix it, but we’ll have to make sure to get your permission first.
That’s because whenever we cut or pull out damaged studs from the walls, there’s a pretty good chance that we’ll do some damage to the interior walls of your home. Drywall and tile are attached to the damaged studs too!
We’ll do out best to limit the damage, but if there are drywall screws in the rotten studs, some drywall cracks and screw pops are unavoidable.
6: A “One-Size-Fits-All” Approach To Rot Repairs Doesn’t Work
Some of the most unique things about Blue Jay are based on processes. Things like our structured deficiency inspections, our defined payment terms, and our daily jobsite visits help us deliver predictably excellent results for every client.
But at the end of the day, we are a renovation company. And when it comes to rot repairs, “predictable” isn’t in the vocabulary.
Assuming the cause damage without double checking isn’t just lazy, it’s irresponsible. So we treat every instance of rot damage as unique, and make sure that we deal with it properly.
At the same time, different clients will need a different approach. Some of our clients get very worried when we find rot damage, and want to be extremely involved. We’ve had a few clients that wanted to review the repair work on a board-by-board basis, for their ongoing peace of mind.
Other clients get nervous sweats just thinking about being involved in the project at that level, and would far rather just leave us to take care of it in the best way that we know how.
We’re happy either way! After all, you hired us to do a job for you. And we’ll do that job in the way that works for you.
7: We Hate Charging Clients For Rot Repairs
If a siding contractor doesn’t charge their clients the right price for completed work, they’ll be out of business in short order. But because we run a stable and healthy business, we’ve got the freedom to give our customers unreasonably low rates for rot repairs. As long as we can cover the extra cost, we’re happy.
When we do end up charging for rot repairs, we always do it with a written change order for a fixed price. We don’t just agree to an hourly rate and “let the meter run” like some contractors do. That’s a surefire path to a runaway budget.
Most rot repairs are cheaper to complete than you might think. If there’s rotten plywood or OSB to be replaced, we always do that free of charge. Once we get into significant structural framing repairs, we’ll submit a formal change order for your approval. Our change orders for rot damage are normally somewhere between $400 and $1,000 depending on the situation. Repair costs only rarely exceed that range.
If You’re hiring A Siding Contractor In Edmonton, They’d Better Have A Plan For Rot Repairs
There are plenty of siding companies in Edmonton - but since most contractors focus mainly on new construction projects, they don’t have a ton of experience dealing with rot damage.
When you’re hiring a contractor for your siding renovation, make sure you talk to them about what happens if they do find some damage.
If you end up being one of the unlucky 20 percent, you’ll be glad you did.