Damaged wood or just dry?

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phil
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by phil »

I'm not familiar with that type of porch but I guess you could rebuild that later if you like. a patch made of Albatron or another epoxy type filler or even wood dust mixed with epoxy would be the easiest. I'd try to get rid of most of the real punky wood and fill it and just try to get it so it isnt' collecting water there and getting worse and paint it. replacing the sill is better but I realize sometimes you need to do a quick fix as if you do a perfect job on everything, It takes years to restore a whole house unless you call in contracting crews and for now maybe you just dont' want it getting worse.

For a better and permanent repair I would keep my eyes open for a nice board that is at least as thick as your sill and preferably nice tight grained knot free fir. since the sill is hard to change I'd use good wood. other species that are fairly rot resistant would be OK too. Just dont' use pine or something that rots fast. If you find an old door that isn't' of use elsewhere you might use the portion that the hinges screw to.

You might view it as a can of worms in that you could remove the storms and start chunking out the soft bits and have a big mess that you now really have to tackle so I think you can pick your timing so it fits your budget and house repair schedule.

if the wood under your epoxy repair can wick up water then it will break the bond. Id consider drilling a few holes to see if it's punky and that might give the repair something to grip to. and If I used epoxy I'd try to cover the whole sill or water might want to creep under your repair and pop it off when it freezes. also epoxy wont' stick to rotten wood or paint it will leave an opening for water to get under. It might keep the water out for now. Wapping flashing over the sill might be another temporary measure. It' wont' look great. kind of quick and dirty but sometimes a stitch in time saves nine even if it's the wrong thread color ;-)

the slope of the sill is of course to shed the water. as rain hits the window it will run to the sill and should be able to drip from there and not collect. that's the most important thing.

my back deck had this roll on coating. it wasn't the worst roll on coating but after several years it started lifting.. so I started pulling it off , then I wanted into replacing the sheeting , then I noticed the structure needed repairs. then I re-sheeted and fiberglassed the whole deck. a month and a thousand dollar later I thought geee I didnt' think I was going to do all this but once I picked the scab I put myself in the situation that I wanted to keep going and do it right. It was ok but the point is you can decide weather you do or dont' want to open it all up and make a perfect job of it or do a temporary stitch. Don't regret either. both are improvements over what you have now. the guy in the fibergalss hop said don't even bother trying to fiberglass if you don't have new plywood to stick it to. he said dont' ven let it get rained on once and keep it clean. epoxy is a similar material although epoxy has better sticking power so best for repairs. If you have a fiberglass suplier they will have epoxy and fiberglass products so I'd talk to them, the prices might be better and you could also ask them if they carry the albatron or if it's any better. they carry stuff for fixing boats and decks plus products for doing castings and things. They will know more about epoxy and fillers and related products than the building supply stores.

another great knowledge resource is if you look for a wooden boat forum. people who restore wooden boats do stuff like this on a giant scale so I think you'll find some real experts on the subject there as well. also some of the coatings and things for boats are more industrial grade as they need to be.

if you know you are coating the sill with epoxy maybe rather than carefully heat gun scraping paint you could use an angle grinder or belt sander with coarse paper and that will kind of tear into the grain and probably help the bond as well as remove the existing paint quickly. the epoxy might grab a roughened surface better.

understanding capillary action is important. dip a paper towel in water and the water will climb and defeat the principles of gravity.
it happens because of surface tension but in some respects it seems to defy the laws of physics.
anywhere you sister wood or have even tiny gaps between surfaces you set up a situation where the water will want to go between and then not dry out. it's easy to overlook how even heavy lumber which is sistered together can rot out fast because of this principle. sometimes a bit of paint or tar or flashing or something can fill the void and stop that before it does damage.
with epoxy repairs, the epoxy lasts but if you have issues it will be because the bond is weak to begin with or because the water got under and between and it will cause the bond to break through capillary action. once you get water between and freezing comes into play expanding and contracting the water it sort of has a jacking effect and that can cause the issue to creep along. water expands as it freezes and even though the movements are very tiny it can cause issues to creep along. if the water can't get there that's the solution.
also if you can allow gaps such as say 1/4" between stair or deck treads then the gap is large enough that capillary action can't climb between so sometimes a little larger gap can help.

if that sill had to sit on the masonery and if you just laid a couple popsicle sticks as spacers between there would then be a gap to stop the wicking action from the masonry to the wood. I'm not suggesting you use popsicle sticks but you get the concept I'm sure.

epoxy in itself hasn't got any UV inhibitors so I'd sand it with coarse paper and paint it after.

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GibsonGM
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by GibsonGM »

Or, for a spacer/prevent contact w/masonry...tar paper...old school 'solution'...they also make a foam pad that they put between foundations and the sill on new construction to do just the same...anything non-permeable will work.

I kind of like the popsicle stick idea, tho...low tech, innovative, and likely just as effective!

phil
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by phil »

anywhere contact between wood and masonry can be avoided it helps, but come to think of it my sill plates are sitting directly on the foundation. i guess Im lucky the foundation is tall enough not to wick the ground moisture up.

I think it's code here to bolt the sill plate 9 under each exterior wall) to the foundation so if there is an earthquake it can't shake the house off it's foundation so easily. I think they would make me do that if i did basement renos under permit.
I bet most of our houses are not even attached.
my parents house is pan abode so the walls are stacked like tongue and groove ( cedar walls). At one point the roof and top foot or so got blown off. the previous owners put it on a foundation and there are long bolts now that hold the roof down to the foundation.
sorry I'm wandering off again.. ;-)

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awomanwithahammer
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by awomanwithahammer »

Whew! Jade, how long does it take for the blop smell to go away? I treated my bad sashes (that I repaired first). I did open windows for ventilation before I started, but it's pretty awful.
Bonnie

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GibsonGM
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by GibsonGM »

Overnight, Bonnie...dries in about 24 hours. You'll find it going away 8 hrs later, most likely, then fading over night. So, probably when you go to bed tonight it will be decreasing. Try to close off the rooms if you can, obviously.

It's one of the smells of my trade; smells like home :)

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awomanwithahammer
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by awomanwithahammer »

Thanks, Gibson! I expect I'll come to like the smell, too--eventually. ;-)
Bonnie

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GibsonGM
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by GibsonGM »

:) Well, I didn't say I *LIKE* it, LOL! My truck smells like that.

You do get used to it; some people get a headache from odors like that. It doesn't bother me, but I too would prefer it not be smelling while I'm trying to sleep, ha ha...it makes you think about how to time it for the next time you use it.

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awomanwithahammer
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Re: Damaged wood or just dry?

Post by awomanwithahammer »

Fortunately, I don't live in the house, so I don't have to smell it all the time. Hopefully, it will have dissipated by the next time I get over there to work.
Bonnie

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