Where rot starts on a Minnesota house
Water runs downhill and sits at the bottom of things, so that is where the wood goes first. On the houses we work on between Rockford, Buffalo, Maple Grove and Plymouth, the same handful of spots come up again and again. Window sills and the bottom few inches of the casings on the north and east sides, where snow piles against them and the sun never dries them out. Corner boards where the end grain sits an inch off the ground or touches a deck. Fascia behind a gutter that has been overflowing or backing up under an ice dam. Soffit panels at the low corners of the roof, especially over a garage. Door jambs and brickmold at a front stoop that gets shoveled all winter. And on decks, the board ends at the stair stringers and the base of the railing posts. Most of it is hardboard or finger-jointed pine trim from the 1980s through the 2000s, which soaks up water at any cut end that was never sealed.
- Window sills and the bottom of casings, north and east exposures
- Corner boards and trim that sit close to grade or a deck
- Fascia behind clogged or overflowing gutters
- Soffit panels at low corners and over garages
- Door jambs and brickmold at shoveled stoops
- Deck boards, stair stringers and railing post bases
Why we replace rotten trim instead of filling it
Filling a soft spot, caulking the seam and painting over it looks fine the day it is done. The trouble shows up after the first Minnesota freeze. Rotten wood holds water, and caulk and paint over it hold that water in. It freezes, expands and pushes the filler loose from behind, and by the second spring the paint has lifted, the seam is open again and the rot has moved a few inches further into the board. Punky wood also cannot hold a nail or a screw, so a filled corner board or fascia has nothing solid to fasten to. Replacement is the repair that holds up. We cut the board back to where the awl stops on solid wood, which is usually farther than the soft spot you can see, and make the new joint there. The replacement piece is fastened into sound framing, the cut ends are sealed before it goes up, and the seam lands where it can be caulked and painted cleanly. When a gutter, downspout or light fixture is in the way, it comes off for the repair and goes back on solid wood.
How we find soft wood before painting
Rot hides under a skin of paint that can look intact from the driveway, so we do not estimate exteriors from the driveway. At the walkthrough one of us carries an awl and works around the house at the spots listed above, pressing the point into the wood. Sound wood stops it. Rot lets it sink in with almost no effort, and we mark the board with tape. We also tap along fascia and look for the telltale signs: paint that has lifted in a blister with dark wood under it, a seam that has gone black, a sill that has cupped or a casing that has pulled away from the siding. Everything we find goes on the written estimate as its own line item with a length and a material, so you can see what is being replaced and what the paint job would cost without it. Sometimes we find more once the old board is off. When that happens we show you before we go any further.
New primed wood, then two coats of paint
We replace trim with material that is primed on all sides before it goes up, and we seal every cut end on site. Bare end grain is how the original board took on water, and there is no point repeating it. For fascia and corner boards that means primed finger-jointed or engineered trim in the same profile as what came off. For sills and casings it is often solid wood or a composite where the sill takes the most weather. Rotten deck boards and railing sections get swapped for treated or cedar stock to match the deck. Once the carpentry is done the new pieces get caulked at the joints, spot primed at any nail holes and painted with the rest of the house, so the repair disappears into the finish coat instead of reading as a patch. If the house is not being painted this year, we prime and paint the new pieces to match the existing color as closely as we can, and they blend in fully at the next repaint. Margaret L. described the combined job well in her review of her old wooden house: good judgement on the siding repairs, then the painting, and it looked like a new house when it was done.
When rot and trim repair is not the right call
- A whole wall where the sheathing behind the siding is soft, not only the trim. That is a siding and sheathing job, and we would move you to our siding page and walk the wall together before quoting.
- A deck where the joists, beam or ledger are rotten, not only the boards. Swapping deck boards onto a bad frame wastes money. See our deck rebuild page instead.
- A window where the sash and frame have rotted through, not only the exterior casing. At that point a new window is the repair, and window installation is on our remodeling page.
Why homeowners hire us for rot and trim repair
- Every exterior estimate includes an awl probe of sills, casings, fascia, soffit and corner boards
- Repairs listed as separate line items with lengths and materials, so you see the carpentry cost apart from the paint
- Replacement stock primed on all sides with cut ends sealed on site
- Profiles matched to the existing trim so the new board reads as original
- Carpentry and painting on the same estimate and the same schedule when the house is due for paint
- Fascia and soffit repairs coordinated with gutter and roof-edge work when both are needed
Our rot and trim repair process, step by step
Walkthrough with an awl
We go around the house pressing at the usual spots and tap along the fascia. Soft wood gets taped and photographed so you can see what we found.
Written estimate with repairs itemized
Each board goes on the estimate as its own line with a length and a material, next to the painting scope. You approve the carpentry you want done.
Cut out, replace, seal
We remove the rotten piece back to solid wood, fit primed replacement stock in the same profile, seal every cut end and fasten it properly.
Caulk, prime, paint, walk it with you
Joints get caulked, nail holes filled and spot primed, then the new trim is painted with the rest of the house. We walk the exterior with you before we leave.
What does rot and trim repair cost in the northwest metro?
Trim repair is priced by the piece, so the estimate depends on how many boards are soft, how long each run is and how hard they are to reach. A single cupped sill on a first-floor window is a small line item. Forty feet of fascia at the peak of a two-story house, with the gutter coming down and going back up, is a different day. Material matters less than people expect, but a wide cedar corner board costs more than a strip of primed pine. The biggest swing is what we find once the old board is off. If the sheathing behind it is sound, the repair stays small. If water has gotten behind the housewrap, the scope grows and we stop and show you before it does. Because we are already on site to paint, the carpentry rides on the same setup, which keeps the added cost lower than bringing in a separate contractor.
- Number of boards that are soft and the length of each run
- Height and access, including work at a two-story fascia or over a roof
- Trim material and profile being matched
- Whether the gutter, downspout or a light fixture has to come off and go back
- Condition of the sheathing and housewrap behind the trim
- Whether the repair is part of a full exterior paint job or a standalone visit
Questions we hearCommon questions about rot and trim repair
Can you just paint over rotten wood?
Not if you want the paint to last. Rotten wood holds water, and once it freezes it pushes filler and new paint off within a winter or two. The repair that holds up is cutting the soft section out, fitting primed replacement stock, sealing the cut ends and then painting it with the rest of the wall. A filled and painted sill can look fine on the day. By the second spring the seam is usually open again and the soft spot has spread a few inches, so the board ends up being replaced anyway.
How do you know if the wood is rotten under the paint?
We press an awl into the wood at the spots where rot usually starts: sills, the bottom of casings, corner boards near grade, fascia behind gutters and soffit at low corners. Sound wood stops the point. Rot lets it sink in. Anything soft gets taped, photographed and put on the estimate. Other clues are paint blistered with dark wood underneath, black seams, cupped sills and casings pulling away from the siding. We do this on every exterior estimate, not only when a homeowner asks about rot.
Can you repair trim without painting the whole house?
Yes. A handful of soft sills, a run of fascia or a couple of corner boards can be a standalone visit. We replace the boards with primed stock, seal the cut ends, caulk the joints and paint the new pieces to match your existing color as closely as we can. They blend in fully the next time the house is painted. The cost is a little higher per board than when the repair rides along with a full exterior paint job, since the setup is not shared. If the rest of the paint is close to failing, we will tell you, and you can decide whether to do both at once or keep the repair on its own.
Will the new trim match the old trim?
Yes, in profile and in finish. We match the width, thickness and edge profile of the existing trim so the replacement lines up with the boards on either side of it. Once it is caulked, primed and painted with the rest of the house, the repair disappears into the finish coat. Stained cedar trim is the one exception. New cedar takes stain a little differently than wood that has weathered for twenty years, so we blend the color on a sample first and, where needed, restain the run so it reads as one piece.
Can you replace rotten deck boards and railings too?
Yes. Deck boards, stair treads, stringers and railing sections get the same treatment as trim: the soft pieces come out and matching treated or cedar stock goes in. Lynn M. mentioned in her Google review that we coordinated rebuilding stairs that were unsafe for her grandchildren. If the frame under the deck is sound, board and railing repair is a good fix. If the joists or ledger are soft, we would talk about a rebuild instead.
Often paired with rot and trim repair
Where we offer rot and trim repair
Rot and trim repair is available across Greenfield, Independence, Delano, Corcoran, Buffalo, Medina, Rogers and St. Michael, and the rest of the west and northwest Twin Cities metro. See the full service area.