Learning to deal with rot is essential especially if most of your fixtures at home are made out of wood such as frames, sills, and even thresholds. While wood can both be a stylish and a very strong material to be used at home, you can’t deny the fact that it can be exposed to heat and moisture, which gradually causes it to rot. The key to dealing with wood rot is to act on the problem immediately as soon as it is discovered. When left ignored, the damage done to the wood can become serious and leave you with a bigger problem. Wood rot can easily be dealt with, and by following the steps below, there will be no need to call a professional when faced by such situation.


Step 1. When dealing with wood rot, you will need to prepare the following tools and materials: hammer, chisel, reciprocating saw, screwdriver, wood scraper, crowbar, epoxy filler, stain or sealer, sand paper, and replacement wood material.

Step 2. Once you discover that there’s a problem, examine the damage first and evaluate how much work you’re going to need. Wood rot is usually characterized by flaking, splitting, splintering, and discoloration. If these signs are present, you would want to examine the wood and find out how deep the damage the fungus had done by poking the wood with a long metal object such as a screwdriver.

Step 3. Any damaged portion of the wood should be completely removed immediately. If only a small portion has been impacted and you observe that the damage is a minor one, then you will only need to remove those parts. However, if the damage is serious and has been present for a very long time, the best thing you can do is to remove the entire piece whether it’s a door frame, a window frame, or a floorboard. Use a crowbar when prying off wooden frames. Smaller pieces on the other hand can be chiseled out with a hammer and chisel.

Step 4. After removing all the part that has been damaged, you will need to perform some repairs on the rest of the wood that’s left. For instance, if there are small holes on the surrounding wood, you can repair them by filling them up with epoxy fillers. You can also sand down the wood and stain it. If, however, the damage occurred in a large piece of wood such as an entire door or window, you will need to replace the fixture entirely.

Step 5. Once you’ve replaced damaged wooden fixtures with new ones, you will need to make sure that it doesn’t acquire wood rot again. By this, regular maintenance will be required. Generally, wooden fixtures should be stained or sealed annually to prevent fungus from damaging it. It is also ideal to inspect wooden fixtures such as doors, windows, and posts for signs of rot in a regular basis. This way, you will have huge chance of anticipating such problem before it gets worse.