How do I know if it is rot or just old paint?

Press it. Sound wood resists a thumb and rotten wood gives, and if a screwdriver sinks in without much effort the board is done regardless of what the paint looks like. Paint failing over a soft spot is a symptom rather than the problem, and painting over it just hides the next twelve months of it.

Can you match my existing siding?

Usually close, honestly rather than perfectly. Profiles change, mills discontinue lines, and forty years of weather means even a correct match will not be the same colour as what is beside it until it is painted. I match the profile as closely as what is available allows and tell you up front where the repair will still be visible before paint.

Why can you not quote rot repair from a photo?

Because the photo shows the surface and the surface is the last thing to fail. The board you can see may be the edge of it, and I have opened a two-foot repair to find six feet of soft sheathing behind. I will quote what I can see in writing, and the scope says plainly what happens if it runs further once it is open, so there are no surprises invented on the day.

Do you do gutters at the same time?

No. I do not take gutter work, so if the rot was caused by a failing gutter you will want a gutter company for that part. I will tell you what I am seeing at the fascia so you can pass it on, because replacing rotten fascia under a gutter that still overflows is money spent twice.

Siding & Wood Rot in the Lower Mainland

Cut back to sound wood, then close it up.

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$200 minimum per job
Written scope before work starts
Insured. Registered BC business # 79853 7957

Siding & Wood Rot

Exterior

Line items: 8
Cities covered: 6
Estimate: Written, free

Siding & Wood Rot

Exterior

Line items: 8
Cities covered: 6
Estimate: Written, free

$200 minimum per job
Written scope before work starts
Insured. Registered BC business # 79853 7957

The short answer

What is included

Rotten boards, soft trim, damaged siding, and fascia cut out and replaced properly. I am Brody, I do the work myself, and I cover Langley, Surrey, White Rock, Aldergrove, Abbotsford, and Cloverdale. Cost starts at the $200 minimum per job, and you get the price in a written estimate before I start.

Rot on the coast is a water problem wearing a wood problem's clothes. Boards go soft where water sat, and by the time it shows on the surface it has usually travelled further than it looks. My rule is to cut back until I hit sound wood, however far that runs, because a patch over soft framing fails in a season and takes the new material with it. I replace siding boards, exterior trim, fascia, soffit, and the corner and window trim that takes the worst of the weather. On White Rock properties near the water and on older places anywhere in the region, this is steady work.

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Line items

Rotten board cut-out and replacement
Exterior trim and corner board repair
Fascia and soffit replacement
Siding board repair and matching
Window and door trim rot repair
Deck skirting and post base repair
Priming and sealing new material
Caulking and flashing details at repairs

On this sheet8 items

What people ask about siding & wood rot

How do I know if it is rot or just old paint?
Press it. Sound wood resists a thumb and rotten wood gives, and if a screwdriver sinks in without much effort the board is done regardless of what the paint looks like. Paint failing over a soft spot is a symptom rather than the problem, and painting over it just hides the next twelve months of it.
Can you match my existing siding?
Usually close, honestly rather than perfectly. Profiles change, mills discontinue lines, and forty years of weather means even a correct match will not be the same colour as what is beside it until it is painted. I match the profile as closely as what is available allows and tell you up front where the repair will still be visible before paint.
Why can you not quote rot repair from a photo?
Because the photo shows the surface and the surface is the last thing to fail. The board you can see may be the edge of it, and I have opened a two-foot repair to find six feet of soft sheathing behind. I will quote what I can see in writing, and the scope says plainly what happens if it runs further once it is open, so there are no surprises invented on the day.
Do you do gutters at the same time?
No. I do not take gutter work, so if the rot was caused by a failing gutter you will want a gutter company for that part. I will tell you what I am seeing at the fascia so you can pass it on, because replacing rotten fascia under a gutter that still overflows is money spent twice.

Read up before you book

What I tell people who ask about this work, written down.

Siding & Wood Rot by city

Pick your city for how I handle siding & wood rot there: local housing stock, scope, and the same written estimate.

Related work I do: Pressure Washing · Fence & Deck

For property managers

If you run units, I take turnovers, deficiency lists and recurring maintenance on a written scope, with GST-registered invoicing and one person to call. How trade accounts work.

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Sign-off

Press the board with your thumb before you send the photo. If it gives, say so.

Pick siding & wood rot on the form even if you are not sure it fits. Your photos and notes come straight to me, I sort the scope, and the price is agreed in writing before I start.

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I'm on the tools most of the day, so text is fastest. The form gets you a written estimate.

Brody

Brody Robertson · Summit Handyman