Repairing Rotted Wood Around Your Garage

Causes of Garage Rot

There are many reasons why your garage is vulnerable to rotted wood and should be inspected regularly for garage rot. First, most garages don’t have a heating system. At the same time, cars may be wet when you park them inside the garage. Especially in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains every other day! In fact, these conditions add up to increase moisture on, around, and inside your garage. 

Second, another cause of garage rot is water damage or water leaks in your garage. Many garage doors open by protruding a few feet from the vertical plane of the garage surface, which adds additional exposure to rain. Granted, most of us don’t spend a lot of time in the garage. The garage may be separate from the house; the garage may even be the last place we think about when conducting regular home maintenance. 

How to Spot Garage Rot

The first step to addressing garage rot is knowing what to look for in terms of damage. The significant areas for rot to occur on garages are the door frame and panels. However, if the rot is terrible, it may also be present on interior portions of the garage, especially if there are leaks where moisture seeps in regularly. 

Typical signs of rotted wood on your garage include peeling or flaking paint, discolored or darkened wood, cracks in wood surfaces or structures, spongy or tender wood surfaces, and a smell like mildew. For instance, when inspecting your garage for wood rot, bring along a screwdriver or pocketknife that you can press into wood surfaces that either appears to have rot or are areas open to moisture. If you can easily insert the screwdriver into the wood, which usually has a slightly mushy texture, then the wood has dry rot.

Garage rot is a state of deterioration of the wood in your garage caused by an inundation of moisture, leading to the proliferation of a fungus that thrives on moist wood. Also known as dry rot, the fungus that causes garage rot is a pernicious wood invader that spreads through the profusion of fungus spores that you must remove. Remove the wood rot and restore your garage to a healthy condition. 

Expert Garage Rot Repair and Removal

Ultimately removing dry rot is tricky because unless you extract all the fungus spores, the dry rot is apt to return. In short, hiring a professional garage rot specialist to remove the wood rot around your garage may be to your advantage. 

For decades, SFW Construction has conducted expert repair and removal of rotted wood around a garage alongside a wide range of comprehensive home restoration services. Once we remove the rotted wood on your garage, we replace the wood rot with durable hardwoods or your choice of vinyl or aluminum garage construction materials. Next, we leave your garage fully renovated and in immaculate condition.

As part of our free garage rot consultations, if we don’t find wood rot around your garage – or if you choose to repair the dry rot around your garage yourself – we will gladly give you tips to pursue your DIY project. 

Preventing Garage Rot

Prevention is the best medicine, and you can prevent a good deal of wood rot around the garage by installing proper flashing over the trim board that sits above the garage door. The purpose of flashing is to reduce water exposure to the wooden surfaces of the garage, especially the garage door. 

You can also prevent garage rot by practicing the following proactive strategies:

• Reduce water exposure on the door and sides of the garage
  • You can do this by cleaning and repairing gutters regularly to keep them from overflooding
• Use garage door seals
  • This will prevent water from collecting in the garage and keep a dry environment
• Clean the area around the garage door(s)
  • Stop a build-up of stagnant water that can inundate the garage
• Use an oil-based waterproof paint
  • This is to protect the garage, especially the door(s), from being permeated with water
• Apply a layer of waterproofing stain to the wood surfaces of your garage
  • This will insulate and make them as weather-resistant as possible
• Refurbish and apply a layer of fresh paint to your garage
  • You can do this every few years