The Homeowner's Blog

We understand that your home represents a significant investment for you. Who wants to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars repairing something that could have been easily prevented in the first place?

Most of the time I see a new customer's home, I seem to notice areas that could become a big problem for my customers in the future. I guess I'm just used to repairing those types of problems. In fact, most of the repairs that we do on homes start out as a small insignificant issue that was overlooked. Over time, that small issue became a large, and often expensive, repair that was completely preventable.

Today I'm going to tell you the biggest threat to the exterior of your home and what you can easily do to prevent a huge problem. If you do nothing else, look for any area, no matter how small, where water can get inside of your walls, trim, siding or inside the materials themselves, also known as water intrusion areas. Water is your #1 biggest enemy.

• Cracks or Gaps: These gaps and cracks around the sides, tops or bottoms of the trim and siding are exposed to water intrusion from rain, or possibly even sprinklers. Over time the water will cause any wood to rot and grow mold, which further destroys the wood fiber. The more water intrusion, the worst the rot becomes. It's important to note that because the water is behind the back side of the material, rot may not always be noticed immediately. Behind your trim and siding is a plywood sheathing attached directly to the studs of the walls. When water is behind your siding or trim, it doesn't dry like it normally would outside, because there is no air flow behind it. Very often I will get called out to replace some rotten trim only to find that the plywood behind it and sometimes even the studs in the walls are rotten with large exposed areas in them. Because the rotten plywood and wall studs are so soft, they will not hold a new nail or screw, which leaves you with nothing to nail the new trim or siding to. This is never a good surprise for the customer who now has to pay for a much larger repair than what they originally thought. This is a very common problem I run into all the time, unfortunately. It is very important that you inspect the exterior of your home at least once a year.  Obvious signs of discoloration where there shouldn't be or a deformation in the trim or siding due to swelling may be all you see. If the nails have rusted, the materials may even be dropping or shifting. If you find a suspicious area, probe it with a screwdriver. If the wood is soft, it's rotten. 

The next biggest threat to your home I often see is: 

•  Cracks in the actual materials themselves:  Over time, wood can become "dry rotted", meaning that it dries out in the sun so much that it will produce small cracks or splits in the wood fibers. This is very plain to see in any wooden deck, and consequently, the reason why most decks need to be replaced, These tiny cracks or splits become "holding areas" for water to get in, which then begins to rot the wood over time. You may even see cracks or missing flakes in your paint, which is what protects the wood from the elements. Before long, it will be necessary to replace it all. That's why a regular annual inspection and maintenance outside the home is so important.

Don't worry though, there are two main things you can do to prevent these problems and save yourselves a lot of money in the future:

• The Fix: Caulk and paint! Caulk is your best friend when it comes to water-proofing the exterior of your home. Just like everything else, caulk is affected by the elements also. Over time, it can crack and degrade and will need re-caulking eventually. There are many types of caulk one can use on their home, and not any old caulk should be used everywhere. We can explore the different types of caulk another time, but the main take-away, is to make sure all of those gaps around your trim and siding are completely sealed. The better your home is sealed on the outside, the fewer problems you will have. Do not miss an inch and do not underestimate the size of the gap either, simply because you think it's probably too small for water to be a problem. Be sure to check around windows and doors also. An important note while we're on the subject, these gaps are also how pests are getting inside your home as well. All the more reason to fill those gaps! Now that the gaps are sealed, what do you do about the small cracks in the dry-rotted wood itself? Well, while larger cracks may need to be filled first, most of those tiny cracks can be covered by a fresh coat of quality paint. A small amount of work right now can save you some big headaches in the future.

We hope this information was helpful to you. If you would like more information or if you would like to just ask a question, you can simply call the number on my listing or visit the Entech website to contact us at entechhome.com

Have a great day!