Poor Home Construction
This has been an incredible year! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many relatively new homes that had been constructed so poorly. We’ve replaced a lot of rotted trim and siding this year due to the lack of flashing, caulking, vapor barriers and ventilation. These homes have been anywhere from just 9 to 18 years old.
Rotted Window Trim Board Removed
This image above shows a typical problem where only the rotted window trim board was removed. Notice that there is no flashing and no vapor barrier here. In addition the sheathing was poorly cut with the insulation exposed. The water was pouring in the house every time that it rained.
We sealed the entire area with water and ice shield, installed flashing (window cap), replaced the trim with new wood that we primed on all six sides with oil based primer, then caulked and painted the trim with two coats of top coat (satin trim paint).
9 year old house with extensive wood rot.
This next picture is of a house that was only 9 years old that had extensive water damage with rotted clapboards, sheathing and even rotted studs, sole plates and sills. The primary cause of the damage was lack of gutters, caulking and flashing.
We replaced the damaged sheathing, studs, sole plates, sills, vapor barrier, clapboards. We the properly caulked and flashed as needed and made other recommendations to the homeowner.
If you need your exterior painted, we highly recommend Maine Painting. They will not only do an excellent job in painting your home, but will also inspect and replace any rotted wood and insure that your home is properly flashed, caulked and protected against future wood rot and damage. Proper painting and maintenance does a lot more then just making your home look good, it protects your investment.