How to Repair Damaged Wood Siding

When people have damaged wood siding, they often ask “what’s the best way to repair it?”

1. Prime the new wood you’ll be using for the repair on the front, back and end grain.
2. Besides prying out the rotten wood, you may need to cut adjacent boards back a stud or two in either direction.
3. When you’re ready to install the new material, create a gauge block to help ensure that the reveal of each board is identical.
4. Use galvanized, spiral shank nails to secure the boards.
5. Caulk all the seams once the repair is complete.

Watch the video for details.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
When people have damaged wood siding, they often ask “what’s the best way to repair it?” The first step is to prime the new wood you’ll be using for the repair on the front, back and end grain. This process, called “back priming,” will seal all sides of the wood to prevent moisture from causing the wood to deteriorate prematurely.

In most cases it’s necessary to remove more than just the damaged wood to make the repair less obvious. That’s because the end seams on wood lap siding are staggered across the wall and have to be made at wall stud locations. Besides prying out the rotten wood, you may need to cut adjacent boards back a stud or two in either direction. Because the nails in wood lap siding sometimes go through two rows at once you may need cut the nails in a row above the one you’re working on.

When you’re ready to install the new material, creating a gauge block will help ensure that the reveal of each board is identical. Use galvanized, spiral shank nails to secure the boards. Caulk all the seams once the repair is complete.