# Exterior trim paint is peeling, wood is rotting!



## NateHanson (Apr 15, 2007)

Is it really rotting? It's 3 years old! 

If it's truly rotting (soft, punky, won't hold a nail), then you can just remove those pieces, and replace them with similar. I'd use pre-primed pine trim (around here the lumberyards call it "Windsor". Just remove the old, cut new to match, prime all your cuts with kilz spray primer, and nail it up. Paint it in the spring.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Nate's called it

You will have to wait until spring to actually paint though
Any exterior paint you apply now will fall off by Christmas


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## firsthomenewb (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks Nate, I want to remove the rotted pieces; but, they are 8ft long and extend up the entire side of the cupola! (2 of them per corner).

How do I remove just the rotted pieces without damaging the siding, window framing, etc.? Or am I going to have to replace the entire board?


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## skymaster (Jun 6, 2007)

Use a Wonder Bar, put a cedar shingle or heavy cardboard between the bar and the siding and rip it off. If you are going to paint the trim white then just use AZEK, which can be painted to any color anyhow. AZEK is pvc,woodgrained,never rot,never replace,never worry about material that is being used everywhere now. It can be worked just like wood. IT IS G R E A T 
That is what I would do, AZEK all the way.
Jack


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## analog414 (Dec 9, 2007)

You should replace the entire board and any others that are remotely close to rotting/badly peeling. THEN......Power wash all that is painted. You need to blast off all this loose paint. Then repaint using two coats. Sounds like you are in for some work. But if done right, you are good to go for at least 5 years with no problems. Sherwin Williams Duration is wonderful long lasting paint.


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## firsthomenewb (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks guys, that's what I was looking for. Unfortunately, temp's have been in the 20's. Too cold for me. When I get it done I'll post pics.


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## lynnh (May 13, 2008)

I am having the same problems with Lombardo.


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## firsthomenewb (Nov 30, 2007)

yea, sucks, don't it?? Lombardo surely doesn't stand behind their work. Probably because the houses would fall on them. :laughing:


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

One issue to consider is that: You can replace the current peeling and rotted trim board "sections", prime and repaint, however, the other areas of the improperly painted trim boards will continue to peel off and rot. 

Last fall we inspected a home with 3 year old paint. It was all peeling off. Further inspections revealed that the house originally had stained clap board siding. About 10 years earlier, someone had painted over the stained clapboards. They had not used any primer. Along came the next painter (prior to the house's new owner's purchase) and that person slapped paint on. Of course, that all peeled off too. The new home owner's hired their painters (3 years ago) to repaint the home. They did an outstanding job, scraping, priming, repairing many, many areas of now rotted wood trim and siding. That newer paintwork is still holding strong. However, the rest of the house, is peeling badly. The sections that are peeling and continueing to rot, are the original improperly painted surfaces, not the most recent painter's work.
The HO asked us to give him a price for paint. We advised him of the situation:
We can scrape the loose paint, prep, prime, and paint. However, that will only take care of the areas that are coming off presently. It would not stop the areas that are from the original improperly painted siding, from peeling, and rotting.

End result, I am preparing an estimate to replace all siding and trim.
The options are to either do this, or spend many, many expensive man-hours, sanding every square inch of exterior wood down to raw surface, and starting new. This is not practical because of all the current rot damage on the trim, siding, and especially on the home's window frames. 

(FWIW: We have advising the HO to consider: Replacing all rotted older windows with new construction, energy efficient, and installing pre-painted Hardieplank. His house has many areas that do not receive a proper amount of sun, and stay quite damp = prone to additional rot)


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## lynnh (May 13, 2008)

I am getting some painters and the building inspector to come out and let me know what is the proper way this should have been done and then I am taking them to court. I am not going to take this laying down.


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