How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Wood rot is as inevitable as a rain storm after you wash your car. Any home that is built with wood is susceptible to rot. Newer constructed homes using cement based siding and PVC trim don’t have to worry about it. But for the rest of us, there will always be wood rot in our future (if not present.) The best way to protect your home against wood rot is to keep all joints caulked and painted. Look out for areas where water accumulates.

Our window sill was just one such spot that collected dripping condensation from the aluminum storm windows (don’t get me started on those cheap pieces of $#@+. One day I will have them replaced.)

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Over time the water seeped below the surface and rotted this corner of our window sill.  Fixing wood rot in small areas is a snap using Bondo. For larger areas, you’ll have to replace the wood.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

For today, I’ll show you How to Easily Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot.

Materials:
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How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Instructions:

Begin by digging out as much of the rotted wood as you can. Anything remaining must be solid wood.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Sand the edges of the void left in the wood.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Use a dust buster or vacuum to clean the area of any loose particles.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Scoop out a golf ball size of Bondo. Squeeze out an inch of the cream hardener. Mix the two together thoroughly until the color is uniform. (In hindsight, it would have been less messy for me to use a paint stirrer.)

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Use the paint stirrer or disposable shim to press the Bondo mixture into the hole. Smooth the area as best as you can. It’s okay if you need to come back and add another layer of Bondo later.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Wipe up any excess and discard.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Wait for the Bondo to fully harden. Then sand the area smooth.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Wipe any sanding dust up.

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Paint the patched area with paint (hopefully you have the same color stored somewhere. If not, you might have to paint the entire piece of wood.)

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Stand back and admire your work! What rot? (No one has to know, it’s our little secret.)

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Go ahead and feel it. That patch is rock solid!

How to Fix Small Areas of Wood Rot | Pretty Handy Girl

Did you like this post? You may also like my post on filling all types of holes!

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5 replies
    • Brittany Bailey
      Brittany Bailey says:

      Kay, because that’s not wood above. That’s an aluminum storm window. I didn’t feel like priming and painting the whole storm window for this small project. I have much bigger projects to work on ;-).

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] Where would I be without a multi-tool? In a jamb, that’s for sure. The oscillating tool is a mighty little tool you can bring to the location that needs cutting. Notch out your framing lumber; cut detail areas; sand in tight corners; scrape up tiles; and even cut nails with this tool and a metal blade. The oscillating tool has been my BFF when I need a small hand held option to the bigger tools (like sanding inside a window sill after repairing wood rot.) […]

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