[?] Wood rot - how to repair or replace a decorative house fascia.

Mar 18, 2013 5 Replies

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David Chapman 13 years ago

Here's my problem:-

As part of the fascia (if that's even the right word) at the front of our 1930s built house is a wooden decorative piece, see picture of an identical one at:-

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I recently noticed that the wood underneath the white paint is seriously rotted and will soon need to be replaced or treated/repaired.

I don't know, or have enough knowledge about house-building to be able to tell, if that piece of wood is structural or merely decorative.

Before attempting to do anything myself, I thought I'd better ask in this NG to see if anyone can identify how the shaped wooden piece shown in the picture might be attached to the front of the house - could it actually be supporting any of the brickwork above? - and perhaps give me some advice on how best to deal with the rot.

Could I just use one of the combination wood sealer and filler products that are advertised for dealing with wood rot or is some more serious repair work necessary?

All constructive comments and/or suggestions will be most gratefully received.

TIA - Dave.

David C.Chapman - ( snipped-for-privacy@minda.co.uk)

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The Natural Philosopher 13 years ago

My guess is that the stucco above covers a steel beam. That bit of wood wiould have to go well inside the house to be suitable as a support. So try and work out where it5 dows go and if it does extend internally.,

If its only decorative, the answer is cut back to (nearly) sound wood, use one of those resin based 'rot stabilisers' on anything punky still left, and sculpt a new surface with car body filler and a sander.

Or the pukka alternative is to sculpt a new one and then cut back to sound and insert new using long screws or pegs and a lot of resin glue.

BUT I preferr to use car body filler - it doesn't rot.

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stuart noble 13 years ago

+1 except that body filler isn't easy to find at a reasonable price these days. Not a lot of car bodies get repaired I suppose. I used to buy 3.5 kgs with catalyst for a tenner not too long ago

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harry 13 years ago

Well that bit might be structural or just a fake. I would chip away a bit of the cement on the wall round it and see how far in it goes. If it goes into the brickwork, it could be the end of a joist carried through the brickwork and carved to look a bit fancy. If it doesn't go into the brickwork it's just a bit of bling. You could take it down and make another.

Needs urgent attention. If it is the end of joist you need to stop the rot right away.

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Phil L 13 years ago

The shot is too close, you need to take another (couple) from different angles, no one knows what is above this, but I'd say it's structural

If it's rotting, it needs replacing, whether it's decorative or structural, it's not going to get better with paint and filler. If it's structural, it will probably need scaffolding out, but if it's decorative, you could probably get away with ladders or a small tower, more pictures needed

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David Chapman 13 years ago

Many thanks for your comments and suggestions.

As a result of my recent posting I've now been informed that it is actually a CORBEL which is purely decorative, and which should be able to be replaced quite easily since it's reachable using a step-ladder.

I'm now planning my next move.

ATB - Dave.

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