Restoring Old Wood Siding

Do not be tempted to use a gun that emits fire as this will damage your wood.

Restoring old wood siding.

Not only is this faster but the fixed wood is stronger than the original. Repairing wood siding is integral to owning a home with wood siding. The most important step of any wood siding repair is the final process of weatherproofing the repair area with paint or another type of sealant and caulk. Always caulk siding trim joints.

Step 1 removing old paint. Though wood siding is very strong a sufficient physical impact can split and crack it. Always prime the ends of boards with an oil based primer before installing. It may require being pulled back into square to reverse a noticeable racking.

Section 2 repairing or replacing damaged siding. For this job a heat gun and a putty knife are the most essential tools to start your restoration. If you have an older piece that s been painted and abused through the years peel back the layers of time by stripping it down to the original beautiful wood. Wood is an extraordinary building material that can last hundreds of years especially old growth wood when given a little care.

When you come across rotted wood in your old house projects instead of replacing the damaged wood you also can repair it with specialty epoxy penetrants also called consolidants and fillers to make repairs. The reasoning behind this was that the upkeep of wood siding was too time consuming and newer materials were more resilient. Always leave at leasta 3 4 gap though we leave 1 between siding and roofing materials to prevent rot. We used wolman s zinsser woodlife classic.

But you can bring old wood back to life by using boiled linseed oil and prepare it for a few more decades of service life. The first thing to do when restoring wood sidings is to ascertain the extent of damage. While it is true that wood shingles or clapboards require fresh paint every few years a growing number of homeowners are now stripping away the skins of siding to restore the original wooden clapboards beneath. If your siding has been sanded so water is easily absorbed it is worth applying a coat of paintable wood preservative.

Just like any material when exposed to the elements it can slowly degrade. Restoring an old weathered outbuilding takes a little more work than you might expect. Follow the very specificnailing processes using only the approved nail types for your type of siding. Use paintable wood preservative.

Single pieces of damaged wood siding can be removed by cutting the nails that hold the siding with a metal cutting saw blade. Depending on the size of the problem area you can sand it down small or use a liquid paint stripper large. Therefore removing thold paint and starting from scratch may be the best way to preserve your siding.