Carpentry and Rotten Wood Repair
Soft fascia, sagging soffit, spongy window trim and porch framing that has gone punky. We cut out the bad wood, seal the new wood on every face, and put the run back straight.
Rotten wood repair means cutting out the wood that has decayed, finding the water path that fed it, and fitting sound new wood in its place. On a Gulf Coast house the rot almost always starts on the back of the board, where you cannot see it, so the paint can look fine while the wood behind it crumbles. All Types Remodeling and Repair has been doing this work out of Ocean Springs since 2011.
What counts as rotten wood repair?
Any exterior wood that has gone soft. Fascia boards along the roof edge. Soffit panels under the overhang. Window casing, sills and door jambs. Porch posts, carport beams, deck framing and stair stringers. Garage door trim. If you can push a screwdriver into it, it is rot, and painting over it only hides it for a season.
We start by probing the wood with an awl along the whole run, not just at the spot you noticed. Rot spreads along the grain, so the soft patch you found is usually the middle of a longer problem. Knowing the real length before we quote is what keeps the price honest.
Where wood rots first on a Gulf Coast house
Water gets in at the joints, not through the middle of a board. The end grain on a cut board soaks up water like a straw. So the first places to fail are butt joints in a fascia run, the bottom corners of window casing, the cut ends of soffit, and the base of a porch post where it meets concrete.
Heat makes it worse. Long hot spells open caulk joints and split old paint, and the next heavy rain runs straight into the gap. That is why exterior wood here is a maintenance item on a cycle, not a one time job.
Soffit repair and fascia board replacement
Fascia and soffit are the two we replace most. The fascia is the flat board the gutter hangs on. The soffit is the panel that closes in the underside of the overhang. When the gutter overflows or a shingle edge lifts, water runs behind both of them and they rot together.
We pull the gutter, take off the damaged run, and look at the rafter tails behind it. If a tail end is soft we sister it or cut it back to solid wood before anything new goes up. Then the new fascia goes on primed on all six faces, including the cut ends, and the soffit is refitted with the vent openings kept clear so the attic still breathes.
Can rotten wood be repaired instead of replaced?
Sometimes, and we will tell you which you are looking at. A small area of surface decay on a thick structural member can be cut back and filled with a two part epoxy wood filler, then sanded and painted. That is a real repair and it holds.
Thin trim is different. Fascia, casing and soffit are too thin to hold a filler once the rot is through them, so filling those is a patch that fails within a season or two. On thin stock the honest answer is replacement, and we would rather say that at the estimate than take your money twice.
How we fasten exterior carpentry here
Coastal wind is hard on trim, and a board that is only face nailed will work loose. We fasten into solid framing rather than into sheathing, use corrosion resistant fasteners so the heads do not bleed rust through the paint, and set the nails or screws below the surface so they can be filled and painted over.
Every cut end gets sealed before the board goes up. That single step is the difference between a repair that lasts and one that rots again from the same place it rotted the first time.
Once the carpentry is sound, the finish is the other half of the job. We can prime and paint the new wood as part of the same visit, or float and finish any sheetrock damage the leak caused inside. See the full range on our home repair and remodeling page, and the towns we reach on the areas we serve page.
Best Carpentry and Rotten Wood Repair in Ocean Springs
Good rot work on this coast is judged on three things. Did the contractor find where the water was coming in, did the new wood get sealed on every face before it went up, and does the repair still look like part of the house a year later.
All Types Remodeling and Repair works out of Ocean Springs and reaches Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, Moss Point and D'Iberville. Owner Ken Carr looks at the job himself and puts the price in writing before any wood comes off. Call (228) 355-8497 for a free estimate.
Why choose All Types Remodeling and Repair?
- Upfront pricing you approve before any work starts.
- Serving Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, Moss Point, D'Iberville and surrounding areas.
Related services
- Sheetrock and Drywall Repair, Ceiling stains, holes, cracked seams and popped tape. We find the water first, cut back to solid board, then float and texture the repair so the wall reads as one surface again.
- Interior and Exterior Painting, Inside and outside, brush and roller work that starts with prep. We fix the bad wood and the bad drywall first, because paint over a soft board is money you spend twice.
- Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling, Updating a tired kitchen or bathroom, or opening a wall and changing the layout. One crew handles the carpentry, the board work and the finish, with the price set before demolition starts.
Explore our full range of Home Repair and Remodeling, or head back to the All Types Remodeling and Repair home page.
Cost of carpentry and rotten wood repair in Ocean Springs
What moves the price:
- How many linear feet of fascia, soffit or trim are actually soft once we probe the whole run
- Whether the rafter tails or framing behind the trim also have to be cut back and sistered
- Height and access, since a single story eave is a ladder job and a two story gable needs staging
- Whether the run has to be primed and painted to match, or left for a full repaint later
- Whether the water path is a gutter, a flashing detail or a failed caulk joint, and what it takes to close it
Every job is different, so we give you an exact price up front, and you approve it before any work starts.
How it works
How our carpentry and rotten wood repair process works
Get your free estimate
Call or request a quote online. We'll take a look and give you an honest, upfront price, no pressure.
We schedule your job
Pick a time that works for you. We show up when we say we will and keep you in the loop the whole way.
Done right, the first time
Clean, quality home repair and remodeling, and we leave your property better than we found it.
Get a free estimate for carpentry and rotten wood repair
Call now or request a free estimate, we'll get right back to you.
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Find us
Ocean Springs, MS area
FAQ
Carpentry and Rotten Wood Repair, common questions
Where can I find carpentry and rotten wood repair near me in Ocean Springs?
All Types Remodeling and Repair is based in Ocean Springs and has repaired rotted trim on Gulf Coast homes since 2011. We take on fascia, soffit, window and door casing, porch posts and deck framing across Jackson and Harrison counties. Call (228) 355-8497 and we will come look at the run and give you a free estimate.
Is it cheaper to repair a rotted fascia board or replace the whole run?
It depends on how far the rot has travelled. One short soft section on an otherwise sound run is cheaper to cut out and splice. Once three or four sections are soft, replacing the whole run costs less than repeated visits and looks far better, because you avoid a line of mismatched patches down the roof edge.
How do I know if my trim is rotten or just needs paint?
Press the wood with a screwdriver or an awl. Sound wood resists and barely marks. Rotten wood gives way, feels spongy, or lets the tip sink in. Other signs are paint bubbling in one spot, a dark stain that keeps coming back, and trim that has pulled away from the wall at a joint.
How long does a rotten wood repair job take?
Most single runs of fascia or soffit are a one or two day job once we start. Window and door casing usually goes faster. What stretches a job is finding more soft wood behind what you could see, or waiting out rain, since new wood should not be sealed and painted while it is wet.
Will the repair match the rest of my trim?
That is the goal. We match the board profile and thickness where we can get the stock, keep reveals and lines consistent with what is already on the house, and fill and sand the fasteners. Once it is primed and topcoated you should not be able to pick the new section out from the street.
How long has All Types Remodeling and Repair been doing carpentry work here?
Ken Carr started the business in 2011 and it has worked on Mississippi Gulf Coast homes ever since. It is locally owned and operated out of Ocean Springs, not a crew driving in from another state after a storm. Ken looks at the job himself, and the price is in writing before any wood comes off.
Need carpentry and rotten wood repair?
Call now or request a free estimate, we'll get right back to you.
No obligation