Can you paint over rotted wood?
18 August 2021
Rotted wood appearing on the structural elements, inside and outside of your home, isn’t something to be ignored. While quick, DIY painting over the rotted wood area may seem like an easy fix, it’s not addressing the underlying issue which will likely make the problem worse.
Want to know if you can paint over rotted wood? Or better yet, should you be painting over rotted wood?
Find out the three main issues that painting just won’t fix, with the Perth painters at Contrast Painting below.
Painting won’t fix moisture
When water gets into places it shouldn’t, be wary. Moisture rot in the interior structural wood in your home points to a leak somewhere.
Moisture is an easy cause of rotting and splitting wood, in which a fresh coat of paint over the surface simply won’t rectify.
Why not?
· If water soaks into wood, the wood will expand, swell and deteriorate to the point of falling apart.
· Paint simply won’t be able to stick to wet and damaged wood, ensuring it won’t be up to standard when you paint over that area.
Proper paint and painting techniques can definitely protect your home from wet and wild weather, but not if the moisture has already set in. Be sure to fix the leak problem in your home or business to ensure it’s not a contributor to further wood rot down the line.
Painting won’t remove mould
With ignored moisture and wood rot comes the big bad mould.
Mould shouldn’t be ignored either due to the potential for serious adverse health effects.
These include:
· Allergies
· Respiratory illnesses
· Weakened immune system just to name a few.
Don’t ever paint over mould or use a painter who’s willing to do it for you. This will only aggravate the mould spores to grow elsewhere around the building.
Painting won’t reduce termites
Are you seeing cracked and damaged wood in and around your home, including fences and gates? This may have nothing to do with moisture and mould, but a termite infestation.
Termites damage and eat wood, leading to severe negative impacts on the structural integrity of your building if left ignored. There’s no possible way for paint to get rid of termites once they’ve made a home at your home or business.
Did you know that painting over termite damage can also be a legal problem? If you decide to sell your home or business in the future, an inspector can easily identify the attempt to cover up termite damage with paint. This will make the property ineligible to be sold – so fight the source at the epicentre, don’t cover up the damage.
If you have read this far, it will be obvious that you can’t paint over rotted wood.
However, our highly experienced Perth painters can suitably identify and assess problem areas (wood or otherwise) and can recommend the best ways to rectify the issues.
When the issues are solved, or you need assistance to prevent them from occurring – Contrast Painting are here to help.
Contact Contrast Painting today for high-quality painting services for residential, commercial and specialist requirements.