Wood restoration epoxies...

[K Frame]

Anyone ever worked with any of the products on the market that are specific for wood repair?

Mom has an attic window that needs some attention, and I'm thinking that the easiest route may be to use one of these products.

I've used lots of other kinds of epoxies, but never this stuff.

[Manedwolf]

I like Durham's Rock-Hard Water Putty for filling in cracks. Stuff gets rock-hard, like it says, and you can sand it down with a power sander.

[K Frame]

Water putty, Bondo, etc., are not suitable for use with wood, especially exterior wood that is exposed to extremes in temperature and lots of water.

The problem is that they dry too hard.

Wood repair epoxies are designed to expand and contract with the wood.

I've seen it again and again, repairs made with Bondo just don't last, after a season or two the joints start to open up and eventually the epoxy falls out.

[Sawdust]

My experience with Bondo is much different than yours. I've used it quite a bit in exterior applications; but, I am in So Cal and our weather is much milder. I also only use it in non-critical areas (fascia, soffits, etc.) as a cosmetic fix.

Having said that, I am a proponent of not applying patches and would prefer to remove the offending material and replace with new.

Yes, more work and expense, but I never have to come back and do it again.

Sawdust

[charby]

Mike

Check out some of the travel trailer forums, you might find something you need there. I wish I knew of the product that a friend of mine used to repair the wood on the undercarriage of his travel trailer. I'll drop him an email and see what he used.


-Charby

[HankB]

I've made small repairs that have held up over time using both ordinary plastic wood and a similar 3M product.

Do a search on "swedish putty" and you may find something that works. (IIRC, "swedish putty" is basically sawdust and glue . . . people have been making up their own for a long, LONG time.)

[K Frame]

"but, I am in So Cal and our weather is much milder."

That's putting it mildly.

It's not uncommon during a single 12 month period to have temperature differentials of 100 degrees, and 48 hour temperature differentials of upwards 70 degrees, although 20 to 30 degrees is the norm.

[Azrael256]

My experience has been that it stands up well to temperature extremes (although I dunno about a 70 degree change in a day), but it didn't solve my problem with water.

I have a set of french doors that rotted a bit from being in a wet location.  I removed the tread and replaced it, but routed out and epoxied everything else.  It held up well for awhile, but the rot just began anew above the epoxy.  I'm having to tear it out and start over with some of that concrete board.  Fun.

[Manedwolf]

This is true, Water Putty would probably not be good for an outdoor application, since it doesn't flex like the wood does.

It's great for other stuff, though, like furniture repair. You can even make replacement moldings with it if one is missing off a piece of furniture that is to be painted. Just press a putty sort of RTV around any other mirrors of the missing one on the piece, create a mold, pour in the Water Putty, bang mold on a surface to get rid of bubbles, let it harden, remove, trim, and sand.

[geronimotwo]

i have used a product called git-rot for wooden boat repairs. with it you drill lots of little holes through the dry rotted sections, and then inject the epoxy until fully saturated. this works well if there is no place for the epoxy to run out the bottom. the problem occurs when you want to do a proper repair, as it is all glued together with epoxy.

having said all that, i am i proponent of what sawdust recomends.

[Sawdust]

"but, I am in So Cal and our weather is much milder."

That's putting it mildly.

It's not uncommon during a single 12 month period to have temperature differentials of 100 degrees, and 48 hour temperature differentials of upwards 70 degrees, although 20 to 30 degrees is the norm.

All the more reason to replace the damaged wood rather than patch it.

Sawdust

[Leatherneck]

You guys are logic-challenged. The answer is obvious: move Mom's house to SoCal. Problem over, no?

TC

[K Frame]

Replacement isn't an option.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

http://www.advancedrepair.com/architectural_epoxy/architectural_epoxy.htm
this stuff has worked well for me. my penance is working on old houses for a living.  the glazing product they sell is a lil pricey but i can do windows at least 5 times faster with it

[charby]

Mike

Have you thought about just doing the wood millwork (yourself) to replace the rotted parts?

-C

[LAK]

I think Thompson [Waterseal] or the like makes an epoxy based product that saturates even dry rotted wood and will stabilize and hold things together.

For gaps and holes, sealing etc I've used regular roofing silicone sealant to fill even large gaps. I have even used this on a rotting truck(!) roof. It would in your situation be a temporary fix.

I would be inclined to visit your local home improvement center and ask around. There might be a wood filler off the shelf tailored to your needs.

[Harold Tuttle]

I have a related question

I had this addition on my House built in 2002


the bottom of the "home depot" pillars are already spongy in spots with rot

As you can see they are properly installed on vented bases as per the manufacturers instructions
They have had good exterior paint and caulk since their install.

Do i dig out the rot and patch?

[K Frame]

Mike

Have you thought about just doing the wood millwork (yourself) to replace the rotted parts?

-C

Part of the problem is proper access. This is a third-floor window on an old Victorian, high over a porch roof. I'd have to put a ladder on the porch roof, which I have no intention of doing, and I still wouldn't have adequate stability or access.

Here's a pic...




It's the window to the right of the third-floor balcony.

The window itself also has some rot. I've seen Tom Silva from This Old House rebuild bottoms of old windows using an expoxy compound, and he swears by it.

I've ground my own planer knives in the past. It's not something I enjoy doing. The millwork on the exterior of the house is actually fairly simple. It's the millwork on the interior of the house that is the nightmare to try to match, not only from a profile point of view, but also the fact that it's clear American Chestnut.