Many people think all they need to do is apply some nice, bright new paint on their old weather-beaten wooden window frames and everything will be alright again. But most of the time the wood feels “soft” or looks “wavy”, so it’s easy to just sand it down and put some really good exterior grade paint on it.
At RottenWindowRepair we get to see the consequences of this type of mistake every day. It’s not fixing; it’s temporarily hiding deterioration; and it will only worsen the damage to your house!
The “Greenhouse Effect”: How Paint Speeds Up Decay
Paint was designed to be a surface covering for your windows. Painting protects the wood from the weather, but when wood rots (or “silent killer”), then paint becomes part of the problem.
- Trapped Moisture: Rot is brought on due to moisture being trapped between the top coat of paint over your wood’s surface and the wood itself.
- Perfect Environment: When painting over wood that is already rotten, the new paint creates a further environment for the development of rot since it allows for continued decay beneath the new layer.
- Hidden Destruction: If you see paint bubbling up from your windows, it is a sign that moisture has come out of your wood and is escaping out into the air; while at the same time getting rid of moisture, it does not affect the look of the outside portion of the wood because the wood underneath will be turning into mulch.
- Capillary Action: The moment you see little cracks or splits in your paint, especially near joints, moisture is being sucked deep into your wood through a process called capillary action.
The True Cost of a “Quick Fix”
Choosing a bucket of paint over a structural repair is a gamble that rarely pays off. Ignoring these signs leads to a domino effect of damage:
- Higher Energy Bills: Your HVAC system will overwork trying to maintain the temperature inside of your house when there are air leaks through decayed window frames.
- Structural Contamination: Wood rot untreated can extend beyond the decayed window frame to include the structural framing studs of the house.
- Mold and Health Risks: Moisture trapped inside of decayed window frames creates the environment for mold, leading to allergies and respiratory problems to members of your family.
- Complete Glass Failure: As the window frames decay, they will become too weak to support the glass unit, causing significantly more expensive repairs or complete glass failure in the future.
How to Identify “Painted-Over” Rot
If you just painted your windows and you notice the following three symptoms, your window may be suffering from internal rotting:
- Soft Spots: If you press a screwdriver into any joints of the wood and find it sinks in like butter, you have internal wood decay!
- Wavy Texture: If there are areas near the bottom corner of windows where the paint appears wavy or uneven, you possibly have a problem.
- Interior Staining: If there are yellow or brownish stains on the interior casing or drywall, you have water moving from the outside of your window to the inside.
Our “Surgical” Solution: Repair, Don’t Mask
At Rotten Window Repair, we specialize in “surgical” restoration – methods developed specifically to uncover and fix hidden decay.
- Targeted Removal & Replacement: We remove only the damaged sections, replacing them with new wood that matches your original shape and color.
- Preserving History: We focus on repairs to keep the original style and soul of your home intact rather than turning it into a “cookie-cutter” box.
- Long-Term Protection: We provide a 10-year warranty on our woodwork and use high-quality Cardinal glass units that come with a 20-year warranty on the thermal seal.
Avoid wasting your budget on a bandage for a structural injury. Make an investment in a repair that truly lasts.
Contact us today for a free assessment:
