Minor Wood Rot & Carpentry Repair Before We Paint

Paint does not fix rot. It covers it for a season, then the new paint peels off with the soft board underneath. So before we paint the outside of a house in Tallahassee, we look for the rot first. When we find it, we tell you, we fix the minor stuff, and then we paint. One written quote, and you hear about it before anything is torn out.

Tallahassee Magazine describes us as a "family-owned residential and commercial repaint company, providing interior and exterior painting services, along with pressure washing and minor wood rot repair." The rot repair is the part of exterior painting in Tallahassee that decides whether the paint lasts.

Why Tallahassee houses rot

Humidity, mostly. June through August, this town averages more than seven inches of rain a month, ten or eleven wet days, and highs in the low 90s. Wood that never fully dries does not stand a chance. Add hurricane season, June 1 to November 30, and rain gets driven up under fascia and behind trim the sun never reaches.

Where we find it, again and again:

• Fascia behind gutters that overflow or pull away.
• Window sills on the side that takes the afternoon rain.
• Door trim at the bottom corners.
• The lowest siding, and corner boards where two pieces of wood meet.
• Anywhere a sprinkler hits the house daily.

Most of it is minor. It still needs a look before the paint goes on.

What we repair, and what we do not

We handle minor wood rot and carpentry repairs. A length of fascia, a piece of trim, a window sill, a few sections of siding. We cut out the bad wood, replace it, prime it, caulk it, and paint it with the rest of the house.

We do not do structural repairs. If rot has gone past the trim and into framing, sill plates, or anything holding the house up, that is a job for a contractor who does that for a living. Gerard's own words: "You really don't want your painter to handle the wood rot repairs." He works with several contractors and has one of them help out with the repairs.

Either way, we tell you first.

From the estimate to the last coat

Marshall or Gerard walks the outside of the house with you at the free estimate. Marshall Parker has been estimating for twelve years and was a painter before that. Gerard has walked jobs since 1998. They show you what they find.

The written quote separates the two kinds of work. Painting is quoted as a job. Repairs are billed time and material, because until a board comes off nobody knows how far the rot runs. If it is worse once open, we stop and call you.

On the job, repairs come first, then prep, then paint. We do not paint wet wood, and we do not seal water into a fresh repair. If it rains for three days, we reschedule. If pressure washing is on the job, we wash first. The wash turns up rot we did not see on the walk.

After a storm

When a storm comes through, the calls start the next morning. Fascia hanging, a piece of trim gone, a corner board knocked loose. We are usually booked out, so we tell you when we can get there, and we quote it plainly.

"When storms came through last week I was in immediate need for assistance with my hone. Superior Painting responded quickly to my request for a quote and Marshall made sure the process and timeline were communicated clearly. The quality of their employees and work are truly Superior."

Questions we hear about wood rot

How do you find it?

We look and we poke. Soft wood gives under a screwdriver where good wood does not. We check the usual places first: fascia behind the gutters, the bottom of every window and door, the lowest siding, corner boards. Paint bubbling in one patch is often the first sign.

What does time and material mean?

We bill the repair by the hours it takes and the lumber, primer, caulk, and fasteners it uses. We do not guess a flat price for something we cannot see yet. Painting is its own number on the quote. Repairs are time and material. If it runs bigger than expected, we call you first.

Do you do structural repairs?

No. We stay with minor wood rot and carpentry repairs: fascia, trim, sills, and siding sections. Framing, sill plates, and anything carrying load go to a contractor. If we find that at the estimate, we say so and point you toward the right help before we paint anything.

Read why the rot has to come out before the paint goes on, see finished repaints in our work, read about interior painting, or find the Tallahassee neighborhoods we paint. More answers on our FAQ page, or request a free estimate.