Rot Repair on Cape Cod, MA

How we approach rot repair on Cape Cod

Exterior trim is what makes a Cape Cod house read as finished: the white corner boards against gray shingles, the window casings, the fascia and soffit at the roofline, the columns on the porch. It is also the first thing to rot. Trim sits at every place where water is trying to get into the wall, and on the Cape it takes salt air, wind-driven rain and sun that strips paint in a few seasons. Most trim failures we see started with a flashing problem, not the wood.

We replace and repair exterior trim with materials that suit the exposure: cellular PVC that never rots and holds paint for years, or primed and back-primed cedar on historic homes where wood is required. We fix the flashing and drip edges that caused the rot, match existing profiles so the repair is invisible, and fasten with stainless steel so nothing streaks. From a single rotted window sill to a full house of new corner boards, fascia and soffit, the work is done cleanly and finished properly.

Rot repair is detective work. A soft corner board, a stained ceiling on the porch or a spongy sill is the symptom; the cause is usually water getting in somewhere higher up, through a missing kick-out flashing, a failed window head, a bad gutter joint or a roof-to-wall intersection that was never flashed. We open the area, remove and replace the rotted trim, sheathing and, if needed, framing, then fix the flashing so the water goes where it should. We finish with PVC or back-primed cedar so the repaired spot is the last one to have a problem.