Rot and moisture behind siding
The worst siding problems are the ones you cannot see. Water that gets behind siding can soak sheathing and framing for years before the outside looks bad.
Signs water is getting behind your siding
- Soft or spongy spots when you press on a wall or on trim.
- Swollen, cracked or crumbling trim around windows and doors.
- Stains, peeling paint or bubbling wallpaper on the inside of an outside wall.
- Mold or a musty smell in a room against an outside wall.
- Gaps where siding meets windows, doors, decks or the roof line.
- Siding that rattles or moves when you push it, especially near the bottom of a wall.
Where it usually starts
- Around windows and doors, where flashing is missing, cracked or installed backward.
- Where a roof meets a wall, if there is no kick-out flashing to send water into the gutter.
- Near the ground, where siding sits too close to soil, mulch or a patio.
- Under overflowing gutters and downspouts that dump against the house.
- At deck ledgers attached to the house without proper flashing.
What a contractor usually does
- Removes siding in the problem area to see how far the damage goes.
- Replaces rotted sheathing and, if needed, framing.
- Adds or fixes flashing and the weather barrier so it does not happen again.
- Puts new siding back, matched as closely as possible, or recommends re-siding the wall.
Ask what caused the water to get in, not only how they will fix the rot. A patch without new flashing often fails again.
Request a moisture inspection
Send a request and choose “Moisture or rot behind the siding.” Say where you see it, inside or out, and when you first noticed it.