If you come across wood rot, you’ll want to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Not only is rotten wood an eyesore, but waiting to repair or replace your rotted wooden features can also lead to multiple safety concerns as structures gradually decay and lose their integrity. 

When addressing wood rot, you have two options: repair it or replace it. Of course, you don’t want either of these tasks to take up all your time and energy. Even if you hire a repair contractor, you don’t want the job to take too long. So, how long does it take to repair or replace rotting wood?

Deciding Whether to Repair or Replace Rotted Wood

Before we get into the hard numbers, understand rotted wood replacement and repair generally take about the same time. Of course, every job is different, but each process involves multiple steps. 

Replacing wood involves removing the rotten feature, crafting a new piece of wood or other material to replace the old one, and then installing it properly. Repairing rotted wood requires filling the damaged areas and then smoothing, sanding, and painting over them.

Of course, time shouldn’t be the only factor informing your decision to repair or replace your wooden features. You must also consider the severity of the damage, the age of the wood, and the structural significance of the wood, among other factors. In some cases, replacement might be the best option for these reasons. But in others, repair might be more cost-effective and completely viable.

How Long Does Repairing Rotting Wood Take?

A wood rot repair job will vary in duration depending on the size of the area that needs fixing, how bad the damage is, and the materials you use. Preparing the area for repair can take up to an hour on its own, as you must investigate the area, test the wood, clean it, and remove the decaying wood. 

Once the area is prepped, you’ll want to apply an epoxy consolidant to the damaged area and let it dry and harden, which can take up to a week. If you don’t want to wait that long, certain consolidants dry faster than others. And best of all, you can still perform the next step, applying wood filler, before the consolidant has fully dried. 

If you want to work quickly, you can use a quick-drying wood hardener, which gives you about 10-15 minutes to shape the material as needed before it dries. Once everything has dried, you’ll then want to smooth down the material with sandpaper until the surface is even once more. 

Then, it’s time to paint the surface or hire a licensed exterior painting contractor to do it for you. These steps take time, too. All in all, your wood rot repair job may take the better part of a day (or two) of actual work to complete. Of course, the job might not actually be finished for a week or so as everything needs to dry, but that only involves waiting.

What About Replacing Rotted Wood?

As mentioned earlier, replacing rotten wood usually ends up taking about the same amount of time as repairing it. The time is just allocated differently. 

If you’re replacing a feature that’s easily purchased from a manufacturer, no time needs to be spent on creating a custom piece, so the job only involves installing and painting the new material. But, if the area being replaced is unique, you’ll need to wait for contractors to create a new one, which can take several hours or more depending on its complexity and size. 

Then, you’ll need to caulk the seams and paint the new feature so it fits in. Hiring licensed exterior painting services will speed up the finishing process, but this might still take a couple of hours to complete.

Unfortunately, there’s so straight answer to the question, “how long does it take to repair or replace rotting wood?” The most important thing is determining whether to repair or replace your wood and hiring a team that can perform either of these tasks efficiently to deliver the best results. 

At All American Painting Plus, our interior and exterior painting services only make up a fraction of what we offer. Let us help you repair or replace your rotted wood, power wash your home, fix your drywall, and more! To learn more about us and everything we can do for our clients in Northern Virginia, give us a call at (703) 620-5563.