Preventative Maintenance Tip of the Week: Sealing Your Siding

This week's maintenance tip covers caulking and keeping your exterior siding properly maintained, especially in high moisture areas. The pictures below show what happens when wood siding is not properly sealed:

The picture above shows a typical wood frame wall at the rear porch of a house. This area is exposed to rain which means it should be maintained extra carefully; especially lower areas where moisture settles and rain may splash up.

There are small cracks in the bottom of the wall above the damaged area. Wood siding expands and contracts with different weather conditions, and as a result, may tend to develop cracks over time. Routine maintenance as painting and sealing cracks is needed to prevent moisture from getting in and rotting the wood from the inside out.

The damage as seen in the close up picture was more extensive than the picture shows. The entire bottom trim was rotted as was most of the trim adjacent to it on the inside of the porch, not to mention possible hidden structural damage.  

What could have cost a few dollars in sealant or paint may end up costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars down the line. As the saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."