The Complex Processes Behind Rotting Window Frames

Wood rot is a common structural issue affecting many homes around British Columbia. It requires professional repair services in Victoria to address properly. Rot can occur anywhere that there is wood, but window frames are a common site. To understand why, you have to understand what causes window rot and how the many factors can intersect with one another to undermine the structural integrity of your window frames.

Water

Victoria is a wet, rainy environment. Ideally, the builder of your home took this into consideration and made sure to install windows and frames that are able to withstand moisture. However, if the windows were installed incorrectly, or were inadequate to begin with, they may leak.

As any carpenter in Victoria can tell you, exposure to water causes wood to warp. The window itself may not be made of wood, but the frame usually is. If the wood warps, it may form depressions that allow water to collect and stand on the wood. Gaps may form between the warped wood and the window. Water could get in through these cracks and cause more leaks. Yet as damaging as water is to wood, it is not enough on its own to cause it to rot. There is one more ingredient required for that.

Fungi

A fungus is a living organism that is not a plant and not an animal but has some characteristics of each. Fungi feed on organic matter and reproduce by spores. Spores in the environment can remain inactive for some time until they come in contact with water.

Many different kinds of fungi may start growing on wet wood. A few of these can cause the wood to rot. They have colloquial names based on the damage that they cause to wood. For example, soft rot cause the wood to become spongy by making microscopic holes in it. White rot leaves cellulose behind, causing it to appear pale. Brown rot is caused by fungi that feed on cellulose and leave the wood looking brown and dry with little square-shaped cracks. Another name for brown rot is dry rot because of the appearance of the wood affected by it, but don’t be fooled. Dry rot requires water to activate the fungal spores just as other forms of rot do.

Termites

Termites don’t cause rot per se, but they take advantage of it to cause extensive damage of their own. Termites are insects that eat wood. They are especially attracted to wet, rotting wood because it is easier to chew through. In the wild, this is beneficial because termites help with the decomposition of dead trees. However, if termites get into your house, they can cause extensive structural damage.

Rotted wood window repair is a bit of a misnomer. There is no way to get the fungi out of the wood or restore the wood to its original condition. If the window frames are rotted, the only option is to have them replaced by a carpenter in Victoria. You should do this as soon as possible once you discover the problem because, if you wait, you give termites the opportunity to start nesting in your window frames. They won’t stop there; once in your home, termites are likely to spread to the non-rotted wood structures as their colony grows. You will need pest control to get rid of the termites and then you will need to have the termite damage professionally repaired.

Contact a Carpenter in Victoria From Handyman Connection

Window rot is a significant problem that only gets worse with time. Act now to have repair services in Victoria replace the damaged wood and reinstall the windows to prevent future infestations of fungi and insects.