ReportRot & water damage
InspectorUrban Edge
LicenseLicensed in Oregon
AreaPortland metro
Summary of findings
Soft wood is a symptom. We find the cause.
Dry rot repair across Portland, Happy Valley and Clackamas County. We open it up, show you how far the rot goes, fix the leak that started it, and rebuild to sound wood.
Repairs only
Findings in writing
Photos of every spot
Water on the floor right now? Call a water restoration company first to stop it and dry it out. We don't do emergency extraction. Once it's dry, call us for the repair.
Section 1
Probe the wall.
Paint hides rot well. Move the probe over this wall (drag, or use the arrow keys) and see what a moisture meter and a screwdriver find behind it.
Illustration, not a real house. Readings follow the rule of thumb that rot fungi need wood above about 20% moisture.
Wood moisture content
31%
8% dry15%20%40% wet
Under the window sill: wet and soft. Rot likely, and the sill flashing is the first suspect.
Jump to a spot
Section 2
How rot travels inside a wall.
Rot rarely stays in the board you can see. Water gets past one layer and sits on the next, where nothing dries it out.
Urban Edge job: paint failing over wet trimLayer 1Paint
The first sign. Paint keeps peeling in the same spot because the wood under it stays wet.
Urban Edge job: rotted corner trimLayer 2Siding and trim
End grain soaks up water like a straw. Sills, corner boards and the bottom course go first.
Urban Edge job, Cedar Mill: rotted sheathingLayer 3Sheathing
Behind the siding, water that got past the flashing sits on the plywood or boards for months.
Urban Edge job, Cedar Mill: framing opened upLayer 4Framing
The studs and sill plate that hold the house up. Caught late, rot ends here, and so does a simple repair.
Section 3
Is it rot? Check your signs.
2 signs checked
Worth a look soon.
Peeling in one spot plus gaps at a window corner often means water is getting behind the trim. An inspection finds out how far it goes before it reaches the framing.
Book a free rot inspection
A starting point, not a diagnosis. Only opening it up tells you for sure.
Where we find it most in Portland houses
Window sillsBottom corners first
Corner boardsWhere they meet concrete
FasciaBehind overflowing gutters
Deck ledgersWhere the deck meets the house
Door jambsThe bottom 12 inches
SubfloorsUnder toilets and tubs
Section 4
How we repair it. In this order.
- Step 1Open it upWe remove the soft trim or siding and find out how far the rot goes. You get photos.
- Step 2Find the waterFailed flashing, a gutter overflow, a missing drip cap or a slow plumbing leak. Something keeps it wet.
- Step 3Cut to sound woodAll of the rot comes out, not just the part that's easy to reach.
- Step 4RebuildNew sheathing, trim and siding, and framing replaced or reinforced where it needs it.
- Step 5Stop the waterWe fix the cause. If it's a plumbing leak, a licensed plumber fixes that part.
- Step 6Seal and paintPrimed on all sides and painted, or the whole wall painted by our crew.
Section 5
How rot is priced.
You approve every step before we go further.
Rot is hidden, so nobody can price all of it from the outside. You get a written price for the work we can see, and a per-item price for anything we find beyond it. If we open a wall and find more, we stop, show you, and you decide.
Visible work, fixed priceWritten before we start
Each extra foot of sheathingPriced per foot on your quote
Each extra stud or platePriced per piece on your quote
Surprises without your OKNone
Not our job
What we don't do.
We repair rot and water damage. We don't do emergency water extraction, drying or mold remediation. If water is still coming in or the space is soaked, a restoration company comes first. Then we rebuild.
We also don't cover rot with filler and paint. If wood is soft, it comes out.
Section 6
Check us before you call us.
LicenseLicensed, bonded and insured.
Our record is public on the Construction Contractors Board site.
Look up our license
Older homesLead-safe on pre-1978 houses.
[Oregon lead-based paint renovation license number, once Tim confirms it. Needed before this line goes live.]
WarrantyTwo years on our work.
Our work is covered by a 2-year workmanship warranty, in writing.
Real Google reviews from rot repair customers go here, quoted word for word with first name and town, as they come in. Before-and-after job photos go here too, labeled with the town.
Section 7
Often found together.