Cabin wood rot

[Fender Stratoplaster]

I have a garden cabin and I've been long meaning to do some maintenance on it - particularly after the last week we had a huge load of rain

Finally booked a day off work to sort it today as the sun was out and I've found there are 2 or 3 logs near the base which have patches of rot

I used a chisel and scraper and chipped away a good inch or so of soft rotted wood but it's really awkward to access and assess the damage properly because of the narrow gap behind the cabin between the fence. I scraped what I could back but it still felt damp and I wasn't able to get back to dry wood.

I've used rustins wood rot treatment and put a few coats on and then some wood filler and will zinsser and paint over

Will this be good enough or will the rot continue to spread as I've not been able to remove it all completely?

The voids left were quite big and I've built up with layers of filler... Will this hold?

picture below is one of the areas, before i have applied the treatment filled and painted not even the worse bit, the worse one is in the corner

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Timber low down rots in particular either because of contact with the ground, or water splashing up. Have you got gutters?

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Timber low down rots in particular either because of contact with the ground, or water splashing up. Have you got gutters?

Hello,

Yes we do have gutters on front and back - the back one wasn't installed properly which I think caused the issue as it was bulging away from the trim and water was spilling down the wall from it.

I've since fixed this by adding an extra clip which has straightened it out

Not sure how the bottom corner of the cabin got rotten though as this is away from the overspill - there's a lot of weeds that have sprung up nearby between the cabin and fence I'm working to remove, perhaps condensation and trapped moisture?

 

[Munroast]

Once you remove the source of dampness the rot will stop - so, long before you try and repair anything, work out why it was getting wet

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Once you remove the source of dampness the rot will stop - so, long before you try and repair anything, work out why it was getting wet

Thanks, now I've fixed the gutter I'll get rid if the weeds and finish re painting etc. So hopefully that will help

 

[accelerator]

Yes, where is the water coming from? What is the cabin sitting on? Is it protected from ground water?

In the pics it doesn't look that bad ... is the wood basically sodden?

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Yes, where is the water coming from? What is the cabin sitting on? Is it protected from ground water?

In the pics it doesn't look that bad ... is the wood basically sodden?

It's sitting on a plastic base frame which the cabin company guarantee for 20 years. I see no other sign of rot around the cabin, its just the back of it

The picture I sent isn't the worst bit, the worst was in the corner but I didn't get a photo

It was sodden and crumbling away

 

[Munroast]

wet rot (which that almost certainly is) stops as soon as it dries out, no need for chemicals, let it all dry out then decide what bits are too soft and rotten to save, then we can cut them out and replace, or fill...
leaving the rotten bits in won't cause any more rot providing you have removed the source of dampness

you only really need chemicals when you can't remove the dampness, such as where wood is in contact with the ground (like a fence post)

 

[accelerator]

So how are the rotten areas getting wet?

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

So how are the rotten areas getting wet?

I think from the gutter when it was broken and maybe from weeds, also the torrential rain - maybe not having a good layer of paint or finish - there's a lot of areas where the paint has lifted. Perhaps it wasn't applied correctly?

 

[accelerator]

See how it goes once you've repainted it. It probably had inadequate protection.

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Thanks for the advice so far... heres some more pictures of the worse bit of rot which ive started to fill and to give you some context of the area

I'm dreading what I'll find once I've cleared those brambles and weeds down the other side...

 

[opps]

Did you apply the filler with a spoon

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Did you apply the filler with a spoon

Might aswell of done, pretty awkward getting to it - was the best i could do left handed whilst trying to fit my fat self down the narrow gap

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Ok, not quite what I had picture. The construction methods look good. I would be surprised if the weeds by themselves would cause damp, but is there earth heaped up against it that the weeds are growing in, for example?