House exterior painting/fascia timber boards

[mobilejake]

Hi,

The outside of my house requires fixing up. As seen in the pic the black timber boards are rotten and exposing some brickwork behind. And the exterior render is crumbling where it joins the timber.

There have been no problems with water or damp yet.

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My questions are: how high a priority should this be (is it exposing my house to risk?

And what do you call the wood/timber decorating planks? Who would fix them - a painter decorator or gutter/fascia specialist?

Grateful for any help!
J

 

[sparkwright]

You need a builder, he should be able to sort all of it out.

As regards to it being a priority, the best advice I can give is it always pays to look after your home, the exterior in particular as you don't want rotten wood, water penetration, etc.

Properties can sadly get neglected, so make the effort before it becomes a bigger, more expensive task.

 

[misterhelpful]

Are they between upstairs and downstairs bay windows?

It depends on if they are just decorative (a la Mock Tudor) or part of the structure as to whether they are a priority to repair. Rotting wood only gets worse though so, as sparkwright says, get it sorted before it gets too bad.

You can get decorative composite/upvc beams and panelling that look like real wood which take less maintenance, which may be an option if the existing isn't structural. I would expect that to be the work of a specialist or builder rather than a decorator - I know I wouldn't do it.

 

[joe-90]

If you tap from inside the bedroom - does it sound hollow or solid?

 

[mobilejake]

Hi,

Yes, they are between the upstairs and downstairs bay windows and between the upstairs bay and the roof. They appear purely cosmetic - brickwork behind the wood and render.

The wall is solid and not hollow either..

Does that make things clearer?

Cheers, J

 

[joe-90]

Yes. It makes it a doddle to repair the render.

Any half competent maintenance type person should be able to sort that. I'd say around £150.

 

[misterhelpful]

As said, it's much simpler if the timbers are not structural. It would probably be easier to remove the existing timber, replace with new and then repair any damaged render, rather than trying to fiddle around repairing rotten wood.

 

[Chri5]

Untitled

• Chri5
• 3 Apr 2014
• 1

I did that one last summer, whole middle section reconstructed all wood biscuit joined, wood plug and screwed with SS screws. Mesh net provided on brick to give new render best grip.

The middle section alone was a weeks work start to finish.

Just had sign off on this one, which will be a bit of a challenge

Untitled

• Chri5
• 3 Apr 2014
• 1

Untitled

• Chri5
• 3 Apr 2014
• 1