Subj: Damaged Wood Restoration
Date: 04/09/2001 6:28:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time

From time to time I will invite others to provide guest articles for this newsletter. One of those I have asked is my father, Rudy Hilton. Dad spent 25 years of his life in the Construction Maintenance Division of RJR Tobacco, ultimately as its manager, over all of their local facilities, and then became Director of the Physical Plant at Wingate and later Samford University from which he retired a few years ago. When I don't understand or haven't seen it before, I pick up my phone and call Dad who has, or will find, the answers. 

Recently, my sister's home was being taken over by a relocation company due to her husbands job transfer. The relocation inspector found rot damage involving two triple exterior French doors. The inspector stated that they needed to be replaced and the estimated cost was $4,500.00. Like me, my sister called Dad for help. I thought that you and your clients would be interested in how Dad dealt with this issue.

Damaged Wood Restoration

A relocation inspector advised my daughter that she had two rot damaged door ensembles that needed to be replaced at a cost of $4,500. I was asked to investigate the situation. The question became, would it be possible to find a method that would repair the rotted areas, be similar in strength to the original, deter the reoccurrence of the decay and equal the appearance of a new ensemble? Could it be done for significantly less than the estimate for replacement?

In other words, lemonade was needed from the bitter lemon correctly identified in the Inspection Report. I reasoned that an acceptable solution must protect the Inspector's client from the consequences of the problem identified. I accepted that the problem was real, substantial and must be dealt with by restoring and/or replacing whatever was necessary to achieve the objective. The doors, I found, would not necessarily have to be replaced, if the problem could be solved in an alternate way that was acceptable.

As a result: I found and used a wood restoration process and saved the homeowner $3,800.00. Did I make lemonade from that lemon?

This Total Wood Restoration Project was well worth the effort in several respects. It increased the durability and strength, which existed in the wood. The treated areas are now more resistant to decay and insects than when new. You cannot usually locate the repaired areas after a professional paint application. 

I used a relatively new highly technical process to solve a problem, as it existed when I was asked for help. I could have given them a low-tech solution earlier. That is to keep the wood dry through proper painting, caulking and ventilation. 

If you are interested in the details, here is how it was done:

There were several spots of decay on two outside frame and door ensembles. The wood ensembles consisting of three 2-8 X 6-8 doors with full thermopane glass in each door along with frame, sill, trim and 15 light grid. They were finished on the outside with paint and stained on the inside. The center door in each ensemble was hinged with a fixed door on each side. The total of the spots observed to be affected with rot were concentrated in the lower portion and total area was less than three square feet, comprising about 2.4 percent of the area of the two door ensembles.

In a fifty year career supervising and managing the construction and/or maintenance of over a thousand buildings, comprising area measuring in the tens of millions of square feet, I had many learning experiences. One of the things I learned about was a new wood restoration technology process in use that had been used in the restoration and maintenance of historic homes in the United States and abroad for many years. My investigation identified several products and processes had been used successfully. Further inquiry revealed that none of the products were available locally, even though some components are made and packaged in North Carolina. None of the manufacturers or distributors I contacted could identify any firm or craftsman in the local area who had any depth of experience in performing the wood restoration process. Several out-of-town firms were suggested, but travel costs and associated expenses eliminated them from consideration for a single, comparatively minor job.

I decided that to achieve the desired results, it would be necessary to further research the products and learn the details of the wood restoration process, including the do's and don'ts of actually performing them. In order to do so I would need to make the restoration myself.

I researched several companies and products and decided that Wood Care Systems Total Wood Restoration Systems was the best and would give the desired results. 

A summary of that process:

1. The unsound materials are removed; holes are drilled to assist penetration of the solutions and for installation of borate rods.
2. Borate materials are repeatedly applied to stop the decay and deter its reoccurrence. 
3. Water-diffusible borate rods are inserted in the sound wood a few inches from the damaged areas to check future rot or insects damage, if moisture again reaches the repaired area. 
4. A liquid epoxy consolidant is applied to penetrate and strengthen the individual wood fibers in the areas that were decayed, but would be strengthened by the consolidation process. 
5. The affected areas are then filled and finished with an epoxy wood filling material, which can be sanded, shaped, sawed, drilled and painted. The consolidant and the fill materials are an epoxy formulation that, when fully cured, are stronger than the original wood and unaffected by rot, moisture and insects. 
6. The repaired area should be equal in quality and strength to the original and the repair should not be noticeable.

For brevity's sake, I will not include many of the technical details, but you should be aware of these. Proper preparation of the area to be restored is critical for success. The borate rods must be gauged by the size of the wood and provided holes of correct diameter and depth. The moisture content of the area must be taken into account. In addition, drying and curing times between applications and the heat and cold sensitivity of the working the material must by understood and accommodated. These are just a few of the many technical details in a restoration project. The fill materials can be molded in some applications. When dry it should be sanded smooth with the adjacent surfaces. Some specialized equipment is used. A detail sander is essential, if molded shapes are involved. The finished work is then ready for painting or staining when cured. For outside work a good primer coat should be applied, as soon as installation is complete. 

The process must me done in several stages because of crucial setting and drying between. It is essential that the manufacturer's recommendations are followed and good technical practices strictly adhered to for good results. Compared to many other building and maintenance tasks, wood restoration is a more difficult process and requires a high level of technical competence and minute by minute care to get good results.

All materials are odorless when cured. The borate material does not require special licensing and is not especially hazardous to children, animals or persons. It has a toxicity level similar to table salt, but should not be taken internally. Personal protection such as chemical gloves and eyes protection must be used as well as ventilation when mixing and using the epoxy components. 

The process has many other potential applications and can be used to treat decay, insect damage, dry-rot of wood, and some other problems where home owners have failed to follow the best recommendation to preserve wood, which is keep it dry. The process is not a panacea for every problem of this nature, sometimes ripping-out and replacing is the proper choice.

A word of caution: Any attempt to repair dry rot, insect damage and similar problems without treating the damaged area to prevent reoccurrence of the rot and/or the insect infestation is only a temporary "make-do" repair. The patching of damaged wood by using putty, wood putty, plastic wood, and other "Bondo" type fillers alone will not be permanent, if the wood is subjected to water or high moisture in the future. Reports indicate that dry rot does not begin until the moisture content in the wood exceeds 20%. Dormant wood rot, left untreated, tends ends to reactivate when moisture content reaches 15%, which is acceptable for undamaged wood. 

If your clients have similar problems to resolve, this process may be your best solution. Contact me, if I may be of assistance to you.

Rudy Hilton, Phone: 336-595-5392 or rhhilton@aol.com

Thought for the week

There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who 
learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
...Will Rogers

Useful household hints

When you get a splinter, reach for the scotch tape before resorting to
tweezers or a needle. Simply put the scotch tape over the splinter, then
pull it off. Scotch tape removes most splinters painlessly and easily.