Dry Rot Repair Contractor In Orlando, FL
Soft fascia behind a gutter. A window sill your thumb sinks into. A deck board that flexes underfoot. Wood rot in Central Florida starts quietly, and by the time you can see it from the driveway it has usually moved into the framing behind the trim.
Global Arch Construction repairs rotted wood on houses across Orlando and the surrounding towns. We cut out the decay, find the water that caused it, correct that first, then rebuild with materials and details that survive a Florida summer. We work on homes only, so the crew that shows up does this kind of repair every week.
What Dry Rot Actually Is, And Why The Name Is Misleading
Dry rot is a nickname, and it confuses almost everyone who calls us. The wood is not dry. What you are looking at is a fungus feeding on the cellulose in the lumber, leaving behind a brown, crumbly surface that cracks into rough cubes. Push a screwdriver in and it goes without much resistance.
Decay fungi need wood sitting above roughly twenty percent moisture content to take hold. In a drier climate that takes a real leak. Here it takes a clogged gutter, a sprinkler head aimed six inches too high, or a piece of trim that was never sealed on its cut end. Our humidity keeps exterior wood close to the threshold most of the year, so the margin for a small water problem is thin.
That is also why patching over rot rarely holds. If the fungus has an active moisture source, new wood set into the same spot will go the same way. Every repair we quote starts with finding where the water is getting in, because that is the part that determines whether the fix lasts two years or twenty.
Signs Of Wood Rot On A Central Florida Home
Most homeowners find rot while doing something else: painting, hanging Christmas lights, or chasing a stain on a ceiling. These are the things worth checking before it spreads into framing.
Paint Bubbling In One Isolated Spot
Wood swells as it takes on water and pushes the film off. A blister that keeps coming back after two repaints usually has soft wood under it.
Trim Joints That Open And Stay Open
Caulk splitting at the same miter every year means the wood behind it is moving with moisture.
Fascia Sagging Between Rafter Tails
A wavy gutter line seen from the street is often the fascia losing strength, not the gutter pulling loose.
Dark Streaking Under Window Sills
Water tracking down the wall below a sill corner points to failed flashing above it.
A Deck Board Or Stair Tread That Springs
Flex under normal weight usually means the joist below has gone soft at the top edge.
A Musty Smell In A Closed Attic Or Soffit
Active fungal growth has a distinct earthy odor long before anything is visible.
Residential Dry Rot Repair Services We Provide In Orlando
Rot shows up in the same handful of places on Central Florida houses. Here is what each of those repairs involves and what we do differently depending on where the damage is.
Structural Dry Rot Repair In Orlando, FL
Once decay reaches joists, rafter tails, beams, a rim board or a bottom plate, patching is off the table. We open the assembly, shore anything carrying load, and replace the damaged members with new lumber sized for the original span. Structural repairs in Orange County get permitted and inspected, and we handle that before the first cut so nothing stalls halfway through.
Fascia Board Dry Rot Repair In Orlando, FL
Fascia fails more often than any other exterior board because a full gutter holds water directly against the back of it, where no one paints. We pull the gutter, remove the rotted fascia and any soft rafter tail behind it, then reinstall boards primed on all six sides including the cut ends. If the drip edge was short or missing, which is usually the actual cause, we correct that at the same time.
Eaves And Soffit Dry Rot Repair In Dr Phillips, FL
Soffit damage in Dr Phillips homes usually traces back to a roof valley dumping water past the drip edge, or to blocked vents holding humid air inside the eave. We take the soffit down, inspect the framing and sheathing above it, treat what stays, and rebuild with venting that actually moves air. Deep decorative eaves are common on these houses, so we match the existing profile rather than boxing it in flat.
Window Frame Dry Rot Repair In Orlando
Sills and lower jambs go first because that is where water sits. Shallow decay in a sill can be cut back to sound wood, rebuilt with a two part epoxy consolidant and filler, then sanded and painted so the profile stays original. Deeper rot means a new sill, new brickmould and corrected flashing at the head. We tell you which one it is after probing, not before.
Dry Rot Deck Repair In Orlando, FL
We start underneath, because that is where the answer usually is. Ledger connections, joist hangers and the top edges of joists where debris packs into the gap are the spots that fail first. We replace compromised joists and boards, add ledger flashing where there is none, and re-fasten hardware that has worked loose. A deck that felt springy before should feel solid when we leave.
Exterior Wood Rot Restoration In Orlando, FL
Older Orlando houses have wood details worth keeping: porch columns, turned railings, corbels, wide casing and real bevel siding. Replacing all of it with stock lumber changes how the house looks. We save original material where it is still sound, mill or source matching profiles where it is not, and blend the repair so it disappears under paint.
Dry Rot Wood Repair In Winter Park, FL
Winter Park has mature oak canopy over a lot of the older streets, which is beautiful and terrible for wood. Shade keeps siding and trim from drying out after storms, and leaf litter sits in gutters and roof valleys for months. Repairs here are usually about restoring the drainage detail first, then rebuilding trim and siding to match the character of the house.
Wood Rot Repair Contractor In Lake Nona, FL
Newer construction rots too, just in different places. In Lake Nona we mostly see it at stucco to wood transitions, garage door jambs sitting close to the slab, and second floor window corners where the housewrap was lapped the wrong direction. The visible damage is small, the wet sheathing behind it usually is not. We open enough to see the full extent before rebuilding.
Residential Wood Rot Repair In College Park, FL
College Park bungalows carry framing and wood windows that are eighty years old or more, under paint layers deep enough to hide almost anything. Old paint can bridge over wood that has already turned to powder. We probe the sills, porch posts, column bases and siding butt joints before quoting, so the scope you get reflects what is really there.
Why Wood Rot Spreads Faster In Central Florida
The same repair done in Phoenix and done here will not age the same way. A few local conditions are doing most of the damage.
Humidity That Barely Lets Up
Exterior wood here spends much of the year near the moisture level decay fungi need. A small leak that would dry out elsewhere simply stays wet.
Daily Summer Storm Cycles
Afternoon storms soak a wall, then the sun bakes it. That wet and dry swing works joints open and pulls caulk and paint away from end grain.
Wind Driven Rain
Rain arriving sideways gets behind trim, under drip edge and into weep gaps that were designed assuming water falls straight down.
Irrigation Hitting The House
One misaimed rotary head wetting the same section of siding four mornings a week will rot it out. We check sprinkler patterns during the inspection.
Termites Following The Water
Subterranean termites are drawn to damp, softened wood. Rot and termite damage often turn up in the same wall cavity, so we look for both once it is open.
What This Means For Your House
Small rot problems here do not stay small for long. A soft fascia board left through one wet season can take the rafter tail and roof sheathing edge with it.
How A Dry Rot Repair Job Runs
No surprises and no vague scope. This is the sequence on every residential rot repair we take.
Inspection And Moisture Readings
We probe suspect wood, take moisture readings on the surrounding material, and trace the water back to its entry point. That last part is what separates a real diagnosis from a guess made from the ground.
A Written Scope You Can Read
You get the repair spelled out in plain language: what gets removed, what gets replaced, what materials go back, and what we are doing about the source. If there is a chance of finding more damage once it is open, we say so upfront.
Permits Where They Apply
Cosmetic trim replacement generally does not require a permit. Structural repairs do. We pull permits through the City of Orlando or Orange County depending on your address and schedule the inspections.
Removal Back To Sound Wood
We cut past the visible damage until we reach solid material, because fungal growth extends beyond what you can see. Anything staying in place that sat wet gets a borate treatment before it is closed up.
Rebuild With The Detail Corrected
New material goes in with the flashing, drip edge, ventilation or drainage fixed. Cut ends get primed before installation, which is the step most often skipped and the reason a lot of repairs fail early.
Seal, Paint And Walk Through
We caulk the right joints and leave the ones that need to drain alone, then prime and paint to match. Before we go, we walk the work with you and point out anything to keep an eye on.
Where We Work Around Orlando
If you have been searching for a dry rot repair contractor near me and you are inside the greater Orlando area, we most likely cover you. Our office is in the Meadow Woods area off Sidney Hayes Road, and crews run daily through Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.
- Orlando
- Winter Park
- Lake Nona
- Dr Phillips
- College Park
- Baldwin Park
- Windermere
- Maitland
- Conway
- Belle Isle
- Edgewood
- Pine Castle
- Meadow Woods
- Hunters Creek
- Azalea Park
- Union Park
- Altamonte Springs
- Casselberry
- Oviedo
- Winter Springs
- Apopka
- Ocoee
- Winter Garden
- Kissimmee
Not on the list? Call and ask. We travel outside these areas regularly for larger repairs.
Repairs That Often Go With Wood Rot Work
Rot is a symptom, so the fix sometimes reaches past the rotted board itself. If water has been getting in long enough to soften framing, it has usually touched something else on the way through.
When the source is failing cladding, our siding repair and replacement crew handles the wall. If the water came from above, roofing gets involved. Leaks that reached drywall, insulation or subfloor move into water damage restoration, and storm related damage runs through storm damage repairs. Rotted window units are replaced through windows and doors installation, and everything gets finished by our painting team.
One company stays responsible for the whole repair, which matters when the rot turns out to cross two trades. You can see everything we handle on the residential services page.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dry Rot Repair In Orlando
How Do I Know If It Is Rot Or Just Old Paint?
Press a screwdriver or an awl into the wood at an angle. Sound lumber resists and the tip barely marks it. Rotted wood accepts the tool with almost no pressure and often crumbles when you pull it back out. Test the lowest point of the board, since water collects there first.
Can Rotted Wood Be Repaired, Or Does It All Have To Be Replaced?
It depends on how much section is left and whether the piece carries load. Shallow decay in a window sill, a column base or a decorative profile can often be consolidated with structural epoxy and rebuilt in place, which preserves the original detail. Anything holding weight, and anything where more than a small portion of the cross section is gone, gets replaced. We decide after probing, not from the ground.
How Do I Find A Dry Rot Repair Contractor Near Me In Orlando?
Ask whether they will open the wall or soffit before quoting, and ask what they intend to do about the water source. A quote written from the driveway that only covers replacing the visible board is a repair you will be paying for again. Confirm the contractor is licensed and insured for structural work, and that permits are pulled when the repair reaches framing.
Do You Need A Permit For Wood Rot Repair In Orange County?
Replacing trim, fascia or a few siding boards is generally treated as maintenance and does not require one. Once the repair involves structural members such as joists, rafters, beams or wall framing, it does. Permits are issued by the City of Orlando Permitting Services for addresses inside city limits and by Orange County Building Safety for unincorporated areas. We handle the application and the inspections either way.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Dry Rot?
Usually not on its own. Most Florida policies exclude decay that developed gradually, treating it as deferred maintenance. Rot that resulted from a sudden covered event, like storm damage that let water in, is sometimes a different conversation. Policies vary quite a bit, so read yours and talk to your carrier before assuming either way. We can document what we find and how the water entered, which helps if you do file.
How Long Does A Dry Rot Repair Take?
A run of fascia or a couple of window sills is often a one or two day job. Soffit and eave rebuilds usually take longer because of access. Structural repairs depend on permit timing and inspection scheduling more than on the carpentry itself. You get a realistic window in the written scope, and we tell you if opening it up changes that.
Will The Rot Come Back?
Not in the same spot if the water source was corrected. That is the whole reason we chase the leak rather than just swapping the board. What we cannot control is the next failure somewhere else on the house, which is why we point out anything marginal during the walk through instead of leaving you to find it later.
Should I Paint Over Soft Wood To Get Through The Season?
Painting over decay seals moisture inside and lets the fungus keep working out of sight. It also makes the eventual repair bigger. If you need to slow it down before we can get out there, keeping the wood dry does more than any coating will: clear the gutter above it, redirect the sprinkler, and cover it if rain is coming.
Do You Work On Rentals And Homes In HOA Neighborhoods?
Yes. We do residential work for owners and landlords, and we are used to matching approved exterior colors and materials in HOA communities around Lake Nona, Baldwin Park and Hunters Creek. Bring us the architectural guidelines and we will build the scope to fit them.
Get A Dry Rot Inspection In Orlando
Send us a photo of what you are seeing, or have us come look. We will tell you whether it is surface damage or something that reaches the framing, and what the repair involves either way. If it turns out you do not need us yet, we will tell you that too.
Global Arch Construction
- Address: 9640 Sidney Hayes Rd Ste 777, Orlando, FL 32824
- Phone: (407) 989-3960
- Email: info@globalarchconstructionfl.com
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM