Idea
Don’t allow ivy vines to grow on your wood siding. Ivy works its way between wood siding, opening joints, causing damage to the structure of the wall, and increasing the risk of wood rot.
Routine Care
Inspect and maintain wood siding
Unprotected wood siding risks being destroyed by insects, mold, and mildew.
And rotten wood can allow water damage to occur inside your home.
Timing: May (yearly)
How To
The following maintenance tasks should be conducted for your wood siding:
- Prune trees, shrubs, and bushes so that branches do not rub against the wood siding.
- Check all surfaces for weathering and paint failure. Re-paint or add a stain or water-repellant as necessary.
- Re-nail loose siding (use rust-resistant screws); replace rotted areas; repair splits as necessary.
- Check for termites, carpenter ants, and wasp’s nest.
- Pressure wash and clean siding as necessary, or re-paint.
- Take special care to ensure that ground, debris, leaf piles, etc are not touching your wood siding. This can lead to insect infestation.
Benefits
The benefits of this task are relatively high, in that proper maintenance of your wood siding helps prevent costly damage from pest infestation, water damage, more expensive repairs, etc.
Costs
The cost of this task can be significant from an investment of time, depending on the size and condition of your home.
Originally posted at http://www.petermuehlbronner.home-wizard.com/tip/tip_wsd_1