Dry Rot Repair in San Francisco and the Peninsula
Dry rot is the Peninsula's quiet house-eater: fungus working through damp wood under paint that still looks fine. Caught at repair scale, it's a clean fix — cut out the failed sections, splice in matched material, and close the water path that caused it.
How we repair dry rot
The repair starts with finding all of it. Rot travels along the grain past what’s visibly soft, so we probe beyond the obvious damage — sills, trim ends, deck ledgers, stair stringers, the underside of anything horizontal — until we hit sound wood. Then the failed sections come out cleanly, back to solid material.
What goes back in matters. We splice in kiln-dried, rot-resistant stock cut to match the original — profile, thickness, grain direction — prime every cut end and joint before assembly, and fasten with exterior-grade hardware. Small voids in otherwise-sound members get consolidated and filled with structural epoxy rather than replaced, which preserves original material where it’s worth preserving.
The repair isn’t finished until the cause is. Rot means water: a failed caulk joint, a gutter dumping at a corner, sprinklers hitting siding, ground contact, a flashing gap. Every repair we close ends with the water path corrected — otherwise you’re renting the fix, not owning it.
Where it shows up around here
Bay-window sills and rear stairs in San Francisco’s fog belt. Beam ends and fascia on mid-century flat roofs in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. Deck posts and fence lines everywhere the sprinklers run. Window sills under failed paint in the older Peninsula neighborhoods. If you suspect one spot, there’s often a second — the walk-through documents all of it so you can plan the work in order of urgency.
Scope, plainly
- Dry rot & wood-organism section repair — Wood repair work performed with our licensed partner where required.
What this doesn't cover
The limits above are the honest line. Major remodels, permit-requiring work, and full rebuilds are project territory — we'll tell you plainly at the walk-through, and when a job needs a licensed specialty trade we coordinate vetted subs on one invoice.
What it costs
One published member rate — $125/hr — booked in half- or full-day visits. No per-job quotes, no padding. Handled members draw on included monthly hours first. See membership pricing →
Free, no commitment, no credit card.
Where we do this work
dry rot repair in San Francisco · dry rot repair in Palo Alto · dry rot repair in Sunnyvale · dry rot repair in Daly City · dry rot repair in Burlingame · and everywhere we serve
Related services
Deck Repair · Siding Repair · Trim & Casing Repair · Fence & Gate Repair · Wood Window Restoration · Drywall Repair