Replace Rotting Decorative Trim Panel on exterior of house
I’ve got a decorative half circle (maybe more of a half oval) trim board above a second story window. It is painted plywood and rotting. It’s 40 inches wide at the base and 14 inches high at the center. It is 1 inch thick . My guess is that it has wicked water as it sits on top of the window’s flashing and the lower part of this trim piece is rotted. I was thinking about replacing it with AZEK. A 4′ X 8′ X 1/2″ sheet costs around $95. I would cut it into 1/4’s and double it up to get a 1 inch thick piece….so almost $50 for this trim. Another thought was to use plywood again and seal the bottom edge with epoxy.
Would appreciate any other less expensive ideas and materials.
Replies
Good exterior plywood, well painted, should last 20 years or more. But exterior plywood isn't super cheap. And you need to use good quality alkyd primer ($20 a quart at least) and good quality paint. (Don't forget to prime/paint the back side.)
Don't let the new piece sit on the trim below it -- hold it above it a half-inch at least.
If you have no need for the left over.........
A 2'x4' pc of azek, using the 10"x48" drop for thickening ribs on the backside, will give you 3/4's of the sheet to keep in stock for other uses.
Or, from a good plywood distributor, buy a half sheet of MDO plywood-comes primed-double it up and seal the edges good, flash properly (which might have caused your original problem) and you have no scrap. Here you'd have maybe 30.00 in that 1/2 sheet-easily available. I wouldn't leave it a half inch up off the window. Detail your house wrap, felt, whatever so any water intrusion goes out over that window flange and exits.
OK, I missed that it was a HALF oval.
I'd still recommend leaving a bit of daylight there, however. Maybe 3/16".
Daylight/water exit.
Yessir.
the curve will lead that water to the sides of the window that radius pc sits on. Good place for a load of water to be directed down the sides. Detailing that is important.