The window salesman recommended vinyl-plastic replacement insert windows, and will wrap the old exterior wood trim with aluminum so I won’t have to ever paint it. Isn’t this aluminum trim a good idea?
Wrapping exterior wood trim with “coil” as it is known in the trade, is done extensively, but we do not recommend it. The main problem is that it does not allow the wood underneath to “breathe”, or dry out when it becomes wet. This promotes rot. Even worse, the ongoing deterioration remains hidden under the metal, so there is no way to observe what is happening until major repairs become necessary. In many cases, exterior trim just needs a coat of paint. When wood has started to deteriorate, we can do spot repairs with epoxy and borate preservatives, and then we coat the entire area with a water repellant preservative before painting. Although most painters and contractors are not aware of it, water repellant preservatives are absolutely necessary for most woods before painting, as proven by the U.S. Forest Products Research Lab, in years of studies dating back a half-century. Paint alone will not stop rot on the typical new-growth wood available today. Where full replacement of exteri
Wrapping exterior wood trim with “coil” as it is known in the trade, is done extensively, but we do not recommend it. The main problem, besides a downscale appearance, is that it does not allow the wood underneath to “breathe”, or dry out when it becomes wet. This promotes rot. Even worse, the ongoing deterioration remains hidden under the metal, so there is no way to observe what is happening until major repairs become necessary. In many cases, exterior trim just needs a coat of paint. When wood has started to deteriorate, we can do spot repairs with epoxy and borate preservatives, and then we coat the entire area with a water repellant preservative before painting. Although most painters and contractors are not aware of it, water repellant preservatives are absolutely necessary for most woods before painting, as proven by the U.S. Forest Products Research Lab, in years of studies dating back a half-century. Paint alone will not stop rot on the typical new-growth wood available today.
