One thing you are guaranteed to find in an old house in Charleston is rotted wood. The damp/humid environment is the cause of many undesirable effects on building materials. The problem with rot in an old house is that the rotted area is likely on a piece of wood work that is either not replaceable or very difficult to replicate. If this wood is only for decoration (it is not used for any function or is not structural) ,you can usually fill it with a putty. I use a home made putty consisting of clear epoxy resin mixed with sawdust. To make this I mix about 1/2 table spoon (use more if you have a bigger hole…remember this mixture expands) of both sides of the epoxy and mix them together until the mix is a consistent color and viscosity. I then add sawdust until it looks like a slightly oily peanut butter. You can put this directly into the hole that is left in the wood after the rotted wood has been scraped out. Let the putty dry. It will be hard enough to cut with a hacksaw blade and can be shaped with sand paper. I finish the affected area with a Bondo dent filler. (use of Bondo will be a later post)

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