Water doesn’t argue, it infiltrates. In Seattle, we get more than our share of wind-driven rain and long wet seasons, and it will test every joint, flashing, and paint film on a house. When moisture lingers behind siding or trim, fungi wake up, cellulose breaks down, and structural members soften. Dry rot is the shorthand most homeowners use, but the real culprit is moisture plus time. Hiring a dry rot repair contractor is the right move. Reading the proposal they hand you is where most projects are made or broken.
I spend a good chunk of my year diagnosing rot, writing scopes, and defending homeowners against vague paperwork. A clear proposal protects both sides. It sets expectations for discovery, defines the edges of liability, and prevents “we thought that was included” arguments. Below is how I’d teach a friend to read a dry rot proposal in Seattle, with examples and the kind of details contractors rarely write out but always think about.
Why proposals for rot work look different than other trades
Dry rot hides. You can see a bubbled paint film at a window sill or a punky spot on a corner board, but you can’t see the condition of the sheathing behind your lap siding or the rim joist at a deck ledger until the skin comes off. That uncertainty is why the best proposals rely on allowances, unit pricing, and clearly described discovery steps. A fixed, all-in number sounds comforting, but if it’s not backed by a process that handles unknowns, you’re either overpaying for risk or setting up a change-order fight.
Seattle adds two more variables. First, our older housing stock blends cedar siding, site-built windows, and piecemeal flashing that predates modern rain screen practice. Second, our new construction often uses tight assemblies that trap water when one seat of flashing fails. A good proposal from siding contractors in Seattle should reflect both design eras and the climate, and it should name the products and techniques that stand up here, not just anywhere.
The anatomy of a solid dry rot repair proposal
Start by skimming the whole document before you focus on dollars. You’re looking for structure. The best proposals break into sections that read like an orderly plan: inspection findings, defined scope, exclusions, unit prices for unknowns, materials, sequencing, site protection, permitting, warranty, and payment schedule. If your contractor offers siding replacement services Seattle WA homeowners recognize, they should be comfortable writing this way.
The findings section should recap the onsite assessment. “Softness at lower three feet of south elevation trim” is weak. “Cedar corner boards at south elevation show probe depth at 1.5 inches, paint failure at butt joints, housewrap not present at exposed areas, high moisture meter readings at 18 to 22 percent” tells you someone looked and measured. For Seattle dry rot inspection reports, I expect moisture percentages, specific locations, and photos with annotations.
The scope should list what will be removed, how far the demo extends, what gets inspected as layers come off, and the specific repairs if rot is found. Look for simple but decisive language such as remove existing 5-inch reveal bevel siding from grade to head height of window band at west elevation, inspect OSB/plywood sheathing and studs, replace as needed per unit pricing. If the proposal says “repair as necessary” without the unit pricing that backs it up, ask for a rewrite.
Clarifying scope: trim, siding, and transitions
Trim and siding repair often overlap. A fishmouth in the paint film on a 1x4 window casing might be the tip of the iceberg if the window lacks head flashing or the WRB is lapped backward. A clean scope spells out both components. If the proposal only quotes exterior trim repair, yet the failed trim is tied into the siding or stucco, you risk paying twice to open the same wall.
House trim repair language should name the pieces: corner boards, frieze boards, band boards, rake and fascia, window and door casings, sill noses, belly bands. For siding, it should specify profile, material, and reveal: fiber cement lap siding, 8.25-inch board with 7-inch exposure, or clear cedar T&G, 1x6, vertical orientation, rain screen over furring. If the proposal reads “replace siding to match,” push for exact product names and reveal dimensions. A mismatch at exposure telegraphs from the sidewalk in Seattle’s damp light.
Transitions matter. Deck ledger to wall, roof-to-wall at a sidewall chimney, head flashing at windows that sit under soffits, and penetrations like hose bibs and vents are where we find most seattle dry rot repair needs. A strong proposal names the transition details: peel-and-stick flashing membrane at ledger-to-sheathing, Z-flashing with hemmed drip edges, end dams at window head flashing, back dams at sills, and kick-out flashing at roof-to-wall. I want these details in writing because they drive both durability and cost.
What “discovery” should look like, step by step
Contractors use discovery to describe the phase where hidden conditions come to light. It’s not a loophole. It’s a protocol. The proposal should say exactly how discovery unfolds: how much they’ll open at first, when they will stop and show you findings, and how costs progress.
A reasonable approach is to set initial access points. For example, remove 4 linear feet of siding at south lower corner, cut inspection hole behind hose bib, remove left and right window casings at dining room window. Once those areas are open, the contractor should call out sheathing type and condition, framing status, and moisture levels. You want photos and a quick field summary. On projects with bigger unknowns, I’ll put hard stop points in the proposal. After first 100 square feet of demo, review findings and adjust scope.
Unit pricing ties to discovery. Replace sheathing: $9 to $14 per square foot depending on thickness, including fasteners and WRB patch. Replace studs: $85 to $150 per stud, depending on load path and interior finish removal. Replace rim joist at deck ledger: $35 to $55 per linear foot if accessible from exterior, add interior drywall access if needed at $9 to $14 per square foot for removal and patch. Those ranges are typical for siding repair Seattle projects and let you forecast honest scenarios without hand-waving.
Permits, inspections, and when they genuinely help
Dry rot repair may or may not require a permit in Seattle. The City allows like-for-like exterior siding replacement under certain thresholds without a permit, but structural repairs, window replacement that alters openings, or significant sheathing replacement can trigger permits. A good proposal states whether a permit is anticipated and who handles it. If the contractor is vague, you shoulder the risk. I encourage permitting for any job involving deck ledgers, structural members, or large window changes, not just for rules, but for the paper trail when you sell the home.
The proposal should also explain third-party involvement. For big repairs near foundation or major load paths, I’ll note possible engineer review. That review might add $500 to $2,000, but it can save you from tying new framing into compromised members.
Material choices that actually work here
Seattle’s climate punishes marginal choices. Price and product matter, but detailing matters more. That said, your proposal should name specific materials. Housewrap matters: Tyvek CommercialWrap or equivalent, or a drainable WRB with at least 1 millimeter drainage gap helps in our wet climate. Some siding contractors in Seattle specify a full rain screen, meaning vertical furring strips that create a 3/8 to 3/4 inch ventilation gap. If you’re paying to open the wall, this is the time to add it. The cost bump is real, often 2 to 5 dollars per square foot, but the payoff is lower moisture load and better paint life.
For siding, fiber cement holds up well, but it must be back-primed on cuts, gapped, and flashed. Cedar can work beautifully, especially when you want to match existing clear vertical grain, but it must sit above grade and away from roofing, and you need stainless fasteners. PVC or composite for trim buys you forgiveness at horizontal surfaces like sills and band boards. If the proposal suggests finger-jointed primed pine for exterior trim in Seattle, that’s a red flag. Ask for cedar, PVC, or fiber-cement trim at vulnerable points.
Caulks and coatings should be named too. Polyether or high-quality polyurethane sealants outperform cheap acrylics in our climate. For paint, specify a primer fit for tannin bleed if you have cedar, and a topcoat from a major line rated for wet exposure. It’s not snobbery. It’s years of seeing paint failures start the rot cycle again.
Costs, allowances, and how to compare bids without losing your mind
You’ll likely get two or three quotes from siding contractors Seattle WA homeowners recommend. They will not line up on a single number, and that’s fine. Your job is to normalize the structure. Compare labor and materials for the known work, then line up the allowances and unit prices for the unknowns.
If one contractor loads a large contingency into the lump sum but shows no unit prices, and another presents a lower base with clear unit prices, I prefer the second. You only pay for what you actually uncover. Still, watch out for unrealistic low unit prices that will never cover the work. Replacing sheathing at 4 dollars per square foot isn’t accurate here once you count labor, fasteners, WRB, and waste.
Two places where contractors differ widely are staging and site protection. If your house needs scaffolding on a sloped lot, that cost may range into a few thousand dollars. If one bid includes full scaffold with planks and guardrails and another assumes ladders, the difference is real. In Seattle’s winter, I often include temporary rain protection over the open wall. It saves rework and avoids trapping moisture. If your bids differ on this, adjust for it.
Reading exclusions, the most important part you will be tempted to skim
Exclusions are where clarity lives. A responsible dry rot repair contractor will exclude items that they cannot reasonably control, then offer to price them via change order with clear unit costs. Typical exclusions include interior drywall demo and repaint, pest remediation, asbestos testing and abatement for older siding or texture, electrical relocation of exterior lights, and gutter rehangs. None of those are unfair, but they should be named up front.
Pay attention to weather exclusions. Many Seattle proposals note that rain delays are not chargeable, but weather protection beyond basic tarps is extra. That’s reasonable if they offer pricing for shrink wrap or temporary roofing. Make sure the proposal promises daily weatherproofing at close of business. I want to see language that all opened areas will be wrapped and flashed daily to shed water, not just tarped.
Warranties that mean something
Warranties in rot work are narrow because moisture is persistent, and they should be. The contractor should warrant their workmanship for a set period, commonly one to three years for repair scopes, longer for full reside projects. Product warranties belong to the manufacturer, but only if installed per their specs. If you see long workmanship warranties with fuzzy scope, ask how they define water intrusion from adjacent features. The best warranties define the repaired areas, the workmanship covered, and the conditions that void coverage, like failed gutters dumping into the wall.
Scheduling that respects weather windows and drying time
Read the proposed schedule with a Seattle calendar in mind. In our wet months, you want shorter open-wall durations, more crew density, and meaningful weather protection. The proposal should state how they will handle wet sheathing discovered during demo. I like to write in drying time: if sheathing reads above 16 percent moisture after demo, we will apply heat and ventilation and delay close-up until readings fall to 12 to 16 percent. Rushing to close a wet wall locks in problems.
Red flags that signal future headaches
You learn to spot problems on paper the way you spot flashing errors in the field. A few patterns consistently spell trouble:
- No unit pricing for hidden damage, paired with a low lump sum that assumes “best case.” Vague product descriptions like “builder’s wrap,” “matching siding,” or “premium caulk,” rather than named products. No mention of flashing details at windows, deck ledgers, or roof-to-wall intersections. Payment schedule heavily front-loaded before discovery is complete. Warranty that promises “lifetime” without defining coverage or limitations.
If you see two or three of those, push for changes or keep shopping among siding contractors in Seattle who will put the details in writing.
A simple way to align expectations before work starts
The best projects start with a 15-minute onsite preconstruction walkthrough. Build that into the proposal or ask for it as a condition of signing. You, the contractor, and ideally the project manager who will actually show up should walk the exterior and point to every area in scope. Confirm access, discuss parking and power, note landscaping to protect, and agree on photo documentation requirements. For seattle trim repair near delicate plantings, I’ll put in writing that we will remove and replant shrubs as needed, or install plywood protection and accept that some branches may die back. Words matter less than shared understanding, but the paper should back it up.
Example language that helps both sides
A few sentences I like to see in proposals for seattle dry rot repair because they reduce confusion:
- Discovery protocol: We will remove the first layer of cladding as described to expose sheathing and framing. We will document conditions with photos and moisture readings, and we will pause for your approval before proceeding with any work that triggers unit-priced repairs beyond the base scope. Weather protection: At the end of each workday, we will install water-shedding protection over all opened areas. If continuous rain is forecast during open-wall periods, we will install temporary weather protection per allowance to reduce exposure. Material specificity: Replace deteriorated trim with PVC 5/4 x 4 and 5/4 x 6 at horizontal surfaces, cedar for vertical casings to match existing profiles. Install stainless steel fasteners throughout. Flash per manufacturer instructions with self-adhered membrane and pre-bent metal flashing with hemmed drip edges. Ventilated assembly: Where siding is removed and replaced, install a drainable WRB and 3/8 inch vertical furring strips to create a rain screen prior to installing new cladding. Payment tied to milestones: 10 percent deposit to schedule, 30 percent upon completion of initial demo and discovery review, 40 percent after completion of structural repairs and re-cladding, 20 percent at final walkthrough.
Those are not magic words. They’re just plain, verifiable commitments that fit how dry rot repair actually unfolds.
How much should you expect to spend
Numbers vary with elevation height, access, and finish level, but some ranges help you sanity-check proposals for siding repair Seattle homeowners commonly face. Basic trim replacement at one or two windows with localized rot might run $1,200 to $3,500, depending on material. A targeted repair at a lower wall section, say 150 to 300 square feet including new WRB and siding, often falls between $4,000 and $12,000, with costs rising if you add a full rain screen or premium finishes. Structural repairs at deck ledgers, window rough openings, or rim joists can stack $1,000 to $5,000 on top, sometimes more if interior finishes must be opened.
Whole-elevation work moves into five figures quickly, and a full reside with rain screen and trim upgrades for a typical Seattle two-story can run into the high five to low six figures depending on product and detailing. That scale is why reading the proposal matters. The dollars follow the details.
Matching standards when blending new and old
Most repairs tie into existing assemblies. A thoughtful proposal explains how the contractor will manage the blend. If Seattle dry rot inspection services your original siding sits tight to the sheathing with no gap, but you choose a rain screen at the repaired section, the wall thickness changes. The proposal should note how they will handle the plane change at trim and corners. For fiber cement, that can mean thicker trim or shimmed existing areas to keep reveals consistent.
Color and sheen also matter in our low-angle light. Even if you color-match, new paint over fresh primer will read slightly different than older paint that has weathered. I’ll often propose painting full elevation panels from corner to corner instead of patch painting small areas. It costs more but avoids a polka dot effect, especially on south and west exposures.
Communication cadence that keeps you in the loop
You shouldn’t need to chase updates. The proposal should commit to a simple cadence: daily end-of-day text or email with photos during the open-wall period, plus an on-site meeting when a material change is needed. If the contractor is offering siding replacement services Seattle WA homeowners trust, they should be comfortable with photo logs. This is particularly useful when hidden conditions affect cost, because you can see exactly what drove the change.
When to consider a second opinion
If two proposals disagree wildly on the cause of your dry rot, or if one recommends a surface fix while another urges a deeper repair, it may be worth paying for a standalone Seattle dry rot inspection from someone who doesn’t sell remediation. A third set of eyes armed with a moisture meter and a pry bar can save thousands. I’ve had projects where a simple kick-out flashing solved 80 percent of the intrusion, allowing a targeted repair rather than an elevation tear-off. I’ve also had the reverse, where a pretty trim replacement hid decayed sheathing that was begging for a gut. A small fee for an independent look is cheap insurance.
Special cases that deserve extra ink in the proposal
Bay windows that cantilever out, chimney chases with sidewall flashing, low roof-to-wall intersections with no kick-out flashing, and walls near grade or planters are especially prone to persistent wetting. If your repair involves any of these, the proposal should name the detail fix. On low roofs, I will not sign a proposal that doesn’t include kick-out flashing. On walls near grade, I look for a detail that lifts the siding to code clearances and adds a gravel strip for splash control. If you’re pushing to maintain a planter against a wall, accept that you are buying a maintenance item. Make the trade-off explicit.
Your two-part checklist for acceptance
Use this quick pass before you sign:
- Does the proposal define discovery steps, include unit pricing for hidden damage, and name materials and flashing details appropriate for Seattle’s climate? Do the exclusions, warranty, and payment milestones make sense, and is the communication plan clear?
If you can answer yes to both, you’ve done the hard part. The rest is execution.
Where the keywords fit without forcing them
If you’re searching terms like dry rot repair Seattle, seattle trim repair, siding contractors in seattle, or siding repair seattle, you’ll find a mix of generalists and specialists. For trim and siding repair, lean toward contractors who demonstrate fluency in building envelope details, not just carpentry. When the proposal spells out WRB choices, back dams at sills, and rain screen assemblies, you’re reading someone who understands water management, not just replacement. That’s who you want on your house.
A dry rot repair contractor should make you feel slightly smarter after reading their proposal. It should teach, set boundaries, and give you an honest way to track costs as the work unfolds. In a wet climate like ours, that clarity is as important as the nails and flashing on site.
Seattle Trim Repair 8338 20th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117 (425) 517-1751