Part 4: The Woodpecker

This house was bank-owned, and sat empty from 2010-2015.  It was neglected, but essentially in good shape - except for some damage done by a very industrious woodpecker.

Woodpecker damage to North-facing rear gable.

The woodpecker had pecked his way along the wood shingles at the front and back gables of the house, finally working his/her way through and into the cozy, conditioned attic space, where they built themselves a dandy nest.  In the photo above, the yellow arrows indicate the long trail of damaged shingles the woodpecker left behind, spreading over 20'+ across the back gable before finally breaking through the shingles AND the plywood sheathing layer below.  The arrow to the far left shows where the bank had sealed the penetration with a piece of plywood.  The woodpecker did similar damage to the front gables on the house and the garage.

They had the very good fortune (or smarts?) of breaking through the siding into the attic closet that holds the large furnace,where their nest was strewn across the floor.  Clever bird!

When Mike and Guy's crew removed the damaged wood shingles and sheathing, we discovered that the building wasn't entirely sealed under the shingles.  So, off came all of the shingles on all gables, up went new house wrap and Hardi Plank cement composite shingles.  We were pleasantly surprised to find zero water damage underneath the damaged shingles, and now we know it's properly sealed.

New HardiShingle siding on front and side gables with yellow primer.

Above is a shot of the new HardiShingle siding on the South-facing front and East side gables.  We're hoping that the woodpecker, who will likely return to such a successful nest, won't find the cement composite siding quite as inviting as the original cedar shakes.

It was an unplanned expense, but if it hadn't been for that industrious woodpecker, we might never have realized some additional work was warranted to keep this house water tight.

Click here for Part 5: The Front Porch Columns