Las Vegas Wood Rot Repair: How Monsoon Splash-Back Soaks Trim (Even in a “Dry” Town)

Local Handyman Las Vegas

February 2 , 2025

A street view in Las Vegas, Nevada, showing traffic and a cyclist near St Louis Avenue, illustrating the local service area for wood rot repair.

In Las Vegas, wood rot isn’t from constant rain — it’s usually short, intense wetting (monsoon runoff, irrigation overspray) that keeps trim damp long enough to break down. We cut out the soft stuff, rebuild it, and stop the water from re-feeding the rot.

Most Vegas rot we see starts low: garage door trim, exterior casing, patio posts, and door sills that get hit by sprinklers or catch splash-back when monsoon rain dumps fast. The ground here is often loamy alluvial soil with caliche layers, which means water can run off hard and pool along the slab edge instead of soaking in slowly—so the bottom 1–4 inches of wood gets repeatedly wetted. Then the extreme heat + UV cooks paint and caulk, opens micro-gaps, and lets water slip behind the coating; once that happens, the wood stays damp longer than you’d think. You’ll usually notice spongy corners, bubbling paint, dark staining, or ants hanging around the soft spots. The lasting repair is: probe and cut back to solid fibers, replace with rot-resistant material where it makes sense, prime/seal all faces, then correct the wetting source (spray pattern, grade, drip edge, or flashing).

A white exterior door on a Las Vegas apartment balcony with severe wood rot and water damage at the bottom, exposing the internal structure, indicating a need for repair.

Common Vegas Rot Repair	What it usually includes	Typical range
Small trim end rot (1 section)	Cut-out, splice/replace, prime & seal	$250–$550
Door sill / threshold soft spot	Remove/replace section, seal edges	$350–$900
Garage trim base rot	Replace lower trim, re-caulk/prime	$400–$950
Post base rot (partial)	Rebuild base, isolate from moisture	$500–$1,000*
Fascia/soffit spot rot	Replace section, seal + paint blend	$450–$1,000*
Window trim rot (localized)	Remove soft wood, rebuild, seal	$450–$1,000*

The prices provided are intended as general guidance only, as every job is different and actual costs may vary. We recommend obtaining a detailed estimate—ideally from multiple professionals—before setting your project budget. For accurate pricing, please reach out to us and we’ll create a custom estimate for your project.

Rot in Vegas is sneaky because the air’s dry, so folks assume it “can’t be that.” But once paint fails and water gets behind trim, the heat just speeds up the damage—fixing the wood without fixing the wetting pattern is how it comes right back.