It was evident that the exterior
woodwork of a Greek Revival house
my company was hired to paint needed
some repairs. But it was not until
the scaffolding was up, and we got a
close look at the gable end, that we
realized the damage was extensive.
Squirrels had chewed a hole in the
joint where the rake molding meets
the gable end return and the front
crown molding (see Figure 1).
Repairs made about 15 years ago
included cement mortar packed into
the squirrel hole and sheet metal
tacked to the outer surface of the soffit.
The best I can say about these
repair methods is they are expedient
and low cost.
In only a few years,