Attic Wood Leaking Sap

Sap on boards can be a problem.

Attic wood leaking sap.

When it dries it hardens and becomes difficult to remove creating unsightly spots or bumps in the wood surface. It s sap crystals that have been extruded from the wood due to high attic temperatures. The sap when in live trees carries nutrients throughout the tree that helps to keep it alive. When it is wet it is sticky and can rub off on clothing or attract dust and dirt.

Turpentine works perfect for this purpose and it will not damage the quality of the wood. Sanding blocks help smooth large flat areas. Like kevin said the attic heat restores this to a liquid form and it flows out. Hopefully not on your hands as you steady your walk through the attic.

Some wood has an abundance of sap in it. To prevent sap from leaking out of deck boards it needs to be finished with paint stain or deck waterproofing. While there are complex chemical components found in tree sap it s easy to compare sap to blood. Treat the knot areas with extra coats of the finishing material.

Attic ambering refers to wooden beams in the attic having sap leak out. Sfogarty sean fogarty february 25 2016 3 40am 6. Imgp3939 by r0ckstarr on flickr. You should be able to determine the adequacy of the attic ventilation by direct observation of the ventilation system.

Is this normal for this kind of wood and is this cedar. Much of the wood produced for framing lumber has pitch pockets or areas of crystalized resin. There s a couple support boards for the roof in my attic that have sap dripping out of them. Sap can caused a problem on decks and in houses where wood beams are used for support.

Sand the wood surface with fine 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the grain and remove any crystallized sap. It cooks out in the heat and eventually crystallizes. We see more of this sap staining when the wood used for framing was not kiln dried before construction. Similarly when a tree is damaged the sap can bleed out.

These materials slow the leakage by clogging the wood grain pores but will not stop it completely. The sap feels pretty solid to the touch and not really sticky.