[hinkley]

You’re not wrong, but there are also any number of rules about building code that try to prevent water infiltration, which makes the wood last many times longer.

For instance, wood laid horizontally in water doesn’t wick water as far as wood standing vertically in water. If you look at deck and house designs you see a lot of horizontal pieces. Especially in new construction.

That said, letting water pool at the corner of your house can eat your foundation too. Water is bad. Get rid of it.

[larrywright]

German maker Laura Kampf is doing a video series on restoring a a 140 year old house. It turned into a much bigger project due to water damage that destroyed large parts of the wood frame and stone work. It’s interesting to watch if you’re into that sort of thing. She’s more of a maker type than a home renovation type so she comes at it from a different perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLsyCFICnr819K6cWPGm1...

[hinkley]

When I was a kid, finding water damage on This Old House projects would increase the budget by 50%. The owners always looked like they wanted to puke during the wrap up episode.

[b112]

Preservatives aren't to prevent rot, but instead, to prevent insect, mould, fungus, etc from eating/rotting the wood.

Moisture can come from the air, and damaged/poor air separation. Insects are, well, they're insects.

And of course, there are mice, ground squirrels, and other critters which chew on wood relentlessly. If I didn't kill 100+ mice a year, and a few ground squirrels, I'd be up to my elbows in critters, not to mention, dead from the hantavirus, and my house burned down from wire damage.