What is the best way to repair woodpecker damage to redwood siding?

Question

We are getting ready to put a solid stain on our redwood siding. We have about 20 holes in the siding caused by woodpeckers. Some of the holes are quite large and involve both the upper and lower siding, making it pretty much impossible to replace the affected siding. What is the best way to repair the holes?

Answer 1

You'll need the following:

3/8" Plug Cutter...I found mine at Home Depot.

3/8 twist drill....nothing special here.

Small piece of redwood, matching your siding in grain and color.

Enlarge the bird holes to 3/8".

Cut plugs from the new redwood using the plug cutter.

Break off the plug at the bottom, using a small screwdriver.

Tap the plugs into the holes, making sure to align the grain with the siding. Sand and finish.

Note:

The plug sides are not exactly parallel. The plug cutter will leave a small dimple on the surface of the redwood, make sure the dimple end of the plug goes into the hole. This makes a tight fit and allows the grain to be aligned.

Answer 2

I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do but you might give it a try since you can't replace the parts affected. Get some redwood stain and some spackling. Lightly sand the affected areas and then fill them with the spackling. Before the spackling dries,cover the places you put spackling in with the redwood stain. Then let it dry real good,then sand very lightly so you do not remove much of the stain. Then you can go ahead and put the solid stain on. If the the redwood stain doesn't help to cover the spackling,then you have to go to plan B. And I'm sorry I don't know what plan B would be. Also you might try using some clay nearest the color of the siding to fill the holes so it's flush with the rest of it. You might try asking someone at Lowe's or Home Depot what can be done to repair it. I love redwood siding and it's a terrible shame the woodpeckers damaged it. Good luck.