Quick answers
My wood has gone grey and cracked. Does that mean it's rotten?
Not necessarily. Greying and fine cracks are usually surface wear from the sun and come off with sanding. Rotten wood is soft, gives when you press it, or crumbles.
When wood is left unprotected, the sun damages its surface first. Its colour fades and turns grey, the fibres loosen, and splits open along the grain. It looks bad, but often it only affects a thin layer on top. Underneath, the wood can still be hard and sound.
On one pair of shutters, the sun had stripped the colour from the wood, which had gone grey and cracked across the panels. The wood was sanded back until it was clean and got its warm wood colour back, with a finish that protects it from sun and rain.
Rot is something else. It is caused by water that stays in the wood for a long time, and it usually starts at the bottom ends, the joints and wherever the wood rests on the floor. Rotten wood is soft, gives when you press it, or crumbles. On another set of old shutters, the worst wear was exactly at the bottom ends of the leaves.
Keep in mind: press a screwdriver into any suspect spots. If it goes in easily or the wood comes away in crumbs, that piece needs repairing or replacing before any finish goes on. If it's hard, the damage is on the surface. What applies to your own wood only shows up close.
Jobs that show it
Weathered Wooden Shutters Refinished
Shutters that had turned grey and cracked in the sun were sanded and given a warm wood finish again.
See the job step by step
Restoring Wooden Shutters
Old wooden shutters with peeling paint were sanded, primed and repainted instead of being replaced.
See the job step by step