Fixing rotting exterior door frame

[KYErik]

I neglected to properly caulk along the bottom of the wooden frame of my patio door when I installed it 8 years ago. It looks like the end grain soaked up water over time. I have already pulled off the brickmolding in the following pictures.

We rarely use this back door and a few weeks ago, I noticed the bottom corner of the wooden frame was discolored and swollen. I began digging out all of the rotten wood and here is what I am left with.

Note this is on the side of the patio door unit that does not open. The 2x6 framing around the door had not rotted. This whole back porch area is covered by an 8 ft roof and faces west, but as you can see, its close to the north edge of the porch.

So, what is the best way to fix it?

1. Pull out the patio door and cut/pry off that whole end jamb and replace it? I would need to do some fancy rip cuts on the table saw to make a replacement jamb (it has a stepped shape that tucks behind the fixed door panel).

2. Could I just cut/chisel out the lower 6 inches of the jamb and make a new "patch" piece and install it, caulk and paint?

3. Is there a special heavy duty wood filler that I could fill the hole with and sand it smooth then caulk and paint? All of the rotten wood has already been removed, so what you see remaining is solid. Maybe spray some wood perservative in first for good measure?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[MrJimi]

Do yourself a favor and replace the whole frame, you will be happier with the results
Jim

 

[DanielAlexander]

One option would be to cut a section out just above the rot and install a milled piece to match.There is also a product available to patch and repair rotten wood , you might try a search on the web for info.

 

[randy41]

i like #2. do yourself a favor and dont sweat it too much. just cut out the bad part carefully and square to make the replacement fit good.

 

[Farwell]

Erik,
Clean out all of the rot, get a can of Bondo or a similar product designed for wood, fill the space, shape it, smooth, sand and paint. This will work.
I would be more concerned about what is going on under the aluminum at the door base. Looks like water would migrate under the metal and rot the wood there as well. Worth checking out.
I have also cut out the bad areas and hand fitted a treated piece of wood in place. I used an exterior wood filler to hide the seam. I couldn't tell where the patch was after it was painted.

 

[Henry]

I had one of these problems a couple of years ago. I just cut out the rotted wood. In my case, I had to replace the whole sill plate and about 6 inches of the jam on one side. Take a good look at the door overall and make sure that there isn't some other reason that water is getting into the wood, like an improperly installed drip cap, etc.

 

[ktm250rider]

Yup, before your solve the problem, find the cause. Where is the water coming from if the door is covered? Is the deck sloped away from the house to allow any water to drain. Is door sill (AL plate) itself sloped towards the window and collecting water?
As to fixing the door itself, if the framing is sound and dry, I would just patch it. Ive made up my own patching compound when in a pinch with some wood glue and sawdust. Its easy to shape and holds up pretty well.

 

[EddieWalker]

Erik,
Clean out all of the rot, get a can of Bondo or a similar product designed for wood, fill the space, shape it, smooth, sand and paint. This will work.
I would be more concerned about what is going on under the aluminum at the door base. Looks like water would migrate under the metal and rot the wood there as well. Worth checking out.

I'm in agreement with Farwell. First figure out what caused the problem. Usually it's water running down the wall from above. A leaky gutter, or flashing. It runs down your door and collects at the bottom, to rot away the wood.

If everything is sound underneath, then it's a simple matter of removing all the bad material and get down to solid wood. I do this all the time for clients, and it's extremely common in old Victorian homes. Probably in all old wood homs.

Once you are down to solid wood, screw in some screws so they come within haln an inch to a an inch of the finished surface. Fill with regular bondo in small amounts. Bondo dries in a few minutes, so don't mix up too much, and dont try to put too much on at at time. Once you start getting close to the finished level of the wood, start sanding the excess bondo off to even it up with the finished wood. It's kind of a tedious process, but it goes quickly.

When you are done, you will now have an area that will never, ever rot on you again. It will hold paint better then the wood and after painting, be a perfect patch that is impossible to detect. I've done this on log homes and finished it with thick layers of wood stain too. The most common place that I do this is at the bottom of garage door framing and trim. A few hours and a can of bondo, and it's better then new.

Eddie

 

[KYErik]

Thanks for all of the advice!

I think that the root cause has to do with the raised ridges on the aluminum base plate and the lack of caulk.

When we get a rainstorm from the northwest, water will hit the door/window and run down it and onto the sloped aluminum sill. However, the ridges on the sill force the water to run horizontally until it gets deep enough to run over the top of those multiple ridges and down off the sill. So the water would run sideways and up against the edge of the wooden jamb and since I never caulked it (the caulk would have acted like a dam to keep the water away from the wood), it got soaked up into the exposed end grain of the wood that butted up against the aluminum sill.

The deck is sloped away from the house and the deck boards end about 3/8" from the house siding. The door sill is about 1 inch above the level of the deck boards.

Since several of you suggested the exterior filler, I think I will give it a try first and keep a close eye ont the repair afterwards. I'll probably spray some wood preservative in for added protection and then fill much of the void with hardware cloth ( and attach it inside the void with a nail or two) to give the filler something to hold onto.

I will definitely caulk it first thing after I get it filled so this doesn't happen again!

 

[KYErik]

Thanks Eddie- the wood screws might be better for the filler to hold on to than my hardware cloth idea (and easier to install as well).

 

[EddieWalker]

Since several of you suggested the exterior filler, I think I will give it a try first and keep a close eye ont the repair afterwards. I'll probably spray some wood preservative in for added protection and then fill much of the void with hardware cloth ( and attach it inside the void with a nail or two) to give the filler something to hold onto.

I will definitely caulk it first thing after I get it filled so this doesn't happen again!

It sounds like you have a good understanding of what happened and how it could have been prevented. Rain comes at a house from every angle, and it there is a place that is holding water, it will cause problems.

I don't know this for a fact, but I wouldn't take the chance of mixing chemicals in a simple repair like yours. Putting a wood preservative might, and I say 'Might' cause the Bondo to not adhear to the wood as strong as it would if it was just plain wood.

Using hardware clothe,(not sure what this is exactly) can only create a void or cavity for future problems. For the Bondo to work properly, it needs to fill in every little nook and cranny of space you are filling. Only when the wood is in full contact with the Bondo, can you know that moisture will never be a problem again.

Use screws instead of nails. They are stronger, offer more surface area and you can control how deep they go in. If you need to adjust them, it's very simple.

There's no reason to caulk Bondo as it's stonger and even more impervious to the elements then caulk or silicone. If you still have some exposed wood at the threshhold, then caulk that, but there's no reason to caulk the Bondo.

Be sure to buy real Bondo. Walmart sells a cheaper version, but it's not as good. Spend the $10 for a small can or $20 for a big gallon can at Home Depot and you'll be much happier with your results.

Eddie

 

[KYErik]

Thanks for the warning about the generic bondo- I had some walmart stuff in the garage and was going to use it this afternoon. I'll be sure and buy some Bondo brand before I start.

I'll also leave the wood preservative out.

I will definitely use screws. Probably drywall screws since they have the phosphate coating that drywall mud can adhere to. Hopefully bondo can stick to the coating just as well.

This is what we call hardware cloth over in these parts:

http://unexco.com/hwrcloth.jpg

Its pretty much just heavy duty screen wire.

One last question- is it OK to paint bondo with latex paint? Or will I need to use oil based paint?

 

[EddieWalker]

Bondo can be painted with just about anything. It holds paint extremly well. One of the big advantages to it over replacing the rot with another piece of wood is ther eis no seam. Bondo sands perfectly smooth and there is no seam from where the wood ends and the Bondo begins.

Just about any screw should be fine. The idea is to give the Bondo more areas to hold onto when building it up. The thicker you put it on, the easier it is to break off. I've never seen it break off, but I've always used screws, as that is how it was shown to me.

Seriously, there are ALLOT of older homes that are patched this wall all the time. There are also special wood filler products that are made for wood restoration and are marketed to older home owners for just this reason, but it's expensive and no better then regular Bondo.

Eddie

 

[Coyote]

One little piece of advice. It can be tough to get a smooth finish on the filler material. Luckily you've got a painted surface there and not stain. Caulk and paint are a carpenters friend! I say all this because I had a similar issue. I was never happy with the filler repair and ended up tearing it out and replacing the entire piece of wood, but I'm picky and plan to live in this house until they carry me out!