Author Topic: Fixing trim around door/windows  (Read 3707 times)

JayGatsby

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Fixing trim around door/windows
« on: June 23, 2014, 10:44:46 AM »
Hello-

Around the door to my house and around the windows on the front of my house is wood trim (picture attached of the front). In the picture, the wood trim I referring to is the blue/green around the black door.

The wood is rotted and very soft. I'm concerned with it being very inviting to bugs that will destroy more than the wood (but don't see any visible signs of bugs in there at this point).

How difficult of a job is it to replace something like that? What would be a reasonable cost to hire a contractor to fix that for in Philadelphia?

The wood has rounded edges, so seems rather difficult. Not something I can just go down to Home Depot for a buy replacement wood for.
« Last Edit: September 09, 2014, 06:01:37 PM by JayGatsby »

Cwadda

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Re: Fixing trim around door/windows
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2014, 11:09:59 AM »
You're right to be addressing it now. You don't want to get any sort of water damage or insects in there.

For you to do it personally, it would be difficult. You need all the tools, a power saw, ladders, good skills in woodworking, etc. By the looks of it, that would be a difficult job in a city like Philly. The best thing to do would be to hire a contractor.

On to the cost...I can't give a definite answer. To do things the right way you're going to want to use AZEK, which is a PVC trim that looks and feels like wood. It's a vinyl composite that will never rot and looks absolutely beautiful. You CAN replace the trimming with wood, but you'd have that getting rotted out down the road a few years. Our pine wood rotted in 4-5 years after building a brand new house. I think using AZEK is worth the extra money and will add resale value to the home.

How many windows and door trims are there? Do they go all the way up? Doesn't look like too many. The price of the contractor will be based on how long it takes him to do the job. That job right there looks like it would take no more than 3 days. If you want to save money and you're up for it, painting that trim yourself will save you hundreds of dollars.

Hmm...I'll throw out some numbers, but take them with a grain of salt, because I'm only 20 years old with limited experience. I do have a fair amount of knowledge due to helping my parents out a lot when we built our house.

$2000-$2500 for AZEK materials + labor. If you use regular wood, maybe $1000 less?
$1000-$1200 for materials + labor to paint all of it if you hire someone to paint. Well, you don't absolutely NEED to paint AZEK, but that extra cover of protection helps. Plus caulking and covering the nail holes with a soft white looks fantastic. And if you want the trim to be the same color for the door, that would need to be painted obviously.


enigmaT120

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Re: Fixing trim around door/windows
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2014, 11:22:29 AM »
Thanks for the reference to AZAC; I have to install some trim around my new windows, which left a gap between the window itself and the surrounding aluminum siding.  I didn't want to use anything that would need paint.


Cwadda

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Re: Fixing trim around door/windows
« Reply #3 on: June 23, 2014, 11:54:24 AM »
Thanks for the reference to AZAC; I have to install some trim around my new windows, which left a gap between the window itself and the surrounding aluminum siding.  I didn't want to use anything that would need paint.

Yeah, if it's a difficult spot to get a brush somewhere, then it doesn't hurt to let it go. Caulking nail holes is probably a good idea though and only takes a few minutes. I love the look of the extra coat on AZEK. Looks like something straight out of a magazine.

Jack

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Re: Fixing trim around door/windows
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2014, 01:26:40 PM »
  • Is it only the trim that is rotting, or the door and window frames themselves too?
  • That looks historic. How old is it?
  • If it's historic "enough" then you might be better off replacing it with wood instead of something "fake" (like AZEK, although it's a high-quality fake) and accepting that you have to properly maintain it.
  • If you can't afford to immediately fix it properly (which means matching the profile of that nice molding!), use some "rotted wood stabilizer" (e.g. Elmer's brand), primer and paint quickly to stop the damage from getting any worse in the interim.

JayGatsby

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Re: Fixing trim around door/windows
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2014, 01:34:26 PM »
1. Only the trim rotting.
2. 125 year old house!
3. Probably good advice. I'll need to stick with wood, and would want to do it properly. Any idea if I need a specialist type carpenter for this type of job?
4. Any idea on what it would cost to fix it properly?

Jack

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Re: Fixing trim around door/windows
« Reply #6 on: June 23, 2014, 02:14:46 PM »
4. Any idea on what it would cost to fix it properly?

Unless you can find a supplier that stocks an exactly-matching molding, more than you probably think. That arch with a custom profile would be the majority of the cost.

Go watch some episodes of This Old House. I think you'll find it very educational, and not just for this particular issue.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2014, 02:18:01 PM by Jack »