Author Topic: rotten french door  (Read 1592 times)

econberkeley

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rotten french door
« on: February 22, 2016, 05:15:05 AM »
The lower part of the casing and the French door is rotten. Since the size of this French door is not common, it costs quite a bit. It is about $725. By the way, this French door is about 13 years old and the rest of the door and the casing is in very good shape. Is it possible to replace the rotten section with new pieces?

paddedhat

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Re: rotten french door
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2016, 07:02:04 AM »
There are two repair possibilities. First, there are a number of chemicals and epoxies that can stabilize and repair rotted wood. They are used extensively in restoration projects, like rebuilding architectural features of old homes, porch posts, window trim, etc..... this avoids the need for replacement parts, that would have to be custom made.  Second the door frame could be removed and rebuilt. This would involve disassembling the frame and replacing the jamb "leg". The entire part can be ordered from your local lumberyard.This would requires some pretty advanced skills however.

 The only hope for the door is digging the rot out and filling the area with epoxy, or other filler. The wooden edge you are looking at is called a stile, it is deeply embedded in that style of door construction. Frequently the steel skin is tucked into the edge of the stile, then the steel (or fiberglass skin) is glued to the stile and other framing members, then the entire hollow door is filled with blown in place foam. This usually eliminates any possibility of replacing the stile.

The other possibility would involve dealing with a real sharp local lumberyard or local millwork supplier. All steel/fiberglass doors are built in millwork shops that stock the "blanks" required to start the process. Your blanks were probably just smooth steel, windowless doors that were routed out to create hinge slots, a bore for the lockset and latch, and a big rectangular opening for the window glazing. You might find a supplier who would sell you the precut door, minus the glazing. It's just a matter of swapping the hinges, lock and glass to the new one.

lthenderson

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Re: rotten french door
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2016, 08:53:17 AM »
I would probably go with paddlehat's suggestion of digging out the rot and filling with epoxy. For smaller areas of rot, I will cut a patch out of new wood and then cut around the rotten part with either a router or oscillating multitool in the shape of the patch.  Just like putting a filling in a rotten tooth. Once the patch is glued in place, sanded and painted, it is impossible to tell. However, I think you might run into problems with this method due to the seals and other metal parts near the rotten areas.