Author Topic: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?  (Read 1888 times)

slackmax

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What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« on: November 21, 2020, 08:21:52 AM »
Hi,

I'm attaching a photo to show where the rotting wood is.  It's near the bottom of the door. It's the horizontal brown just above the horizontal black. The black is plastic.  I know, it's hard to see the wood just above the black plastic. 

I noticed the wood was moist and soft, and have just covered it up with plastic for now, to keep rain out. The plastic is placed in a way that allows to wood to air dry.

There is a quarter to half inch space going backwards that can be filled in, in front of the wood, where it has eroded away over the years.

My ideas so far are :

coat it with some lacquer that is waterproof.

leave it as it is, with the plastic cover on

when it is dry, fill in the void in front with styrofoam strips, then caulk the edges around the strips, sealing out all rain. 

put that chemical on the wood that turns rotted wood hard, then coat it all with caulking.   

What do you think?

Thanks

Papa bear

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2020, 09:10:18 AM »
Looks like there are already a lot of bandaids on that door and frame.   Are you against a new unit? Fiberglass door and a composite jamb would solve future problems. 

Plus with that much water, how is your sheathing and structure underneath? I would imagine it’s in pretty bad shape.   They didn’t start putting in waterproof sils for doors until recently. 


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slackmax

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2020, 09:44:43 AM »
Looks like there are already a lot of bandaids on that door and frame.   Are you against a new unit? Fiberglass door and a composite jamb would solve future problems. 

Plus with that much water, how is your sheathing and structure underneath? I would imagine it’s in pretty bad shape.   They didn’t start putting in waterproof sils for doors until recently. 


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Yes, water intrusion from various sources has been a problem with this door, from time to time.  A new door would be nice, I guess, but the labor is huge. Like $3,000.  And the new door itself is $1,000 to $2,000.   Plus worrying whether it's installed right, and comes without any defects.

For now, seems to make sense to try to fix up existing door, and be $5,000 richer.   

I am willing to spend some bucks on labor, though. I just had a handyman remove and replace the 3 rotted trim pieces with PVC.  He said he thought that would stop the water getting in.  He also sealed up the entire length of the space between the first deck board and the door. He also put in that new piece of custom made wood at the bottom of the center post. The bottom of that post was rotted out.

It did stop the water 90%. But it gets moist still inside the aluminum channel during rain with a  wind blowing against the door.

I'm hoping the moisture is because water is seeping into the rotted wood, and then down into the channel, and preventing water from soaking into the rotted wood will cure the problem. 

SndcxxJ

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2020, 10:54:12 AM »
This project looks pretty rough and I also think replacement is a better long term solution, but if that is completely out of the question here are some ideas.
I am under the assumption that the door section on the left is a non-operating fixed door.
I would prime any new wood and exposed wood.  I would seal any gaps with a polyurethane sealant like sikaflex 1a.  I might try to add a piece of wood or metal trim to bridge the gap between the fixed door and the sill and use sikaflex to seal all gaps.  I'd then paint the heck out of this door and frames with at least a higher gloss level paint, at least semigloss.  Keep that door painted often. 
It will look scabbed together but it will be water tight.  I would budget for some dryrot repairs under that door sill when the time comes to replace.

Papa bear

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2020, 02:25:31 PM »
I can never understand labor costs on installing a door.  It’s less than a day of work for a carpenter, so let’s just say a day.   Even at 100/hour (crazy high for a carpenter) it’s 800 in labor.

Now.  Opening that up will open up other problems.  I would say a day and half of labor, and a 100$ in extra material.  And a carpenter at 60/hour, 720 in labor, 100 extra materials, and a new French door, probably 1500.  So under 2500 total, max.  Shop around if you want to replace.

Otherwise, just paint the thing and hope to buy yourself another year or 2. 


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FINate

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2020, 03:54:41 PM »
Assuming that's a fixed door and you plan on tearing it out and doing it right in a year or two (plus whatever other issues this uncovers), I would:

1) Once the wood drys, remove any very soft material
2) 2 coats of wood hardener on the remainder.
3) Fill with Bondo Wood Filler

sonofsven

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #6 on: November 21, 2020, 08:52:03 PM »
I wouldn't waste a minute of time trying to "fix it".
Removal or leave it to rot.
If it's a problem area you might want to install a storm door in front of your new door.

slackmax

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2020, 09:45:27 AM »
Thanks for the replies.

I've caulked it and painted it already. The pic I sent was from right after the handyman left.

Good to hear that the total cost might be a lot less than $5,000 for a new door, and floor rot repair work. 

Another thing is that the door is a non standard size. It's a Peachtree. It's not as wide as standard, so a 'custom made' door is called for. Although I'm surprised they don't make 'standard' doors in my size. Peachtree is out of business now, I think.   






 

Papa bear

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #8 on: November 22, 2020, 12:13:28 PM »
Thanks for the replies.

I've caulked it and painted it already. The pic I sent was from right after the handyman left.

Good to hear that the total cost might be a lot less than $5,000 for a new door, and floor rot repair work. 

Another thing is that the door is a non standard size. It's a Peachtree. It's not as wide as standard, so a 'custom made' door is called for. Although I'm surprised they don't make 'standard' doors in my size. Peachtree is out of business now, I think.   






 
What size door is this? You can always frame it out for a different size.  Smaller is easier than bigger!


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slackmax

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #9 on: November 23, 2020, 07:51:04 AM »
Thanks for the replies.

I've caulked it and painted it already. The pic I sent was from right after the handyman left.

Good to hear that the total cost might be a lot less than $5,000 for a new door, and floor rot repair work. 

Another thing is that the door is a non standard size. It's a Peachtree. It's not as wide as standard, so a 'custom made' door is called for. Although I'm surprised they don't make 'standard' doors in my size. Peachtree is out of business now, I think.   






 
What size door is this? You can always frame it out for a different size.  Smaller is easier than bigger!


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It's 57 inches wide and 78 inches tall.

J Boogie

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2020, 10:13:56 AM »
And there's no reason you have to stick with a French door. They are notoriously the worst performers energy wise and probably the least secure.

I'd put in a sidelite alongside a regular door and some type of awning to ensure moisture creeping in is completely in your rearview.

slackmax

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2020, 06:47:28 AM »
And there's no reason you have to stick with a French door. They are notoriously the worst performers energy wise and probably the least secure.

I'd put in a sidelite alongside a regular door and some type of awning to ensure moisture creeping in is completely in your rearview.

Thanks for the idea. I have seen one other deck in my townhome community that has a single door instead of a french door. It looks fine. They don't have a sidelight.

I hope the single door turns out to be less expensive than a french door. Seems like it would. But then there is the extra framing involved.

Just as an aside, I found it interesting that the two folks I know here that replaced their french doors just assumed (or were told by contractors) that it would be impossible to fix the old french door from leaking.  ANd two door and window places refused to even consider fixing my door. They would only replace it.


 

lthenderson

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2020, 07:31:19 AM »
Keep in mind when reframing an exterior door, you will most likely run into siding issues. If replacing a French door with a narrower single door, you will have to come up with more siding and depending on what the existing siding is, it can be difficult to weave it in and match it so it looks like it has always been there. That is why I would try to go with a door and a custom sidelight to fill in the space perfectly so you don't have to mess with the siding.  Of course this advice depends greatly on what your siding is.

Papa bear

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2020, 09:06:33 AM »
Keep in mind when reframing an exterior door, you will most likely run into siding issues. If replacing a French door with a narrower single door, you will have to come up with more siding and depending on what the existing siding is, it can be difficult to weave it in and match it so it looks like it has always been there. That is why I would try to go with a door and a custom sidelight to fill in the space perfectly so you don't have to mess with the siding.  Of course this advice depends greatly on what your siding is.
Center the new door and trim it out with 1x12’s! Ha


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slackmax

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2020, 08:21:14 AM »
Keep in mind when reframing an exterior door, you will most likely run into siding issues. If replacing a French door with a narrower single door, you will have to come up with more siding and depending on what the existing siding is, it can be difficult to weave it in and match it so it looks like it has always been there. That is why I would try to go with a door and a custom sidelight to fill in the space perfectly so you don't have to mess with the siding.  Of course this advice depends greatly on what your siding is.

It's aluminum siding. The 2 handymen said it never goes back on right. They were afraid of it. But they liked vinyl siding. I mentioned that the leak may be originating above the door somewhere, and they definitely did not want any part of removing the aluminum siding, to find the leak.
 
At this point, fortunately, it looks like, knock on wood, there is no leak above the door, thank God.


Some of the townhomes here have had the aluminum siding replaced on triangular area beside the attic (don't know why) and the difference is noticeable, but not too bad. Nice and neat, no creases, just a slightly different color. Maybe they actually used vinyl siding for the replacement, who knows, right?   

lthenderson

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #15 on: December 05, 2020, 08:55:50 AM »
I don't have much experience with aluminum siding. I helped my dad reside his house years ago which had aluminum siding on it. There would have been no way to remove large areas of it without kinking or mangling it in some way.  I would try to avoid doing anything with the siding.

BudgetSlasher

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Re: What to do with Rotting Wood in French Door ?
« Reply #16 on: December 07, 2020, 07:55:26 AM »

It's aluminum siding. The 2 handymen said it never goes back on right. They were afraid of it. But they liked vinyl siding. I mentioned that the leak may be originating above the door somewhere, and they definitely did not want any part of removing the aluminum siding, to find the leak.
 
At this point, fortunately, it looks like, knock on wood, there is no leak above the door, thank God.

If it hasn't been suggested as part of whatever fix you carry out, especially if it is a replacement, you should determine the cause of the rot in the first place and address it.

I am glad to hear it likely isn't a leak above the door, my experience with that has not been good (the door/window has been the last thing to show damage). But from your picture, based on the location of the damage, either splash from the roof drip line or wind driven rain would be what I look to first.