On Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 6:07:56 PM UTC-5, -MIKE- wrote:
On 2/9/18 9:34 AM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 2/8/18 11:49 PM, wrote:
Hmmmm.Â* Guess I am lucky, or special.Â* I've never done a construction
job where I did not do it right.Â* On the paying jobs I've done, I
always said this is what I am going to do and this is what it will
cost.Â* No discussion or arguing to that.Â* On the non paying jobs I
just say this is what it costs for the parts and my labor of course
is donated.Â* There is no arguing over the parts.


I have a saying, "There are a million ways to do something, and one
right way."
So I think we are in the same camp for the most part.

In this particular case, there is wood rot around at the bottom of a
door jamb, at the threshold, that allowed water to get inside the house
and under the finished flooring.

To do it "right" would mean removing the entire door frame to inspect
for damage and possible rotted wood underneath, which is how I advised
the landlord.Â* Then replace the rotted section with a composite material
or replace the entire jamb with composite material (about $50 for pvc
door frame).Â* This is the way it would be done in order to be able to
guarantee no further damage.

After asking me the "what would you do it it was your house?" question
and explaining the above, the only option the landlord allowed in the
discussion was to patch the rotted wood section.Â* There are two ways to
do this.Â* Cut and scab or use a 2-part filler.

At this point, I have the option of walking away and refusing the job,
or accepting a specific repair request and doing it the best way
possible.Â* There are literally a million of these rotting door jambs
within a 25 mile radius of me and having a cost effective way to
"repair" them could be a lucrative specialty business all in itself.

I have used both methods of repair, depending on the specific situation,
and they both do the job well.Â* However, neither address other existing
rot or future potential rotting.Â* For example, I have seen wood rot that
presented itself as being caused by water settling at the threshold/jamb
corner, but it was actually being caused by water getting behind brick
at the top of the door where it wasn't flashed properly and running down
the inside and settling at the threshold, rotting the jamb from the
inside out (and about 6" of jack stud as well).Â* It rotted the stud
first, then the jamb.

All that to say, I guess I can do this repair "right" without doing it
"right."
Meaning, I'm being hired to patch some rotted wood and I'll do it right..
I'll use a high quality band-aid and apply it correctly and get paid.
But I can't guarantee it'll stop the bleeding somewhere else.


I ended up using two 2-part epoxy products that I've used before. Both
are exterior and completely waterproof.
The first is Elmer's Damaged Wood Repair System which is great for
filling big voids.
The second is Bondo All-Purpose Putty, which is the same thing as their
2-part wood filler, sans the wood fiber. Unless you're staining, use
the all-purpose-- you get twice as much for the price.

I've used the 2-part Bondo wood filler before and love it. It sets up
very fast and you can build coats quickly and sand within 15-30 minutes.

The day before, I applied Minwax Wood Hardener which works really well
to stabilize softer wood and prime it for sticking to the epoxy.

I filled the deep voids with the Elmers. It has a 1-hour work time and
"cures" overnight, so it is slower than other 2-part products. However,
it doesn't need to be totally cured to build over. I went to lunch to
let it stiffen up.

Next, I applied the first coat of Bondo putty and let it stiffen enough
that I could "work it" some. About halfway through the catalyst cycle
it becomes a bit like play-doh and can be mushed around into shape.
Using a plastic putty knife sprayed with acetone, you can work it like
pottery clay. About 15 minutes later, it's ready for sanding.

I had a pretty good finished shape after the 1st layer of Bondo filler,
with some light filling to finish it up. Another feathering coat and
some sanding and it was done.

The paint you see is a Zinsser exterior primer that looks better than
the paint on the rest of the door frame. There are some tiny voids and
paint bubbles that I would normally touch-up and smooth out, but since
this repaired section looks a lot better than the rest of the door
frame, the client was happy with the end product. They have a painter
coming in to do the whole house, so they will do the detail work on the
door.

Here's the rotted jamb.
http://mikedrums.com/door_jam_rot_before.jpg
Here's the repair.
http://mikedrums.com/door_jamb_rot_after_comp.PNG



Nice job.

If I ever become a landlord I'll be sure to use you for my repair work...as long as we can
agree on a price. ;-)