I recently noticed some rot on the lower end of the frame of my garage side
entry door. The house is only 6 years old, but it looks like a couple of
nearby sprinkler heads and some caulk gaps are the culprits. It is rotted
throught the frame, stop and part of the brick moulding.

The damage appears to be isolated to the lower 6" to 8" of the frame and
brick moulding. Threshold needs some finish but seems sound. I think this
can be repaired without replacing the entire frame. I am wondering if
anyone has had experience with any of the following approaches:

1) Carefully sawing out the lower rotted area (beneath the hinge) and
shimming in new stock with screws and glue (easiest but probably least
desirable).

2) Trying to remove the entire door-side frame, fabricating a new one and
sliding and shimming it into place. (Fastening might be a problem but I
will have some access with brick moulding removed. No internal trim.).

3) Just pulling the entire door out, fabricating the hinge frame and
reinstalling.

BTW - I do have experience and equipment to handle the fabrication task.
Just trying to figure out the best way to tackle this.

Thanks in advance.

RonB

RonB wrote:
: I recently noticed some rot on the lower end of the frame of my garage side
: entry door. The house is only 6 years old, but it looks like a couple of
: nearby sprinkler heads and some caulk gaps are the culprits. It is rotted
: throught the frame, stop and part of the brick moulding.

: The damage appears to be isolated to the lower 6" to 8" of the frame and
: brick moulding. Threshold needs some finish but seems sound. I think this
: can be repaired without replacing the entire frame. I am wondering if
: anyone has had experience with any of the following approaches:

: 1) Carefully sawing out the lower rotted area (beneath the hinge) and
: shimming in new stock with screws and glue (easiest but probably least
: desirable).


I did just that at my first house where the lower portion rotted out, I
replaced it with a section of pressure treated wood. It was still looking
good 3 years later when I sold the house. A few years ago I saw on one of
the home diy shows a product for repairing rotted frames around garage
doors. It was a composite material and was rot proof.

RonB wrote:
I recently noticed some rot on the lower end of the frame of my garage side
entry door. The house is only 6 years old, but it looks like a couple of
nearby sprinkler heads and some caulk gaps are the culprits. It is rotted
throught the frame, stop and part of the brick moulding.

The damage appears to be isolated to the lower 6" to 8" of the frame and
brick moulding. Threshold needs some finish but seems sound. I think this
can be repaired without replacing the entire frame. I am wondering if
anyone has had experience with any of the following approaches:

1) Carefully sawing out the lower rotted area (beneath the hinge) and
shimming in new stock with screws and glue (easiest but probably least
desirable).

2) Trying to remove the entire door-side frame, fabricating a new one and
sliding and shimming it into place. (Fastening might be a problem but I
will have some access with brick moulding removed. No internal trim.).

3) Just pulling the entire door out, fabricating the hinge frame and
reinstalling.

BTW - I do have experience and equipment to handle the fabrication task.
Just trying to figure out the best way to tackle this.

Thanks in advance.

RonB


Just fixed one of those at the side of one of my garage doors last week,
using your No. 1 approach. Some kind of wood eating bugs had chewed into
the bottom six inches from the backside so much that a chunk fell out
and made me aware of their wicked deeds.

I cut it back to undamaged wood using a saber saw with a blade shortened
so it only stroked out about 1/8" further than the thickness of the board.

I sprayed the hell out of the area with insect killer and then fitted in
a new piece of wood, securing it with Gorilla glue at the joints and a
couple of screws to hold it to the framing.

I used Bondo and hand sanding to smooth it out and finished it with oil
based primer followed by the latex trim paint.

I'll try and remember to spray that insect killer around the area a
couple of times a year in the future.

HTH,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"