Exterior wood door rotten at bottom

The side door of my garage is a 32 x 80 wood door, and there's no storm door to protect it from the weather. So the bottom has rotted out, and in one picture you can see some ripples in the upper part which may just be paint - not sure about that yet.

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Anyway, I wondered if I could set my saw to a depth of maybe 3/16 inch and saw across roughly where the tape residue is shown in the pictures, and glue in a placement piece of wood. Then I would fill with some kind of filler from the bottom to fill any void, then finish with another strip of new wood on the bottom. Then finish off with heavy duty primer and several coats of paint.

It appears the only practical alternative is a prehung metal door which Home Despot will install for me for around $400. Of course they would also sell me a replacment wood door, with all the routing done and holes drilled per my measurements, for about $150 plus delivery, but, you know, if I'm gonna install a new door, I think I'd rather it not be a wood door.

Well what guidance would you give me about this? Is it silly to try to "repair" the existing door?

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

Reply to
Peabody
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It looks like you have a hollow core door that was never meant for exterior use. It should be replaced with something that is for exterior. A pine panel door would be OK, but you have to watch out for those. Some of the newer ones are glued up from scrap and veneered on the surface. They don't hold up well. You can probably get a 32x80 slab (no frame) for about $80.

| Well what guidance would you give me about this? Is it silly to try to | "repair" the existing door? |

Probably. Not because the idea is bad but because you have nothing to repair. It's just junk veneer on a junk frame. If it were actually wood you could glue a new piece onto the bottom.

Reply to
Mayayana

How could the door be installed? Isn't it code violation? Garage should have fire rated self closing doors. Three such doors in our garage, one to access inside the house, two facing outside.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Different codes for garages not attached to the house.

Reply to
Vic Smith

Looks like a cheap, hollow core door and I'd replace the whole thing.

If the metal door seems too expensive I'd get a wooden door only if it's not a hollow core.

Reply to
philo

Unless it is a detached garage where code does not matter.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Is it a detached garage? Is the door visible to neighbors? How much do you care about the appearance?

The door looks like a cheap door with a plywood veneer. It is possible to do a patch job if you have the tools and time. Half a day you can cut the bottom off and graft on a 2 x 10 and sheet of 1/4" plywood to get by a few more years. It will probably be visible though.

If you want a really nice job, a new wood door will do it.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

On 09/23/2015 5:57 PM, Tony Hwang wrote: ...

That Code requirement is only for entrance doors into the house from the garage, not exterior which this is...

Reply to
dpb

Cars used to catch fire. Maybe they still do?

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

...

As others have said, you've got an interior hollow-core door at an exterior location. The veneer has failed (including the upper area, that's glue failure and veneer lifting from the substrate you see) and there's only a thin skin under the surface veneer and the rest is simply a cardboard honeycomb inside. It's essentially not repairable for any reasonable amount of repair.

You've got the alternatives; the door replacement of a prefab metal isn't that much of a trick if you have at least some ability and the minimum of tools.

Reply to
dpb

I have the same type door, except white. Mine delaminated so badly it looks like it exploded. But it took a couple years.

Reply to
Vic Smith

You could repair the door by covering it with a piece of plywood, and then use the money saved to buy a storm door.

Reply to
hrhofmann

My last home, built in 1971, had this exact same problem. An interior hollow core door used as attached garage outside access door, which was seldom actually used. In about 2001, I cutoff the bottom half panel and replaced it with a piece of Masonite, glued and nailed in place. Caulked the upper edge, and painted 2 coats. Still looked OK ten years later when I sold house.

Reply to
Retired

It's an attached garage. The door is on the side of the house, behind a privacy fence, so it really doesn't matter what it looks like.

Ok, so my assumption was wrong that the main problem is that the existing door is wood. It appears from what everyone is saying that an actual solid wood exterior door, properly primed and painted, would hold up pretty well. The existing door is just the wrong kind of door.

I just have major misgivings about changing out the entire frame. On the outside there is stone half way up the door, and above the stone is some particle board siding that's pretty fragile. But the frame and hinges are still really solid. So I'd hate to have to change out the frame when the only reason for doing so is to allow me to use a steel door.

As someone mentioned, I think HD would sell me a solid wood exterior door for around $80, but I don't have the gear (a router, for example) or the experience to cut the hinge mortises, or the holes for the hardware. But the guy gave me a price of $150 for which they would do all the cuts. I would just have to measure everything VERY carefully. Then all that would be left for me to do is mount the hinges and hardware, and hang the door, plus of course priming and painting.

So with delivery that would probably cost me $200, which is still half what they would charge to install a pre-hung steel door for me, and it would leave the framing intact. If that door would hold up to the weather, maybe that's the best way to go. I assume there would be no veneer that could delaminate.

I guess the only remaining question is whether the solid wood door would be too heavy. But you know, the existing door is really heavy itself - maybe a lot of particle board or plywood or whatever inside. So maybe the solid door would even be lighter than the current one. I know that the lid of my Yamaha grand piano, which is plywood, is a lot heavier than the same size Steinway lid, which is made of planks butted together. I guess all that glue is really heavy.

Thanks for everyone's comments.

Reply to
Peabody

You might want to read this...

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Reply to
dadiOH

If your door is heavy it is not likely that it is a hollow core door; more likely, a solid core door with thin plywood skins on each side. You can check by drilling a small hole maybe 5" from any edge. If that is the case and if it is at least 1 3/8" thick it is code compliant for garage/home separation which means you can repair it if you want to. And a repair is rather easy...

  1. Scrape/cut/sand off the lifted/loose areas of the plywood, including the upper ones.
  2. Skim coat those areas with auto body filler (Bondo).
  3. Sand the filled areas flush and smooth

  1. Prime & paint.

Reply to
dadiOH

My guess is that interior doors don't normally get wet. So, they can use cheaper glue. Exterior doors (like exterior plywood) need water proof glue. Just a SWAG.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

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Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Well, it's not a garage/home separation door. It's an exterior door to the garage. In any case, the door is actually 1 5/8" thick, which may mean there's something there to repair. Well, there's nothing to be lost, except a little of my time, to remove the bad parts and see what's underneath.

That's an interesting idea, and certainly cost effective. Thanks very much.

Reply to
Peabody

Peabody-

Rather than using Bondo, consider MINWAX Wood Filler. It requires a hardener like Bondo, but is intended for applications like yours. I'm not sure but it may be less expensive than Bondo.

Also consider that wood rot is caused by an organism. As long as you repair or replace with wood, the rot will return. Prior to priming, it would help to treat the wood with something that will kill the organism. One thing that is reported to work well is ethylene glycol automotive coolant. I suggest treating the wooden frame as well.

Fred

Reply to
Fred McKenzie

Why not take the old door to Home Depot, then they can copy the hinge and latch positions exactly on the new door that you buy???

Reply to
hrhofmann

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