Deteriorated garage door

Try the Habitat For Humanity Re-Store. For a quick-fix / cover-up just attach some kick-plate over the damage. John T.

I wonder if you can remove the veneer at the bottom and just replace it with thin plywood. Does not have to match perfect, make it look like a kick plate.

If you keep the rot from spreading you are good for another 20 or 30 years.

Or a metal kick plate screwed to the rails.

I'd try reparing an external door.

I'd just use an actual kickplate. Fill the area above with body filler or exterior wood filler first, sand paint. I guess might as well scrape away the raised wood near the bottom too, if it's really loose and shot and do that at the same time, before putting on a kickplate. If you do that, could skip the kickplate. This all assumes that it's just surface damage and the structure is not compromised.

Look to me like the veneer plywood has gotten wet and is delaminating. You'd have a really tough time repairing what's there.

If the door is really light, it could be a hollow core door. If so, there just a frame inside and the plywood is glued to that.

Even though this isn't plywood, this is more or less what you might have. Depending on the quality of the door, there may be rails (the horizontal framing) beside just the top and b0ttom ones.

Assuming it's a hollow core door (or maybe foam filled) you could also remove the damaged veneer and replace it.

One method would be to use a circular saw set for, very thin cut - the thickness of the veneer - and cut across the veneer, above the damaged portion. (If you are lucky and can locate a interior rail, make your cut right down the middle of that Peel off the veneer, replace any rotted framing, and sand the rail and stiles to remove any leftover glue or plywood.

Sorry, I hit send to soon.

After you've cleaned up the framing, add a new rail where the seam will be and glue a new piece of veneer on. Fill the seam with Bondo/wood putty or cover it with a piece of trim and call it a "design feature" ;-) Throw a coat of paint on it and you'll be good to go.

I recently repaired a couple of trailer doors that had a bit of rot. You may not need to go to this extreme, but this should give you some ideas.

Before:

I would just use a kick plate that's readily available and will look excellent. Put a bead of silicone behind it at the top and sides to keep water from getting behind it.

Did you notice how far up the door the delamination has gone? The full extent isn?t even in the picture. Do you think that the delamination sticking up above the kick plate is going to look ?excellent??

Besides, it looks to me like moisture is delaminating the plywood from the bottom. I even see some rot on the door jamb on the left.

If he doesn?t fix that issue and inspect the door further, a kick plate won?t be much more than a temporary cosmetic fix.

In my earlier post I addressed that, either body filler or exterior wood filler. It looks OK with just some of the top veneer missing.

So then buy a new f****ng door. It looks like minor delamination of the surface veneer to me. Which is why I said this in my initial post:

"This all assumes that it's just surface damage and the structure is not compromised."

And a kickplate will keep water off of that area. I suppose next you'll be complaining that water is wicking up from the bottom. So then make that new f****ng door fiberglass.

Makes you wonder if door was ever intended to be an exterior door. I replaced a deteriorating exterior door that was only a few years old maybe 40 years ago with one that looks as good as new today.

Poor maintenance also seems to be involved, not just of the door, but of the trim, etc.

I'd like to see that area after a rain. Delaminated plywood, rotting trim, sunken tiles, etc. That all points to water issues.

Why the f*ck are you f****ng cursing at me?

Everything you say is 100% correct and should be directed, calmly, at the OP.

And, no, I do not think that a kickplate is the best solution. You have your opinion, I have mine.

I have no way to know for sure, but the door may date back to original construction in 1980.

It appears to be a solid wood door, not hollow core. Also, the part that's peeling off really is veneer of some kind. It's very thin. Not plywood. In fact, the two trails leading up from the bottom in the picture show what's peeling off. Those trails peeled off years ago, and they just painted over the tracks, with some success. The bottom of the door feels ery solid, but when I take it down I will know more. The back of the door looks like mahogany. It's a nice surface.

Of course water is the problem. There is no protection from the rain,and the door is wood, and there's no storm door. So I assume the school-approved solution will eventually be to replace the door and frame, and use a steel or fiberglass door. But for now I would just like to buy some time since the list of things I can't put off is still long, and funds are not unlimited. In fact, one of the things I would like to not put off is an awning from this door to the front door to keep me from getting drenched fumbling for keys.

So I'm going to try to use a palette knife to work glue back under the parts that are coming loose, and clamp everything down. Then when cured I'll put on a kick plate, and try to seal everything as much as I can, then paint. If it doesn't work, I'm out the cost of the kick plate and some of my time. I understand that the peeling may progress further from where I am able to glue. I don't think there's much I can do about that except to hope that the kick plate and paint will mitigate that.

Forgot to say: I will also consider the option of cutting the veneer all the way across a few inches above the bottom. I would clamp a 2x4 across the door, and cut through the veneer with a knife or razor blade. I think a circular saw would just tear everything up. Then the question would be whether to replace the veneer with new veneer or with Bondo. Ot just have the kick plate be the new veneer.

Sounds like a good door and I have seen exterior plywood degrade if exposed to a lot of water. Metal kick plate may not prevent it but would hide it and it should look good for years.

Because you're acting like some minor surface delamination on a door requires major surgery and started in with your usual pedantic nitpicking. And I didn't ask you if you thought a kickplate, together with the rest of the repair I suggested, which you conveniently just left out, was the best solution. I told you the "best" solution, go buy a f****ng fiberglass door. I didn't start in criticizing your solution, I simply suggested mine. Interesting how "you have your opinion, I have mine" didn't apply there.

IMO, you're just making extra work, to no benefit. What's there looks OK so that a kick plate will cover it, so why remove it? From what I see, it's not really rotted, just delaminated. You can try the kick plate, see if it lays flat, before installing. If there are a few high spots, just remove some laminate there using a razor and putty knife. Use the Bondo to level it all out as needed. Put a bead of silicone along the top and sides before installing the kick plate.

Just took a close look at the exterior door I installed over 40 years ago to replace the crappy one supplied by the builder and it has maybe an eighth of an inch of minor delamination. Not enough to do any think about and I think you are on the right track.