Repairing Door.

[pat.ostman]

I have Douglas Fir paneled entry (exterior) door that has rot on the lower center stile. Some wood worm holes on the middle center stile and what appears to a new bottom rail (10 inches high) made out of a some sort of yellow pine. The door is curved and getting a replacement is going to be very hard. So I am left in the position of having to repair it. I am looking for suggestions on how to stop the rot and wondering if I can fill the damage with something so i don't have to replace the center stile. Also what would be a good filler for the woodworm holes. The door will be repainted when I am done.

This post was cross-posted to alt.home.repair.

Thanks in advance.

[Lowell Holmes]

I've repaired a fir entry door. It was drastic surgery, but the repair has lasted for 6 years and still sound. I replaced the rotten wood with new fir wood. I'll be glad to post a couple of photos if it will help. IIRC, I used Gorilla glue on the glue ups.

[Joseph Meehan]

I would go for a replacement not a repair. In the long run I suspect you will be a lot happier.

[Swingman]

I just repaired a pair of exterior Douglas Fir, sliding garage side doors for someone. Pictures are already posted at:

.... and may give you some ideas on at least one approach to repairing a rotten bottom rail.

[dadiOH]

Dig out all rot, drill numerous small holes in the nearby surrounding wood and fill them with a thinned epoxy (lacquer thinner, acetone) to firm up adjacent wood. As it is absorbed, add more epoxy until holes remain filled flush. To fill what you have dug out - also worm holes - mix epoxy with a thickener (fine saw dust will do) and slather into holes. If you removed substantial wood, you can fit a wood dutchman and glue in with epoxy before filling to save on epoxy.

Since you are going to be refinishing, it wouldn't hurt to also drizzle thinned epoxy into all joints where water could enter/penetrate.

Sand and paint.

A general epoxy info & source...

Non boat useage... A specific "how to" for a repair similar to yours...

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Pat]

A photos would be useful. I am having a hard time trying to gauge how much can be done.. Feel free to email them to my gmail account.

[Pat]

To replace the door which is curved would require removing and rebuilding the frame, which given how this frame was built would require redoing the stucco.. So this would be a really big job. Bigger than repairing the door? I don't know yet.

[Pat]

Thanks. The pictures really help. Your door was in worse shape than mine currently appears to be. Any comment on merits of using dowel over biscuits over splines? I can do either, just wondering.

[Swingman]

Only that I am far from being a fan of dowel joinery as a rule, but I do believe in using the best joinery method consistent with the desired result, and in not taking an unnecessary amount of time in doing it.

Having at least some expertise with most all the joinery methods that could have been used in this situation, and the tools to do them, and since there was really no shear or racking forces involved with these hanging doors, I made a judgment call that dowels would be sufficient for this task, and they were certainly quicker ... only time will tell.

[scott21230]

It would be helpful if you could post picture of the offending door. Otherwise, I would vote for replacement, but even that's hard to say without knowing how bad the rot is. I'm not a fan of having some sort of weak exterior door.

[Warren Weber]

Have you considered Bondo? An auto body filler. Warren

[Joseph Meehan]

Why not reproduce the door. Curved doors can still be produced.

[Joseph Meehan]

You do some nice work there.

[PipeDown]

Reproduction maybe for a price far exceeding $2k. Even a quality flat wood door can exceed $1k

Have you considered a wood epoxy filler. These can be molded like putty and after hardening can be cut and sanded. Matching a transparent stain might be impossible but paint or opaque stain would be OK. This material I have seen used to repair rotted window sills, just be sure to rout or cut out all rotted and damaged wood. You may also need to cut keyways (slots wider at the bottom) so the filler does not fall out if the wood expands or shrinks with humidity. A router with a flaired bit is excellent for removing rotted material as is any roto tool for smaller areas.

Saturate the remaining wood with Jasco wood preservative (clear or green) or similar product to prevent any future rot or insect invasion. Do this after the repair in case the preservative makes any adhesives stick poorly.

[Old_boat]

Try this link. This is very good stuff to repair rotted wood. He has other products to fill wood too.

Larry