Rotting door jamb and trim... what to paint with?

[Bruce L.]

Ok, here's a link to a picture of the front of my house:

I've thought about this again, and I don't think that putting any sort of cover over this porch is feasible. I've looked at other houses in the area that are the same architectural style as mine, and none of them have any sort of roof or porch over the front steps. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a roof over the porch on this style of house. Am I mistaken?

Bruce

[RicodJour]

I doubt you're mistaken about the homse in your area, but I know that it can be done. The style of your house is mixed to start with. They mixed a hip roof with a gable for one. Your house doesn't have to look like every other house in your area, particularly if what needs to be done is an improvement.

R

[Bruce L.]

True... I'll have to check out some more houses to get some ideas. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions about how I could best treat the wood, with regards to sealing, priming, painting, I'd appreciate it :-) Thanks also for your suggestions so far, I'll take them into consideration.

Bruce

[ameijers]

A little copper awning would look right there. You'd have to move the light above the door, maybe put a couple of small fixtures under the awning. As to extending the life of the existing door and frame till you break down and replace it all- dig out all the rotted wood and fill with epoxy filler or bondo, prime, and paint with the most expensive marine-rated paint you can find. If structural parts of the frame are rotted, you need a Norm Abrams -style carpenter to dutchman in new wood. When you finally replace the whole entryway, look real hard at the sill and perimeter joist- front door setups like that LOVE to rot the framing under the threshold out, since rain running down the door and wall gets into the voids around the doorframe, and follows it down to the bottom.

Whoever designed the house should have extended the top roof out 3-5 feet, and added bulkheads or columns around the entryway, to inset it out of the weather a foot or three. I've also seen a 'phone booth' entryway added, with a second front door, and a faux balcony and little rail on top. Sunroom companies can do stuff like that, out of stock color-matched to the trim. A glass or screen door faces the weather, and you can lock that and leave the real front door open, on nice days.

aem sends...