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Got a job to do this weekend. The bottom of an exterior door has rotted a bit at the bottom. I was planning on using some kind of wood filler or epoxy to fill it/build it up. Any recommendations? I then want to sand it and paint the whole door.
Also, I don't really want to be removing the door so any tips on how to get it to grip from underneath? It swings out over an incline so I have a few inches to get under it.
Cheers!
In our household there tend to be 2 different approaches.
Mrs BigJohn scrapes out all the loose material, soaks the area in wood hardener then uses 2 part resin & hardener wood filler. This takes a few days with all the hardening time but she makes a good job after loads of sanding down.
I take off the door, cut out the rot and replace it with new wood.
Sometimes, however it's best to buy a new door.
If you want to get filler to stick on the underside, wrap a piece of wood in a plastic bag and screw it to the bottom of the door. You can use it as a guide when filling in the gap. When set, remove it and the bag will have stopped it sticking.
Get a thin piece of wood, apply a copious amount of oil or any sort of oily cream to wood, this stops the filer sticking then fix under door with gaffer tape then fill rot after aplying wood hardner andleave to dry then remove wood splint and sand down and paint.
If you want to get filler to stick on the underside, wrap a piece of wood in a plastic bag and screw it to the bottom of the door. You can use it as a guide when filling in the gap. When set, remove it and the bag will have stopped it sticking.
Get a thin piece of wood, apply a copious amount of oil or any sort of oily cream to wood, this stops the filer sticking then fix under door with gaffer tape then fill rot after aplying wood hardner andleave to dry then remove wood splint and sand down and paint.
Brilliant! Thanks 🙂
Get some wood harder and apply liberally then when dry fill any holes with filler and sand before painting. Two pack filler is the toughest you're likely to find. Remove the door to do the job properly.
I would try to establish why the bottom of the door has rot - no external door should rot no matter how old it is. If it's taking moisture from puddles that form underneath then consider increasing the gap or installing a water bar or suitable alu threshold, or porch. If the rain water is simply running down the door then consider a weatherboard or porch.
Finally even if a door (or any wood really) gets saturated as long as it dries out completely between soakings it is extremely unlikely to rot (the dry spell will kill fungi/mould/bacteria) So why isn't your door drying out completely? Solve that for a long term solution.
Thanks, I think it's where it's been kicked shut over the years due to the door sticking. I'll sort that while I'm at it. It's a rented property and the landlord threatens rent increases if you even mention repairs so no point in going mad over it.
when I was filling windows, as there were quite big holes, scraped/raked out, applied hardener as per instructions, then bought some 10mm diameter round dowels (by the metre), then drilled 10mm holes and space filled with dowels so that the dowel was well into solid wood and came to about 1 to 2mm of the 'real edge' so I only had to apply a thinner layer filler and use less of it
does it have a drip strip on it (ie a lip at the bottom to push water running down the door away from the bottom of the door - so it doesn't go to the bottom and drag itself round underneath the door)
Will I need both of these products, or just the latter?
[url= http://www.diy.com/departments/ronseal-wood-hardener-250ml/36099_BQ.prd ]Hardener[/url]
[url= http://www.diy.com/departments/ronseal-wood-filler-275g/36101_BQ.prd ]Filler[/url]
Both. As most of the above posts have indicated.
You need both. The hardener does just that - hardens the wood but doesn't fill. The main advantage of wood hardener is that it stops water penetration - rotten wood absorbs water like blotting paper.
Don't get confused with the two pack filler coming with a "hardener", that's the hardener for the filler not the wood, ie, it activates the filler when it is mixed in with it.
Thanks. Just double-checking 😉
The wood will tend to shrink and expand with the weather, even after repair, while the filler won't. That'll leave you with some minor cracks where the two meet to spoil your finish, and it'll hold water
Assuming that it opens inwards, a kick plate on the inside and a [url= http://www.builderdepot.co.uk/reversible-door-drip-meranti-solid-hardwood-45mm-x-55mm.html ]drip strip[/url] on the outside will hopefully disguise this and keep water out