Replace Rotted Door Panel

Lift the door up and tilt it toward you.

Replace rotted door panel.

Pry the molding off using the chisel. Place it flat across two sawhorses. Rotten moldings or panels 1. Remove the door from the opening by grasping it with both hands on either side of the door.

Mix polyester wood filler or bondo wood filler and press it into the recess with a putty knife. Rot infested framing or mudsills pose a much bigger problem but before you can fix it you have to find it. To repair rotted door frame first remove rotted wood with a 5 in 1 or other sharp tool. What makes the front door so vulnerable to wood rot.

Http bit ly dewaltmultitool porter cable multitool. When the bottom of the door clears the track at the bottom lower. The door threshold the kick plate below the door and the door jambs wrapping an exterior door. Dewalt 20v oscillating multitool my new one.

Then coat the rotted door frame area with wood hardener as shown. Wood rot occurs when there is a high level of water and a food source wood. If decay is confined to a small non structural area you can treat it with a wood consolidant such as a. It s a fairly inexpensive job with around 50 for parts.

With screwdriver or awl in hand scrutinize areas that are nearly horizontal and don t drain well such as windowsills drip caps and water tables. Insert a putty knife between the molding and the side of the door frame where it is attached to the door. How to use epoxy on wood for repairs. Pull out any remaining nails.

Fortunately rotted trim is generally easy to repair. Remove the door from the hinges using a drill driver. For damage that s less likely to affect the door s structural strength i may simply replace the damaged area with a dutchman patch. Affiliate tool links for this video.

If the door will be painted there are more options. The goal for this project was to find a solution to replace the rotted panels without having to replace the whole bottom section of the door frame included. That s why it s important to inspect your front door every year and repair rotted wood door bottom as quickly as possible. The bottom row of panels on a garage door had rotted due to ground moisture penetrating in the cracks.

Replacing rotted wood panels on a garage door.