Replace or repair wooden rotted door?

Wooden made doors often rot after a few years of usage due to exposure to the humid weather. Rotting typically starts at the bottom area that is the closest to the ground. It’s commonly seen there because it prevents flooding and other forces of nature from entering your home. Too much water contact with the door makes the wood weak after some years. The continuous work of wooden doors against the water originates they need for door replacement or repair. But homeowners often confuse what to choose between replacement or repair. To make this simple the following guide is created.

1.  Examining the door

The first and foremost thing to do is examining the door to find out the extent of the rot. Your door rot may look very small from outside, but the rotting process could have destroyed all the wood from inside. If you see wood powder falling out of the door, it simply means the rot has become severe and need a quick repair. Other signs such as yellow, brown color on door, rooted up paint, bump in wood also indicates the rotting problem in the door.

2.  Repair or replace

There are only two options to remove the rot from the door — Repair and replace, both are imperative. The only thing is, to know the actual need for repair or replacement

Your wooden door need to get repair only if

1. The rot happened at the bottom of the door including doorsill, and doorjamb.
2. The rot is not too large.
3. Your wooden door is not too old.
4. There are no large bumps on the door

Your wooden door need to get an entire replacement only if

1. There are large rots on different places on the door.
2. The door is too old.
3. You get a rot repair in past and rot happened again.
4. The sides of the door and frame have been damaged, giving ugly look to the entrance.

3. Replacing the rotted wooden door

If your door frame has become warped, skewed, damaged, and ineffective, you should replace it. Similarly, you may need to replace a door frame if rotted, when installing a new door in an existing doorway.  Replacement of the door should be done only by a trained professional. If you try to replace the current door on your own. You may end up wasting your time and money due to the faults you have done in the replacement process. These may be not measuring the hinge placement on the frame, getting a wrong length or breadth of the door, damaging the frame, etc. However, if you still want to do it on your own

1. You should measure the length and breadth of the door frame and door at first.
2. You should know the basics of installing a door e.g, what things to do first
3. You should be comfortable enough with the usage of saw, pliers, nail, hammer, screwdrivers, installation of hinges, etc.
4. A single person cannot install a new door, he always needs the help of the second person.

4. Process of installing a custom made new door

• Open the wooden door and unscrew the hinges to remove the door from the frame
• Measure the thickness of the wooden door before ordering.
• Order the new door with the exact length and breadth that is needed.
• Measure the placement of the hinges of the door and write it on a paper. You will need this while installing the new door.
• Examine the lock edge on the wooden door frame so that it can be attached properly on the door.
• You can also order the new door with the dimension exact to the old door.
• When you receive your new door, install the hinges on the door.
• Install the lockset by inserting it into the cutout in your new door. Test the door to ensure it swings properly.

4. Repairing the wooden rotted door

Repairing the wooden door is another solution to get rid of the rot on the door. Repairing the wooden door is a lot easier than replacing the entire door. There are many methods by which the repair of the wooden door can be done.

1. Wood filler: Wood filler is widely used due to its wonderful results and convenience. Wood fillers can be used in larger rots too. All you need a Bondo wood filler and hardener to do the wood repair.
   1. Remove the rot with chisel or screwdriver
   2. Mix the Bondo wood filler with the wood hardener
   3. Apply this mixture on the affected area of wood.
   4. Let it hardens for 1-2 hours.
   5. Remove the excess filler
   6. Paint the door.
   7. Read our detailed guide with exact execution steps here (How do you by tray wood rot in Bathroom Door)
2. Replacement of the affected area:  Replacement of the wood is done where damage is too much to repair with wood filler or proxy filler. In those cases, the affected wood is replaced with a new piece of wood. To do this
   1. Mark the affected area with a marker
   2. Cut the is with the help of a saw and take the entire part out.
   3. Take a new wood and stick it on the affected place with the help of glue.
   4. Fill the oid places with filler
   5. Sand the replacement at last.
   6. Read our detailed guide on replacement of wood with exact execution steps here (How to repair bathroom door jamb)
3. Epoxy filling: Epoxy is the perfect material to make permanent repairs of rotting wooden doors, door jambs or any wooden made material that are difficult to remove and expensive to replace. Epoxy is easy to handle too
   1. Investigate the Extent of the Rot on the wooden door
   2. Remove the rotted area from
   3. Apply Liquid Wood Epoxy Consolidant on the affected area
   4. Mix the Epoxy
   5. Fill the Wood Cavity with Exterior Wood Filler
   6. Overfill the Area with Epoxy again
   7. Smooth it with Sandpaper
   8. Finish the work with Paint

5. Conclusion

Repair or replacement of a wooden door is necessary to increase the sense of security and to prevent unwanted things to get inside the house. Wood, for all its positive attributes, can lose much of its value if it develops cracks or other major defects. So, a homeowner should always be careful of any kind of rot. Because they can lower the efficient usage of materials and result in low-strength or even dangerous structures. Please visit MCL Flooring for more articles on wooden floors, wooden floor repair and wooden doors.