Mahogany Door bottom rotten. Fix or Replace.

[Don Morris]

241741241742241743This 20yr old beautiful Mahogany door developed discoloration at the bottom a couple years ago after I refinished it and coated it with Epiphanes poly. After a recent rain it swelled shut, with the bottom hitting the sill so tight I could hardly open it. LOML absolutely can't. The photos show what it looks like with the rubber sweeper removed. I could push an ice pick 3" up into it in one open hole place, and 1" to 2"s in the other two open hole areas. When I put my finger into the largest open hole area, it felt damp. Reparable? Forget it, replace it? LOML suggested even trying to repair and then paint it black. It's a heavy dude and other than the last 4" on the outside only, near the joint of bottom rail and stile (not sure of door terminology), still a gorgeous door. I've got a 3/8" piece of plywood up in the door opening now. I need to move on this soon. Thanks for ideas. I'm ready to replace, LOML isn't. She wants to hear what you guys think.

[Todd Burch]

By all means, repairable.

With my magnifying glass, I can tell this is a nice door. Epoxy is a whole lot cheaper than a new door. I would dry it out, turn it upside down and put two dowsings of epoxy in it mixed with some filler, and then fix the reason it continues to get wet before reinstalling it. If you build a masking tape fence, you might be able to get by without any refinish work.

To dry it out quickly, you can chisel out all the soft stuff, use a fan on it, and then make a filler piece that will be epoxied in, so you're not using a pint or quart of $ epoxy.

Todd

[John TenEyck]

It looks like there is no finish on the bottom of the door. Is that right? If so, that's the root of your problem. If it was finished then why is water being trapped at the bottom of the door? As the prior poster said, the finish on what you see looks pretty good, and I'd go with his recommendation to get it dry and then fill it with epoxy mixed with sawdust. If the bottom rail/stile joints arn't flush, clamp some stock on both side while the epoxy cures and it should look good afterwards. After you get the repair done, be sure to finish the bottom of the door several times. Epifanes Marine Varnish (not poly) is great stuff and typically lasts several years w/o maintenance (but not 20, or even 10) if you apply the recommended 7 coats per their instructions.

John

[Don Morris]

Opppps, meant to say Epifanes varnish, and yes I put the recommended 6 to 7 coats on. It may be the glare from the high intensity halogen lights that make the bottom look unvarnished. OK, will hollow out what come out easy. But is there a preferred type of epoxy that is used for this type of application? Thanks again. LOML says: "See, I told you it could be repaired".

[Todd Burch]

My preferred epoxy is the one I already have in my storage cabinet. You'll never see it. For this application - get whatever is handy. If this were a boat, I would put more thought into my reply. ;)

[Dell Littlefield]

I am not speaking from personal experience but have read quite a bit about "penetrating epoxy". A product called CPES sounded the best to me. You may want to take a look at it. Here is a recent page: http://www.rotdoctor.com/L/BoatL/bQA123.html

[Peter Quinn]

Look for smiths CPES to seal/ stop the rot, drive out the water. Fill with an epoxy filler, finish. Definetly repairable. I like Abatron wood epox for the filler, I get the CPES from Jamestown hardware. Don't throw out this door, I've fixed much worse. But you need to figure out why water is getting/staying there and eventually seal the moisture out.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Check the Liquid Wood and Wood Epox from Abatron. Restores structural integrity and will waterproof the bottom. I've used both with great results.

[Todd Burch]

I had another thought.

After you fit your filler piece in, drill through it into good wood in the bottom rails and hammer and epoxy some longish dowels in for more of a mechanical hold as opposed to just using glue. You can drill into different directions with two dowels for even more mechanical hold.

(I use West System epoxy, but that's a large initial outlay for the setup, but easy once you get it going).

(Yes, I've done this a couple times!)

[Ron Natalie]

Either fill it with epoxy or other wood stabilizer or cut out the rotted area and scab in a new piece. Either way it's going to be cheaper/nicer than replacing the door.
Make sure any raw wood on the bottom edge is protected. As for clear finishes, I'm preferring Sikkens Cetol Door and Window finish these days.

[Don Morris]

OK, I cut the 1/16" off the bottom in the area (which was the amount) that swelled. Can stick the ice pick in almost all along the bottom. Not much in some areas, but it's wet, and I chiseled out a 1" x 4" pit in the one area where it was worst, and there is still a lot of rot left. I figured I could be at this for a long time. How about this: I have a solid piece of Mahogany 40" X 2" X 8". I could cut the bottom 2" to 3" of the door off which probably (hopefully) would get me to solid wood. Deeper if needed. Custom fit and epoxy glue + Mcfeely screw a piece of the solid Mahogany onto the bottom. Treat with the Epifanes varnish and to cover the joint, place a brass plate over it. I think I've seen some brass plates about 4" wide. Looked very classy. I'll check on that. No one would see the joint. The only noticeable joint would be at the ends.

[Von Bickley]

OK, I cut the 1/16" off the bottom in the area (which was the amount) that swelled. Can stick the ice pick in almost all along the bottom. Not much in some areas, but it's wet, and I chiseled out a 1" x 4" pit in the one area where it was worst, and there is still a lot of rot left. I figured I could be at this for a long time. How about this: I have a solid piece of Mahogany 40" X 2" X 8". I could cut the bottom 2" to 3" of the door off which probably (hopefully) would get me to solid wood. Deeper if needed. Custom fit and epoxy glue + Mcfeely screw a piece of the solid Mahogany onto the bottom. Treat with the Epifanes varnish and to cover the joint, place a brass plate over it. I think I've seen some brass plates about 4" wide. Looked very classy. I'll check on that. No one would see the joint. The only noticeable joint would be at the ends.

That sounds like a plan....... That is what I would do.

[Frank Drew]

OK, I cut the 1/16" off the bottom in the area (which was the amount) that swelled. Can stick the ice pick in almost all along the bottom. Not much in some areas, but it's wet, and I chiseled out a 1" x 4" pit in the one area where it was worst, and there is still a lot of rot left. I figured I could be at this for a long time. How about this: I have a solid piece of Mahogany 40" X 2" X 8". I could cut the bottom 2" to 3" of the door off which probably (hopefully) would get me to solid wood. Deeper if needed. Custom fit and epoxy glue + Mcfeely screw a piece of the solid Mahogany onto the bottom.

Don, I've done this but at the top of a door; it worked out nicely and the applied piece is essentially invisible under paint. This was maybe twenty years ago, but if I remember correctly I used glue and dowels, not screws. I think this is a better approach than trying to salvage rotted wood.

FWIW, I wouldn't apply a brass kick plate to the outside face of the door.

I can't tell from the photos -- is the door solid mahogany or a skin of mahogany over some other core wood?