# Help! How do I fix rotten wood under door?



## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

pics,then we can walk you through it


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Pics of the door problem..*

Here they are...as you can see, it's rotten! I've cleared out alot of the the crumbled wood, but there's more to do...and I need to get the threshold out.


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Got the threshold out...yikes!*

Ok, here's the mess under the threshold!


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

You will need to pull the flooring up in the room back about 2 feet to access the structure under the door. You will probably need to replace the structure under and to either side of the door. If the floor joists run perpendicular to the door , the ends are probably rotten as well.
Pull the floor and post more pictures.
Ron


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

You got the sill out, next step is to get all of the mess cleaned up so were looking at foundation and what’s left of the wood


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Cleaned up- 2 5gallon pails later!*

Ok, I got all the crap out...here's some more pics. There is a solid something (railway tie maybe?) at the bottom...not rotten! Yay! I think it's sitting on concrete blocks..I see them from the outside under the walls.
Unfortunately, _under _the door jambs and walls isn't looking too good...crap! One thing leads to another in this joint! I can't replace under all the walls! Can I? 
It's weird, the floor is solid though? 
Suggestions fellas?
Thanks!


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## bob22 (May 28, 2008)

It might help to describe the pictures a bit. It is hard to guess what we're looking at.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Those pictures are a little to close up for me but long story short you need to replace the rotted wood with new. That means whatever is in the way of doing that must also be removed. Whether it’s the door, flooring, part of the deck, siding, whatever is in the way.

I always try to and usually am able to do these kind of repairs from the outside, not always possible though. I don’t like tearing up the inside of someone’s house if I can avoid it. 

A couple of stand back pictures would help from the outside and in.


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Pic descriptions*

In my last post, the first image is looking straight down into the space between the floor & the outside...the preen pain ted wood at the bottom is the originsl wood siding, long since covered with aluminum siding. You can see the floorboards on the other side.

The second image is taken outside looking into the doorway. This is the state of the wood under the edge of the floor. Not good.

The last image is the sides of the doorframe underneath..I stuck the camera in the space. You can see that the wood is bad under the door jambs and (probably) the walls. The dark green paint is the doorjamb.

I hope that helps...and hers a couple of further away shots too.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

I see you removing most of this wall. If there are windows on the wall, all of it will probably be removed.
Ron


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Fix, not destroy....*

Thanks Ron, but removing the wall is *not* an option. Hell, if that's the case, I might as well tear down the whole porch, and since I just spent a bundle of time & some money redoing it....not a chance! 
There has to be another way. 

What about pouring a mixture of gravel & concrete in there? That would solidify it...


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

never pour concrete onto untreated wood you have quite abit of work there but i like the way you talk,you will get it:thumbup:
like the others said you have to get back to solid wood and rebuild it back using treated lumber,3 1/2'' deck screws will help you attach blocking to the existing wood


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

glamgirrl said:


> Thanks Ron, but removing the wall is *not* an option. Hell, if that's the case, I might as well tear down the whole porch, and since I just spent a bundle of time & some money redoing it....not a chance!
> There has to be another way.
> 
> What about pouring a mixture of gravel & concrete in there? That would solidify it...


Pouring concrete in the hole would only accelerate the damage. 
You need to open the floor to see the extent of the damage and then repair it appropriately. If you don't, it will just continue to deteriorate.
Ron


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Floor is open! Might not be as bad as I feared...?*

I opened the floor as suggested...after a stiff shot to give me courage! LOL

It doesn't look as bad as I had feared, only the rim joist is rotten, and only the portion of it under the door and a bit under the walls. I think I can replace that section, joist to joist, and be OK. Now I need a pressure treated 2x8x8..figures, I have 2x6 & 2x4! 

Am I going to need to prop up the walls to do this? The whole wall is only 8', minus the doorway. The corners are on concrete thank goodness! And I was right, it looks like railway ties_ under_ the rim joist. It is dirt underneath, as I thought. Soft too.

So guys, am I on the right track? Replace that section of rim joist, and build the doorway back up with PT wood? Replace my floorboards with 3/4" ply, and then lay my new plank floor....sound right?
Thanks,
Cheryl


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Looks like you’re on the right tract to me.

If get one of the white boards on the wall out of the way you will be able to easily replace the rotted plate under the studs.

Have you thought about what you’re going to do to keep the water out of there from now on?


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

Thanks Ron,
I think I know where the water was getting in..right at the doorway. There were gaps on either side of the aluminum theshold which weren't properly caulked. And where the siding met the doorsill. I'm getting really friendly with ny caulking gun these days....that'll get fixed!


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

The last picture, is that termite damage or just a chunk out of the wood?
The rim joist generally is the framing member the floor joists are attached to. It is this support that the wall sits on. But your joists are attached to a framing member that's not even under the wall.
What's the wall supported by?
Ron


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Wall support? Not much at the moment!*

Here's some new pics- I just finished taking out all the rotten wood on the right side of the door(green). White is the wall. The wall appears to be sitting on 2x4's stacked and (hopefully) attached to yhr wood siding. Weird!

The missing chunk isn't termites..just me getting a little too eager with the pry bar...:huh:

I think I need to put in a temporary wall support while I clear out the other side of the doorway. Then I can install the new 2x8 joist and sister it at the joins. Sound about right?


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## glamgirrl (Feb 19, 2010)

*Update..much better now!*

I've finished fixing the rot problem. I used PT wood to rebuild under the walls and the door, so it shouldn't be an issue again, hopefully ever! I couldn't find a replacement aluminum threshold, so I built one out of oak and stained it to match the floor. I still have to install that, hopefullt tomorrow. I'm adding a 'skirt' to the bottom of the threshold to help keep the water from even _touching_ the aluminum siding. And I'll use lots of caulking in the right places this time. Whoever did it last didn't do very good job...but then that's par for the course I'm finding around here. 

I installed the pine plank floor this week- it's stained and has 2 coats of varathane on it as well...will add 2 more I think. I used a preconditioner for the pine (Minwax), then (Behr)deck stain actually(chocolate), really easy to brush on, and none of that wiping off the excess mess! It worked great! Plus, it already has sealer in it...so I'm just adding satin varathane for extra protection. 

Thank you fellas, for all your advice- I much appreciated it...even though it meant more work opening the floor...it was the right thing to do! :thumbsup:
Cheers,
DIY Frau


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

you did a beautiful job:thumbup:

have another shot:drink:you deserve it


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## Sandyon66 (Oct 6, 2014)

Filling of gap with concrete?
I have a similar problem in that the riser under my front door is rotted out and also the board (a 1X) behind the riser and there is rot into the sill and below the top step (a set of brick steps). I have removed all of the rotted and soft wood. It will be hard to fit new wood in the void as there is not much room to work and I do not want to have to move the brick front steps. I thought about pouring some concrete in there so that it is level with the top of the top brick step. I noticed that two posters above have written not to pour concrete onto/next to untreated wood.
Once I have dried everything out and removed any remaining soft wood, can I coat the surface with many coats of Minwax Wood Hardener or another product; and after letting it dry, pour concrete to fill the void? If not concrete, is there a waterproof foam or anything else that I can use to fill the void and be level with the top brick step? Then, I can fit in the board that goes behind the riser and the new riser.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Sure looks like old balloon style framing.
All that damage was caused because that piece of wood under the threshold stick out further then the threshold, No sill pan under the door and no flashing, wall was not waterproofed before adding the deck, no support under the part of the threshold that sticks out beyond the sheathing.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Sandyon66 Please go back and add your own post. Useless trying to answer two different posters questions, to confusing to everyone. Going to find this is true on any DIY site. 
And none of what you suggested will work.


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## jack45870 (Sep 17, 2014)

You need contact any carpenter, who will repairs your rotten by replacing with new one


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