Fix Rotted Door Frame (Brickmold)

Thx Amigo,, great video

Pro-Tip and How to Deal With Clients and Prospects... ALL wood to be seated onto an area subject to moisture or rain - I cut the board short by 1/8” so there is a gap to be filled in by an elastomeric bead which will adhere to the wood and bottom surface and it will yawn and stretch with expansion and contraction. I also use a modern primer on the two ends of the board (entire board both sides if pine) so it will be likely far more permanent of a solution. No bugs, no moisture wicking into the bottom edge of the board. Everyone wins. I also recommend to premium client a PVC (Azek) trim board in lieu of wood which remarkably are perfectly stable. These surfaces also never need repainting except for color change. Goodbye uneven and ugly surfaces and unstable knots which crack through eventually. BTW for knots, I used an oscillating blade to wide the cracks, prime it, fill it in with elastomeric, prime all of it and paint over. The biggest mistake is filling a wood surface with a hard compound. The board expands and contracts naturally and the hardened compound won’t move with this and cracks appear. If you take a moment to explain the two ways to do it and why the method you use is more durable, they just keep calling you for everything and refer you to their friends. People want to feel they found a gem. Marketing 101. 51% of what matters is client communication which must be honest and keep it very short. Blabbing on is a turn off. Don’t brag, just BRIEFLY explain why you prefer one over another. If its more than 30 seconds, it’s too long. No one wants a lecture. Once the bond of trust with that client is sealed, they trust you, no need to explain much after.

I have the type of brick mold shown on your video ' fix rotted door frame (Brick mold). I want to install storm doors, but several 'local' contractors(?) have told me it's impossible without removing the existing brick mold and replacing it with a new type. I also have vinyl siding with 'J' trim surround. I think I'm being 'zoomed'. Could you please advise?
Your video is excellent. Thanks.

Great job! Wouldn't it have been a better idea to replace all of the brick mold since your patch is PVC, this would eliminate having to paint, or at the very least, eliminate the patch line?

+0 upholstery

...mm YIKES ! come on now - you wasted loads of time and it looks very bad... Just remove the two pieces of brick mold and install new ones . the repair you did looks very bad . But of course what do I know since I was only a carpenter for 35 years installing high end cabinets and trim work .

Would it be possible to use screws? I don’t have a brad nailer handy

Don't spend a dollar to save a dime, as in time is expensive, material is cheap.. The use of PVC brick molding is an excellent choice for wet NW locations.

Had a similar problem and fixed it in a similar way. I filled the cavity behind the brick molding with Great Stuff plus caulk.

Great tutorial on how to repair wood rot. Your explanations help to make the DIYer more confident in trying out this repair. Do you have a tutorial on how to repair a rotted door threshold? As in your videos, the threshold on my exterior door is made from a combination of an aluminum plate and wood underneath that supports the adjustable threshold. All the wooden components have rotted, but it is impossible to replace it and the aluminum plate (I have a patio style door with one fixed side and this aluminum plate extends underneath the immovable side as one solid piece). To replace this threshold would seem to me to require removing this whole patio doorway. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

This man is showing a budget friendly solution. He's solving water creep on 2 doors with a budget of one side of one door. The J channel is the issue. Thanks poster!

Thanks for the video. This is exactly what I needed. I am a beginner carpenter/handy daughter trying to fill in for dad who passed away, I need to be able to fix more around the house. We had a local guy install another door frame and door because door had other issues. However, inside the building which was a garage there is open space between the garage and the door jamb. what can I put into this empty space? I might need to send a picture.

I watched your video twice. (Watch twice, repair once). I would not have really known all your hints and techniques, and the repair on one side of the door was done in half an hour. I'm really happy to have moved up a notch on the handyman scale. Thanx!!

Thank you so much for sharing your excellent informative DIY projects. Your videos are very detailed and the visuals are excellent as well. Not blurry, unfocused, shaky, etc... I'm very happy that I found your Channel, I'm definitely going to watch many more of your videos.
I sure appreciate your sharing your expertise and wonderful skills that really helps a new like myself, especially after these skyrocketing prices for materials, doesn't leave enough funds for hiring a pro any more.
Thank you so much. Have a wonderful weekend. A SoCal gal fan. 😃👋✌️

u shud have painted it before putting it in ! :)

Looks like you had treated 2x material for the jambsn which unfortunately may require a full season to dry before priming and painting? Curious why you didnt use pvc or regular lumber with bondo/epoxy coat for quicker painting instead?

This was a great help. The PVC board will help with my similar problem. Do you have a video on repairing rusted out metal door? At this same door the bottom of the door has rusted out. Hoping it can be salvaged. Thanks

That why masons try to give at least 4 to 6 inches to the threshold water will always win

I've watched a number of your informative videos, including your ad for your consulting services. I have a very rotted door frame that I would like to discuss but I don't see contact information on your website for your consulting services. Please advise. Thank you, S.

How do you know how far back the rot actually goes? And how can you tell if the rot is part of the foundation? We’re working on replacing some dilapidated brick steps on our house, (125 year Old farmhouse) and there is wood rot all under the brick and around the door frame. I’m concerned that the foundation is compromised, but I’ve no way of knowing without digging it all out, and possibly causing a bigger problem. Any ideas?

As a homeowner who has let a handful of repairs stack up, I've watched more than a few of your videos. You seem like a really nice guy who's patient and good at everything. You should be an instructor somewhere.

Using pvc brick mold, any issues during cold weather creating a big gap where the PVC butts against the wood?

Thanks, you have a new subscriber!

A lot simpler to just replace all the brick mold!

Honest Carpenter, I will be making a similar repair for a customer and would like to know if you would recommend just replacing the bottom portion of the brick molding like you did in this video or just replacing the entire brick molding? I am thinking that it would be easier to just replace all of the brick molding in order to avoid using a multi-tool to make several special cuts.

Ethan's videos are so good I'm always tempted to click "Like" within the first few seconds before he actually explains anything, because I just know what's coming is gonna be awesome.

house looks filthy reframe new door

problem is carpenter ants

Thanks a lot for your amazing and useful advice. It really helped me to make a correct decision thanks to your advise in your video.

A second plunge cut an inch or two below the top cut helps with the splintering problem. The top cut needs to be nice and square so it looks good when the repair is done. The lower cut doesn't need to be precise since it is only to help avoid splintering into the remaining trim when you pry out the bad part.

Very helpful. Thanx.

Random question, but what about flashing below the door jam between the deck? How is that suppose to fo

Couldn’t the homeowner at least clean his door up a little bit, before all this work is being done?

Wow couldn’t the homeowner at least clean the door area up a little bit that’s a really sore point for me

Thanks for this. You just saved me $$ and turned me on too a really cool multi tool. It's awesome. It took me only about 30 min to do this repair. I had a handy man tell me it was easier and cheaper to just replace the whole door with would have been over $600. This cost me $190 including buying a really nice DeWalt Multi Tool. Thank you.

Excellent video. Keep up the good work.

Priming and painting the wood used for the door jam, particularly on the bottom where the fibers are open would keep future rot out. Same goes for exterior doors; always paint the bottom before installing.

Why don't use plastic that will rott again!

Love the videos! But is a 3 1/2" nail really considered a "trim nail"? Just a vocabulary question for the carpenters...

Dude.. just replace the full piece of brick mould.

How did you cut the slot for the weatherstripping to snap into new jamb?

Good video. The question is ... how much would you charge for doing that job? .... There are people who think that you are going to charge $ 50 dlls .. and it is not like that for that job I would charge a minimum of $ 180 dlls. or what do you think

Just replace all the brickmold with PVC. Home Depot sells pre cut kits for just over $30. You may have to cut to fit your exact door, but would be easier than making those plunge cuts and risk a poor cut. Then you don't have to worry about any other parts rotting out and it will all match each other. The PVC kit is also paintable to your desired color.

Two thoughts;

First, my son will always tell me when operating a power tool to cut wear safety glasses (yes, I had to be driven once to a immediate care facility to get my eyes flushed while sawing something and my son won't let me forget it.

Two: My dad would have cut that on a 45 degree angle for joining two pieces. He was the son of a Swedish carpenter and they always seemed to join wood on 45 degree angles.

I tend to cut the old material upward at an angle and the new piece at the exact opposite angle then slide the new piece up under the exiisting wood. It makes for a smoothe transition if you cut it right

Keep the wood from contacting the cement or what ever the surface material is ramp silicone or water and uv protected construction adhesive around the edge to repel water. Can use epoxy or fiberglass resin to cover the bottom few inches all the way around the new wood before installing it

Here’s a tip I use… When using wood brick mould/jamb make sure your use a primer or paint on the bottom 3 inches to help seal it and “help” with future water repelling to assist with rot.


Great videos

Where do you get this type of molding pvc

A contractor told me I’d have to replace the entire door frame

That was very Helpful ty🍂