A customer hired me to work through a punch list for her. One of the things on the list was fixing her front door. The door jambs and the sill to her side light were rotten. Previously, someone had attempted to repair it by using some type of filler material. But over time, additional weather and UV light had further damaged the repair. And now it was an eye-sore.
To be completely transparent, this was the first time I had worked on an entry door with a side light. So, it was a bit intimidating. I wasn’t exactly sure how the door and window were framed together. Nevertheless, my previous construction experience gave me enough confidence to accept the challenge. I just had to be deliberate and cautious enough to avoid making a mistake that would create a bigger issue in the process.
As I cut away the rotten material, it became obvious how the door was constructed and what I needed to repair it. It was like a puzzle; there was an order to the steps.
Now, I simply had to cut to size and install the new pieces. Then make the repair weather-tight by filling all joints and nail holes with wood filler, sanding everything smooth, caulking any remaining gaps, and painting the door.
It did surprise me that I needed to repair the concrete sill around the threshold and side light. During the demo, I broke some loose concrete. It was a relatively easy fix; but unexpected, nonetheless.
Some of you may notice that in the final picture, the trim piece on the face of the right door is missing. I did install it. But I forgot to take a true final picture. The posted picture is the most complete one I have.
When I finished, the door looked nearly brand new; like nothing had happened, which of course, was the goal. And the homeowner was delighted with the repair. I count this as a win!
As always, thanks for reading about this project. I hope you enjoyed the post and learned something new.
If you’re in the Oviedo, Florida area and have a project you really don’t want to tackle yourself, I would be happy to stop by, take a look at what you have going on, and discuss possible options that might work for you.
I thoroughly enjoy producing quality work and making sure that you’re satisfied with the project before I leave. It’s the only way I want to do business.
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