Wind Caused Damage to Front Door Frame...Help?

agentphish · 03-05-2011, 10:55 AM

I live un PA and about 2 weeks ago we had very bad wind storm and got 60mph gusts. My screen door was blown open and caused the damage to the door frame you see here.

I am wondering what the best way to fix this would be? Do you suggest cutting that damage out of that piece of wood out and putting in a new block? Or should I be looking at replacing the entire strip of wood from the top to the bottom of the door?

I'm pretty good with DIY projects but I have never encountered anything like this and have never actually worked with doors. Based on the photos below and looking at the edge of that piece of wood, it would seem that I could pop that whole piece off top to bottom with a hammer and chisel and simply affix a new one and of course caulk the awful cracks I see around the door while doing so, then give it a coat of paint.

I am attaching several photos I took of the frame. Thank you for any help you can provide.
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Jackofall1 · 03-05-2011, 11:09 AM

I would just take the closer bracket off, remove the damaged area, replace with new wood piece fit to the size of the area removed, glued and screwed into place.

Mark

agentphish · 03-05-2011, 11:14 AM

That's what I was thinking at first. Would you have a suggestion on the type of wood I should get as a replacement?

Thanks!

Jackofall1 · 03-05-2011, 11:18 AM

You could use oak but then make sure you use pilot holes before trying to drive screw in, another trick when driving screws into hardwood is pilot the hole and then roll the screw in soap, soap will lubricate the screw, so it won't break on its way in.

Mark

agentphish · 03-05-2011, 11:19 AM

Yes I have used the soap trick before. Thank you for the quick advice. I was hoping it would be as easy as replacing the spot that is damaged. Take care Mark.

Ron6519 · 03-05-2011, 08:07 PM

Move the pneumatic closer to a new location and patch the hole.
Ron

agentphish · 03-05-2011, 08:19 PM

I ended up taking off the mounting hardware and really checking out the damage before I do anything. I got some wood filler and really got it in there deeply and essentially filled in everything that was bad looking.

Overall it wasn't as bad as I thought.

I will just drill some pilot holes and put 3" wood screws back in and replace the door closer. It looks just fine at this point.

Thanks for the suggestions.

agentphish · 03-13-2011, 02:46 PM

So when I went to repair this a few days later, it appeared the filler didn't help. It didn't harden, the package said it wont in temps under 40F and it has been just warmer than that, perhaps I need to wait until Spring really kicks in?

I have no real experience using wood filler in this application, so if someone could advise that would be helpful.

I'm not sure I can cut the damaged place out because the wood does have a groove in it where the weather stripping fits along the rear edge, so I'm not sure how i'd handle that. From what I can tell it's all an integrated frame piece so I probably can't replace just that one part.

handy andy · 03-14-2011, 05:37 PM

1. I can't help with the the wood filler problem except to suggest trying a sample at normal room temperature overnight. If it hardens, then your door repair may have to wait. Some materials fail if they sit around too long! I have had silicone that did not harden up!

2. How securely you can attach your door holder will depend what wood the screws can grab into. I suggest screws 1 inch longer that your original screws. There should be a stud next to the door frame.

Cutting out and replacing part of the door frame should be a last resort only!!!!