Wood Rot-Advice Needed-Not Shopbot related YET.

[scottp55]

Had a problem last year with my Therma-Tru stile caused by a Golden Pup I was babysitting 2 years ago using it as a chew toy in November. Applied Exterior stain the first time temperature allowed, but it must have been soaked inside or the Carpenter ant colony I killed last summer had already done the damage. Took my knife to it last August and the blade went in 3/4's of what you see here and the whole chunk just Popped out. Not loadbearing because of the 12" gluelam above.
I had ripped an Eastern White Cedar timber in half and cut to length and a Dado marked out and router bit bought and was going to spend a day chiseling to solid wood, making cedar replacement and epoxying it in, and then sistering the full length cedar.
BUT!!! This Little Blue Machine arrived .....and next thing I knew we had snow on the ground:(
About 25% worse now, and the couple dry days I remembered to slap some exterior stain on it probably just trapped the moisture in the punk.
And a health issue right now is preventing me from doing the Full job on it right now(with new Z upgrade was going to tile some vertical flutes in the cedar and a motif up top where it's directly under the overhang.

BUT, Now just want to stop rot from going any further, and possibly build the whole thing up.
Seem to remember FineHomebuilding having something like this in their ads, and getting lost in the Google searches because I've never done anything quite like this.
Anybody have a product they have used in the past and LIKED? Nights are getting into the 40's here and need to do something Quick!:(
The stuff isn't even Real Wood! Something like an MDF/OSB? in consistency.
Thanks,
scott

[feinddj]

If it's not real wood that's your first issue. Cedar,cypress or the like would be much more weather resistant. I'd tear the whole piece out and replace. If it's historic or whatnot and can't be removed, the folks at 3M make a stabilzer and a filler (that you use like Bondo) to rebuild the area.

If you want to eliminate the issue use PVC trim which simply won't rot at all. There are some issues with extreme cold and it must be prepped properly for paint. The pvc and the filler and the stabilizer can be had at any of the big box hardware stores.

David

[phil_o]

You might want to look at Minwax Wood Hardener.
http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/maintenance-repair/minwax-high-performance-wood-hardener
According to the web site it is "quick drying liquid formulated to strengthen and reinforce decayed or rotting wood.
Good luck.

Phil

[scottp55]

Watched a lot of vids and read a bit(should have done before posting).
Going to totally remove it tomorrow. Found some 10/4 teak and cedar scrap the right size(wish the Desktop wasn't down). And found a little WestMarine that should be enough to do the piece and still some for a sawdust mix.
Should get me through the winter.
Thanks Guys.

[bleeth]

Easiest and fastest temp fix is epoxy. Get the area good and dry first.
Regardless you will need to do a proper replacement at some point. Better before winter really hits than after!

[scottp55]

Thanks Dave, Getting tools together now and superglued(gel) upper Z prox back in so I can use R2 to cut the blank(going teak and scrap is too small for me to feel comfortable with the Uni). Going to rip the whole area out and do it right, as we've been dry 2 days and today is good. Got the hair dryer in place already:)

[scottp55]

Worse than I thought, on to good teak and plan "B".
More Coffee!:)

[genek]

Scott that looks like pine that has been glued up for the door facing. That should have never been used outdoors. I had the same problem.. Had to replace the whole frame. What I did when I replaced the frame was to seal and paint everything except the inside side.

[scottp55]

One more time in and out of 'chair, and I WILL be disabled.:)
See! it did turn into a Shopbot thing.
Smoked a collet and nut because of those pesky decimal critters. Boy, 3 seconds is a long time, and cooked teak smells a little like bittersweet chocolate.
Better than it was.
BoatLife LifeCalk "teak brown" was running out of daylight.

[genek]

One more time in and out of 'chair, and I WILL be disabled.:)
See! it did turn into a Shopbot thing.
Smoked a collet and nut because of those pesky decimal critters. Boy, 3 seconds is a long time, and cooked teak smells a little like bittersweet chocolate.
Better than it was.
BoatLife LifeCalk "teak brown" was running out of daylight.
Don't eat the teak... lol... would order new nut and Collete That got hot fast...
You did a very good job matching the parts...

[scottp55]

Thanks Eugene, Collet Nut and 1/8" were just about to get retired anyway:)
New ones already in drawer, time to order another spare set.
Funny, Didn't want to dull any new bits, so just used an ancient Eagle that was already distempered by using in my PC plunge years ago, Bit ran cool in CNC, where I was smokin' it in the plunge:)
The cat was watching me with great interest the whole time and liked having the front door wide open. Of course she doesn't pay the heating bills :)

[bleeth]

I don't know Scott-That interior grade Oak threshold doesn't look like it will stand up to time either. I would end up re-doing the whole jamb out of western red cedar (not that eastern non-cedar) or VG Douglas Fir. When you get to that point don't forget to back and end seal it before final install.

Problem with Teak (and don't ask how I know) is that although it doesn't rot it also doesn't hold finishes long term.

[scottp55]

Thanks Dave, 18yrs so far. Glad I've had to do as little as I have:)
If I could reach the whole thing from the wheelchair, probably do it next year(I need a lift Kit:)
Probably Teak oil 2-3 times next dry days and it will last the winter.