How can I repair rotted wood in vinyl clad door?

10 years ago

I have 1987 Anderson vinyl clad sliding doors. On side has evidently rotted from below due to water infiltration (I also see small ants.) The doors are still perfectly operable and I am not ready to change it as there are five that match. So how can I repair it? Do I need to cut into the vinyl and fill with some kind of composite wood filler? Thanks for any advice.

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Comments (5)

mike_kaiser_gw
10 years ago
You can get new parts from Andersen. I'm in the process of replacing a jamb. I also ordered the appropriate weatherstrip for the jamb and the two pieces for the operating door (where it meets the fixed panel). The bill was about $200.

I have an extra new left side (when viewed from the outside) operating jamb in terratone (which is color I think you have). If it's something you can use, we could work out deal.
kitasei
Original Author
10 years ago
Replacing the jamb would be my last resort since it means disassembling the frame and reinstalling, no? I'm hoping for a quick and cheap fix.
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live_wire_oak
10 years ago
The quick and cheap fix is invariably the wrong fix for just about any situation. It's always harder to do the right thing, but it still remains the right thing to do.
kitasei
Original Author
10 years ago
Don't be so dismissive of cheap and easy! There are many times when it makes time to arrest a problem (in this case, the water infiltration and spreading rot), insure basic structural integrity (replacing the rot with a material strong enough to support the frame and whatever other function it does), and let go of the rest. A homeowner facing multiple costly issues can't go to the mat with every one. The "right" thing to do would obviously be to replace the door, which in the end would be 4-5000. But it couldn't match the other four - which I don't like anyway. Until I'm ready to replace all of them, I just want to buy time with this one. The question is, do I cut the vinyl as if it were wood and replace the section with wood? Or do I inject foam, concrete, or stuff wood filler inside the vinyl, teasing it back to its original shape like a car dent? Should I just cover it with a piece of metal? Or is replacing the jamb (if Andersen even stocks it for this door) less of an ordeal than I think? Thanks for any positive advice to address this so I can focus on bigger problems -- leaking roof, broken drains, and saturated slab :)
rwiegand
10 years ago
Swapping out a door like this can be done in a couple hours-- I think that is actually the cheap and easy solution in this case. I messed around with various epoxy fillers, making dutchmen, etc for months before seeing the light. I had the same problem, and it turned out that Andersen replaced the doors for free even though they were long out of warranty, apparently a known defect. (I read them the numbers off the door, they said we'll send you new doors, no other questions asked) I swapped three new doors in in a day, including repainting the trim. Assuming the prep work was done right the first time around putting an exact replacement in is pretty straightforward, though it would have been faster and easier with two people.

I wasted a lot more time than that in trying to patch the problem.