Door jambs and casings
The sides of the frame the door closes against, and the trim around it. The bottom ends are where rot starts.
Door frame rot repair in Memphis.
Dario’s Painting repairs rotted door frames and trim on houses across Memphis and Shelby County: the bottom of door jambs, brick molding, casings and garage door trim. The soft wood is cut out and new boards go in, primed, then caulked and painted to match. The door stays: this is the wood around it. Dario prices it at a free on-site estimate.
- Free written estimates
- Dario writes every estimate
- Crews speak English & Spanish
In short
The bottom of a door frame rots first: it stands where rain splashes up, where mats hold water, and where the cut end of the wood soaks up moisture. Dario’s Painting cuts out the soft wood at door jambs, casings, brick molding and garage door trim, replaces it with new boards cut to fit, primes them, caulks the joints and paints them to match, then points out what let the water in. It repairs the wood around the door, not the door. There is no price list: it is priced at the free on-site estimate. Estimate visits are on weekdays from 11:30 to 1:30 and on Saturdays from 7am to 6pm.
What’s included
The wood around the door, cut out and replaced.
The estimate lists each repair, so you see what is being replaced before any wood comes off.
Brick molding and the threshold area
The trim between the frame and the brick, and the wood at the bottom of the doorway where mats and rain sit. Dario tells you at the visit what can be repaired and what needs a carpenter.
Garage door trim
The trim boards beside and above a garage door. The bottom ends take the splash from the driveway.
Signs your door frame is rotting.
Check the bottom foot of the frame. Rot at a door starts low, where the water collects.
Soft wood at the bottom of the frame
Press a screwdriver tip into the bottom of the jamb and casing. Sound wood pushes back. Rotted wood gives, or comes away in crumbs.
Paint bubbling or peeling low
Paint that bubbles, peels or stains dark within a foot of the step often means water is in the wood behind it.
Gaps at the caulk lines
Cracked or missing caulk where the trim meets the brick or siding lets water in behind the frame.
Soft or stained garage door trim
Trim beside the garage door that feels soft, or looks stained and swollen at the bottom end.
Stains just inside the door
Water marks on the floor or baseboard just inside can mean water is getting past the frame. Dario tells you at the visit if it goes further than the trim.
How it goes
From the soft jamb to the last coat.
Find how far the rot goes
At the visit, Dario checks the bottom of every door frame, the casings, the brick molding and the garage door trim for soft, swollen or crumbling wood and tells you what he finds.
The estimate
A written price for each repair, and for the painting if the house is getting painted too. Free, no obligation, and yours to keep.
Cut out the soft wood
The rotted wood is cut out, back to solid wood. If more rot turns up behind it, you hear about it before anything extra is done.
New boards, cut to fit
New boards are cut to fit the opening and fastened in place.
Prime
The new boards are primed, so water has a harder time soaking in.
Caulk and paint
The joints are caulked, then the new wood is painted to match the rest of the frame.
The water source
Dario points out what let the water in: splash-back, a mat that stays wet, a sprinkler, a downspout or a gap in the caulk. Left alone, the new wood gets the same water.
The walkthrough
You walk it with Dario and point at anything not right. It is fixed before the job is called done.
Most rot repair is done together with exterior painting. See exterior painting, trim, door and baseboard painting and how a job goes.
Rot in Memphis
Why door frames rot at the bottom.
Splash-back
Rain bounces off the porch, step or driveway and splashes the bottom of the frame, storm after storm.
Mats and leaves that stay wet
A thick doormat that stays wet against the threshold, or leaves piled in the corner, keep the bottom of the frame damp long after the rain stops.
End grain
The cut end of a board soaks up water like a straw, and the bottom of every jamb and casing is a cut end.
Humid air, rain and sprinklers
Memphis air is humid for much of the year and storms drop a lot of rain at once, so wet wood dries slowly. A sprinkler or downspout beside the door wets it again and again.
We repair rotted door frames across Memphis, East Memphis and the rest of Shelby County, including Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, Cordova, Arlington and Lakeland. See all the areas we paint.
Repair the frame, then paint the door.
The new wood is painted to match the rest of the frame. The door, the rest of the trim and the garage door can be painted at the same time. A repair can also be a job of its own. See trim, door and baseboard painting and exterior painting.
Door frames take the storm and the splash, so a soft jamb found in a wet month is still worth a visit. The finish coats go on in dry weather, and the best windows for outside painting in Memphis are mid-September through October and April and May (see when to paint an exterior in Memphis). Dario schedules around the forecast.
What this repair is, and what it is not.
Dario repairs the rotted wood around a door. The door itself, building a new frame from scratch, and garage door tracks and openers are not part of this repair. If the frame is structurally gone, if the door no longer closes because the frame has moved, or if water damage reaches inside the wall or floor, Dario will tell you at the visit that it needs a carpenter or a door company before any painting.
Price
What door frame repair costs.
There is no price list for rot repair. Dario prices it at the free on-site estimate, because the price depends on how far the rot goes.
How far the rot goes
A soft bottom corner is a small job. Rot that runs up a whole jamb, or along several doors, is a bigger one.
How many doors
A house with a front door, a side door and a garage has three places to check. The estimate lists each repair.
What turns up
Rot can hide behind a board. Anything that could not be seen at the visit is quoted separately, and nothing is done about it without your approval.
For the paint itself, the exterior painting page has national cost ranges by house size and siding.
How much does door frame rot repair cost?
There is no price list. It is priced at the free on-site estimate, because the price depends on how far the rot goes and how many doors have it. Dario looks at it with you and leaves you a written price.
Can you fix the rotted bottom of a door frame?
Yes. The soft wood at the bottom of the jamb or casing is cut out and replaced with new boards, primed, caulked and painted to match, and the door stays.
Do you replace doors or whole door frames?
No. Dario repairs the rotted wood around a door. Replacing a door, building a new frame, or fixing a frame that has moved so the door will not close is a job for a carpenter or a door company.
Can you repair rotted garage door trim?
Yes. Soft trim boards beside and above a garage door are cut out and replaced with new boards, primed, caulked and painted to match. The door, the tracks and the opener are not part of this repair.
What makes the bottom of a door frame rot?
Water that sits there: rain splashing up off the porch or driveway, a doormat or leaves that stay wet, sprinklers, downspouts and cracked caulk. Dario points out the water source so the new wood stays dry.
Can you just paint over a soft door frame?
No. Paint does not stop rot. Put over soft wood, it cracks and peels, and the wood keeps rotting under it. The rotten part comes out first; then the new wood is primed and painted.
Helpful guides
Before you decide.
How to paint trim and doors
Baseboards, casings, interior doors and a front door: prep, sheen, weather and color.
Paint sheen guide
Flat to gloss, eggshell vs satin, and which sheen goes in each room.
When to paint an exterior
Label temperatures, dew point, rain and Memphis weather by month: the best windows for outside work.
More from Dario’s Painting
All servicesThe rest of what we do.
Exterior painting
Brick, siding, stucco and wood: washed, scraped and primed where needed, then two coats.
Learn more
Trim, doors and baseboards
Baseboards, crown, casings, doors and exterior trim, caulked and primed, then two coats.
Learn more
Brick painting
Brick washed first and painted with a product matched to masonry.
Learn more
Pressure washing
Houses, driveways, patios, decks and fences, washed clean of dirt, mildew and pollen.
Learn moreAreas we paint
Memphis, East Memphis, Cordova, Bartlett, Germantown, Collierville, Arlington and Lakeland.
Areas we paintFree estimate
Dario looks at the job with you and leaves you a written price. Free, and yours to keep.
Free estimatePick a visit time
Choose the day and time for the free estimate visit first, then tell us where to come.
Book the visit
Free estimate
Get a free door frame repair estimate.
Answer a few short questions and Dario calls you back to book the walkthrough, usually within the hour between 7am and 7pm. Or call now and talk to him directly.
Rather pick the time yourself? Pick a visit time online (weekdays 11:30 to 1:30, Saturdays 7am to 6pm). dario@dariospainting.com · 7am to 7pm, seven days