Advice on Pella Wooden Slider?

[Gebo]

I have Pella windows and sliding doors. One of the sliding doors is starting to "rot". We have curtains on the inside and you never really see as it is in my bedroom. Just a door to let the Schnauzers and Weenie dog out.
It's not soft and you cannot push your finger in to damage it. It's still very tough. It is slightly deformed but not bad.

It there something you would recommend to help this situation? It has 2 panes of glass and I can remove the inner glass panel.


Maybe drench it with some elixer? I don't have the money to replace the door at present or the foreseeable future.

Should I use Group II or Full Synthetic? Just pour and let is soak it's way down?

Oh, Pella did confess to this being a problem but I am out of warranty as these doors were installed in 1994.

 

[97prizm]

Home depot sells a two part wood rot repair looks like an epoxy.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

I had the same problem with that door which was installed in a new house in 1999.Otherwise. it was a well built unit. In my opinion, Pella products are overpriced and overrated.

 

[tomcat27]

I cant see the extent of the damage from the photo, but I would scrape and sand the loose finish, patch as needed, and put a couple coats of polyurethane on there to prevent future moisture from causing more problems. I have a few windows with similar damage - which is our fault for not finishing the wood. (your appears to have a finish on it, but weathered) In my case, I made the mistake of trusting my wife: if I replace the 23 windows, she would apply the finish. she never did. fortunately I only used wood windows for 6 of the 23; the remainder are Pella's non-wood product. It resembles fiberglass, and is maintenance free.

 

[Donald]

For boats there is Git-rot. Its epoxy based. But that is onside so it started on outside.

I put in some Jeldwen patio door that were fiberglass.

Do you have a gutter?

We discovered that without a gutter over the sections with doors too much water was bouncing back at the doors.

 

[walterjay]

I would dig out the rotted wood and fill it in with a good wood filler and than urethane over.

 

[Gebo]

This is where the water condensed between the 2 glasses. I was thinking I could pour something on that horizontal wood strip between the 2 glasses. Let it soak down and saturate the rotting portion.

 

[demarpaint]

That is a common problem unfortunately. Moisture often enters from two points. The ends at the bottom of the glass seal, and from the bottom of the door where it contacts the track. Another problem is the actual wood used to make these doors, it is young timber which in simple terms, sucks! All the old timber is long gone unfortunately.

Regarding the repair. I use these two products. The first product seals and hardens the wood. Wood Hardner..

The second product is the filler. Filler. You can also use carpenters wood filler which is not as strong but does accept stain a little better.

What I would do is hog out the rotted wood, and sand the area. Put painters tape forming a border around the rotted area, go a little higher and wider and apply the hardner being careful not to get too much on the tape. Once it starts to set remove the tape and allow it to dry. Once dry apply the filler, allow it to harden and refill as needed, overlapping slightly over the hardner. The reason for that is the hardner doesn't accept stain. One dry sand and clean it, get a stain one to two shades lighter than the stain you have, test it and stain the area. The filler tends to stain darker, so you might have to play around with it. When that dries scuff sand the door and apply two coats of Marine Spar Varnish in the finish you like, satin or high gloss. Taking the door down is always better but, you be the judge.

Another way is to actually remove the bottom section, carefully. Use it for a template, make a new section using the old gaskets and seals. That is not an easy job, and you'd need some nice woodworking tools, patience and woodworking skills. Either way good luck!

If you have any questions PM me if you'd like.

 

[Amkeer]

You are going to need to replace the doors. Leaking is bad especially since you have what appears to be a raised, wood, floor system. When you take the doors out you may have rot underneath that may need to be repaired. You may also have rot at the lower corners and up the sides about a foot. No easy solution to this fix as I come across it many times. When you get everything fixed make sure you put a gutter up if you don't already have one since you are getting what appears to be significant splash from rain.

The deck in the picture also contributes to the problem. The problem with Pella Clad Series is its a aluminum over wood system. If its in an area of heavy moisture they will rot. Pella has told me they rectified this issue. We will see. Good luck.