Press your finger against the bottom corner of your exterior door frame from the outside. Does it feel solid? Or does it give slightly, feeling soft or spongy under pressure?
That soft spot isn’t just cosmetic damage. It’s wood rot eating away at your door frame from the exterior, and it’s actively spreading while compromising your home’s security and energy efficiency.
The 3 Minute Exterior Wood Rot Detection Test
You don’t need special tools to find wood rot on your exterior door frames. Here’s what to do right now:
Step outside with a flathead screwdriver and inspect your exterior door frames from the outside. Focus on the bottom 12 inches where rain and ground moisture hit directly.
Gently press the screwdriver tip into the wood at several spots, especially corners and joints. Use light pressure, you’re not trying to stab the wood. Solid wood resists firmly. Rotted wood feels soft and the screwdriver sinks in easily, sometimes without any effort at all.
Look for discoloration like dark stains, gray areas, or wood that looks darker than the surrounding frame. This often indicates moisture that’s causing or about to cause rot.
Check for paint bubbling or peeling especially at the bottom of the exterior frame. Paint fails first on the outside where moisture attacks from rain and weather. Underneath that bubbled exterior paint, you’ll often find rotted wood.
Feel for texture changes by running your hand along the frame. Rotted wood sometimes feels rougher or more crumbly than solid wood, even under paint.
Found soft spots? You have wood rot. The question now is how much, and how fast it’s spreading.
How Bad Can Wood Rot Really Get?
Start with a soft spot the size of a quarter at the bottom corner. Within a year, it can spread to encompass the entire bottom section of the frame. Within two years, it can climb up the sides and compromise the structural integrity of your entire door frame.
Rotted exterior frames can’t hold screws. Your strike plate pulls loose, making the door easy to kick in and compromising your home security. Hinges sag as their mounting points weaken. The door stops closing properly, creating gaps that let in weather and pests while increasing your energy bills.
In severe cases, rot spreads from the exterior door frame through the wall into your home’s interior structure. Now you’re looking at major repairs involving wall framing and potential interior damage, not just the door frame.
The Real Fix Requires Removing Rotted Wood Completely
You can’t repair rotted wood. You can only remove it and replace it with solid material. Any repair method that leaves rotted wood in place is temporary at best.
Small areas can be cut out and filled with epoxy wood filler designed for structural repairs. Larger sections need complete replacement with new wood that’s been properly sealed and protected against future moisture.
The key is removing every bit of compromised wood, treating the surrounding area to stop spread, and then rebuilding with materials and techniques that prevent rot from returning.
Next, we’re showing you the complete process for repairing door frame wood rot, including the specific materials and techniques that actually work long term.