How to fix wood strip between brick wall and sliding glass door frame?

CaptM

The panel of timber between the brick wall and glass sliding door frame is beginning to rot at the bottom. How do I best fix this problem and then (hopefully) seal the problem area to prevent water ingress? Obviously just sealing now (from the outside and/or inside) won't fix the timber problem.

JacobZ

Hi @CaptM,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

Unfortunately, you're always going to have issues with that timber until the source of the water ingress is dealt with. As long as moisture can get in behind the timber, there isn't really anything you can apply to the front face that will prevent the problem from returning.

Would you be able to upload some photos showing the outside of the brick wall and the area around the sliding door? It would be good to see where the water could potentially be getting in so we can offer some advice on addressing it. Stopping the water entering from outside is the most important thing you can do. It may just require a bit of polyurethane sealant applied on the outside, or it could be a larger drainage issue that would need a more robust solution.

Once the source of the moisture has been dealt with, the rot looks relatively minimal at this stage. You should be able to simply sand the affected timber back to sound material, then prime and paint it. Once the paint has dried, you could also seal along the bottom edge with silicone to help prevent moisture entering around that junction, but keep in mind this will only stop water coming from the inside.

The main thing, though, is to deal with this from the outside first. From what we can see, the water appears to be getting behind the timber, so repairing and sealing the inside without stopping that water ingress is unlikely to provide a lasting solution.

Let me know if you can upload those exterior photos and we'll be happy to take a look.

Jacob