Hi,
The photos show the rot problem I have with the framing for my garage doors on a two car garage. The three pieces in the photos were put in contact wth the dirt and the bottoms are now rotted. The outer and middle parts are 2X10s. The part against the foundation is a 2X4. The same problem exists on both sides of both doors, though I haven’t pulled the trim off the other sides to see how bad they are.
The first thing I need an opinion on is if these are load bearing members. I don’t believe they are. They certainly are not now since they aren’t supported by anything. One of the photos shows the support between the garage doors. Rather it shows the ceiling support which I assume is resting on a steel column. I expect that and the foundation walls are the load bearing elements. The garage door tracks themselves thagt are attached to this framing are good and solid.
If the garage door framing is not load bearing then I am thinking of making the foillowing repair so that I don’t have to take everyting apart, including the garage door tracks etc. This is the second thing I need to get an opinion on:
Cut the outer 2×10 about a foot or two up and remove it ; cut enough off the middle 2×10 and the 2×4 to remove the rot and put in a cement block or something at the bottom; fill any space between the block and the framing with foam; scab a new piece onto the middle 2×10 to replace the piece of the outer 210 that I cut out, making sure that it is also on a solid block with foam or caulking so that water can’t get at the ends. Fill and sand the repair so that it is invisible when the trim is replaced and and it is all painted.
Does that sound like an acceptable repair? If not, how should it be modified?
Thanks for the advise.
Replies
How are the door tracks anchored at the bottom? If they're anchored only to the (rotten) framing then they will be putting stress on any repair you make. Not so much so long as the doors are operating nornally, but if a cable breaks or something it will be quite a bit of stress. You need to make sure your repair is rigid enough in the horizontal directions to not make a bad situation worse.