Repair Outside Kitchen Door

[rv46]

A small hole, gone unnoticed, leads to a big problem. The hole seem to erupt for the inside out; my guess, from the expanding wood and plywood.

This project took one weekend to complete. The door was taken apart - careful not to damage the outside layer. Replace all water damaged wood/plywood material and torn inside layer. Put everything back to together.

Pictures to follow shortly.

[mtmcj]

Anyone have pictures of a rebuild? My door bracket came off and found the wood rotted. I tore the door apart but cant get the fiberglass off the plywood, where it was bad it came right off the good spots not so much and worried I will break the fiberglass trying to peel it off.

[BluWolf]

Here's hoping it's only the hatch doors and not the trailer walls.

[rv46]

🙂

Now, I have to fix a rotting hatch door before our next trip.

[BluWolf]

Well, it's almost put together - just have to put on Aluminum trim, and then re-hang on trailer. I ended up using Gorilla Construction Adhesive - it's waterproof as well, and it sets up quicker.

My layers are:
1. Original Fiberglas skin, with one layer of plywood still attached
2. 1/8" Marine Grade plywood
3. White foam (since it's 3/4" thick), with 2 Mahogany Strips down the side - talked with my local mill, and he said besides teak, Mahogany was the best for moisture resistance, and I was able to find 2 lighter pieces
4. Inside Surface - in trying to save money, re-used original piece, even though it has a tear in it - something to talk about while hanging around outside kitchen.

I'm planning to use a bunch of silicon, as I don't want water to even get into where the wood is. The drain holes have been there since beginning, and really did nothing to stop the wood from rotting - I don't even think that water that got in can even get to the drain holes, given that the plywood just soaks it up like a sponge. So I want to prevent water from even getting in.

So like the rest of you have said - I basically have a new door - a stronger and more water resistant door, which should last longer. From quotes I had gotten, a new door - including frame (not sure why I can't buy door by itself) - was around $600. I ended up spending about $120, as well as a sense of accomplishment B-).

Also, incase those with outside kitchen doors don't realize this - the door is NOT meant to be used as a roof when it rains - it is not weather resistant. That is what I was told when I talked to the various dealers about getting a replacement. It's also the stupidest thing I've ever heard - who wouldn't use this as a roof when it's raining - it's right there. So if the company were to anticipate the actual use of this product, then just build it correctly. Even if I were not to use it as a roof when it rains, I don't get why they say it's not "weather resistant" - isn't it the outside skin of my trailer/outdoor kitchen? Shouldn't it be weather resistant, given it's exposed to the elements ALL the time? I just hope that someone at Keystones reads my message to them (and this one maybe), and they decide to change the design to make it so this doesn't happen in the future. Sorry, just needed to rant a little, as this shouldn't have happened.

rv46 - thanks for the original post, and the pictures - you gave me the courage to even try this. And thanks to everyone else who posted - great ideas.

[Eostew]

I also used the blue foam, in fact I replaced the entire door with new materials, only kept the outer Fiberglass skin and the aluminum frame.

The Blue foam was thinner than the original foam, So I added a inner layer of luan to make up the difference.

My layers were:
1. Original Fiberglass Skin
2. Luan
3. Blue Foam with Cedar strips down the sides
4. Luan
5. Inside Surface (I got a replacement from Lowes but it was fiberglass not vinyl)

With all these changes including the extra layer of Luan I was also worried about the weight increase, thinking I may need to get stronger gas struts, but the existing ones handle the weight fine.

I don't see the advantage of the extra stile myself. I considered adding a rail across the bottom, to help eliminate sag when in the up position, but ended up deciding that the aluminum frame was probably sufficient for that...

I used Gorilla Glue for most of the Glue up. I liked the fact that it is waterproof and expands to fill any gaps/cracks, but is a little thick and not the easiest to work with. I needed a lot of clamps... If I was to do it again, I might not use it again..

I only siliconed the outer edge of the frame to the fiberglass, There are drain holes in the frame, and figured that if any water was to get in I wanted it to get out. The silicone is just to keep the water out particularly when the door is in the open position, as a thin layer of water will sit/pool on it.

Basically I have a brand new door... I did price out a replacement though the dealer... came out to approx $1200 :E after shipping...

Good luck with your project!

[BluWolf]

Thanks for the suggestion of Titebond III - since I have to buy something, I'll use that for putting everything together - might use PL200 for the foam though. The silicon will be to seal the edges of the door - basically gluing the outside trim to the door to prevent water from getting in, to help prevent rotting wood again.

A little update on my project - I've been able to save the aluminum trim, the outside ply of the plywood, which has the fiberglass on it, and the inside vinyl (although trying to figure out what to do with ripped corner - might just live with it). Everything in core will be new. Two updates I'm thinking about - but haven't decided on yet:

1) using solid blue styrofoam instead of the white bead stuff - not sure if this is adding more weight though?
2) Putting and extra stile down the center of the door for three total (one on the side edges, and one down the middle). Again though, wondering if I'm adding too much extra weight, and whether the pistons will be able to hold it up.

Any thoughts on the new ideas / weight are appreciated.

[D_E_Bishop]

FYI, Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue is a waterproof glue and bonds better than Titebond Original.

I know, waterproof wood glue doesn't seem truthful but it is an exceptional glue for indoor and outdoor applications. We use it for gluing HardieBoard to wood sub-flooring prior to setting tile in kitchens and baths as well as fine household furniture. Great stuff.

[BluWolf]

Thank you for your posts. I think I'm going to go with cedar - our treated wood is spruce, and if I plane it down any, I'll be taking the treating off. When I put it back together, I'm going to use alot of silicon on the trim piece, to hopefully keep water out from now on. I'm also using marine grade plywood for the outside wall behind the fiberglass face.

Once I got mine apart, almost all the wood fell out, and everything was wet. This is a poorly put together door - but I guess if you are looking for lite weight - although an aluminum frame could have worked as well.

Thanks for the original post.

[rv46]

I used a treated 1x4 pine and planed it down.

[Eostew]

I used cedar. Planed a 5/4 deck board down to the thickness I needed.

[BluWolf]

Looks like I will be doing the same repair as you, but only because my piston bracket on the door ripped out - due to water damage - my wood looks like the ones in your picture.

What kind of wood did you use to replace the rotten stuff? I RV in the north during the summer, but use and store it in Florida over the winter, so I'd want to make sure to use wood that is good for water, but also dry rot and insects.

Hopefully you are still checking posts. And thank you for all the pictures in your post - they will be very handy for my work.

[Eostew]

Thanks!

[rv46]

I used happen to use what I had which was "Titebond Original Wood Glue".


I haven't had any problems so I am a happy camper. 🙂

[Eostew]

Looks like I will be doing a similar project on my outdoor kitchen door. Realize this is a 2 year old thread but I found it very helpful!

Two questions if the OP is still around.

1. What adhesives did you use? I think I see a bottle of white glue in one of the shots?

2. In hindsight, is there anything you would do differently if you had to do it again?

Thanks!