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Exterior door in wet interior area.

thetigger | Posted in Construction Techniques on May 7, 2008 07:32am

New house construction – glass block shower built out from the rear wall in a semi circle. I put a aluminum post covered with sealer 27″ out from the house wall which serves as a stop for the glass block. I want to use that opening to the yard as a door so I can come in from gardening and drop my clothes and take a shower without going thru the house.
I want to use a fiberglass door with a glass inset. NOW WE FINALLY GET TO THE QUESTION. Since I’m pretty sure that any jambs would be wood, should
I just buy a door and then: what can I use for jambs with that won’t rot?
Would Azek or similar have enough structural value to hold it? And this is hurricane country so it needs to be overly strong. How about the new
composites like Trex? Any great suggestions appreciated. Thanks.


Edited 5/7/2008 12:52 pm ET by thetigger

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  1. jrnbj | May 07, 2008 11:17pm | #1

    We're talking about the door into your house, not a door into the shower enclosure, right?
    Azek would be fine, but the devil is in the details...getting hardware that will stand up, what kind of sill and weatherstripping, and so forth....What is the construction of the actual house wall that the door is going into?

  2. DanH | May 07, 2008 11:41pm | #2

    Will spray from the shower actually hit the door frame? Well-painted wood will hold up to "incidental" moisture pretty well in most cases.

    Re hurricanes, neither wood nor Azek can be trusted to hold up to a storm. The hinges and latch must be anchored to something solid behind, possibly implying machine screws into threaded holes in your post.

    What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite. --Bertrand Russell
  3. Bing187 | May 08, 2008 12:47am | #3

    My door supplier has made azek jambs an option on exterior doors for a while.....Don't see why ya couldn't.

    Bing

  4. florida | May 08, 2008 01:20am | #4

    I haven't installed an exterior door with wood jambs in years now. I sue fiberglass doors and PVC jambs. The jambs are a regular item at the lumber company and even HD has them.

  5. IdahoDon | May 08, 2008 05:14am | #5

    Simply use a rot resitant wood for the door and/or jambs.  Ipe is used primarily for decks in the US, but it's used for furniture, interior floors, doors and whatnot in other countries. 

     

     

    Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

  6. RedfordHenry | May 08, 2008 05:44am | #6

    ThermaTru offers a wood jamb with the lower ~12" or so made out of composite (looks like trex or something similar).  I think this feature is called "jamb saver".  Don't see why you couldn't make an entire jamb out of it.  Also, bear in mind that fiberglass doors are usually just fiberglass skins.  The top, bottom and side edges (as well as the core) are usually wood and susceptible to moisture damage if not properly sealed.

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