Hello, I want to replace old rotten brickmold around the garage door. The door is relatively new. On both sides of the threshold there are 1/2" in. gaps between the rough opening/stucco and the door casing, which go all the way to the other side of the door. Please refer to the images.

Outside the door is a concrete yard. Some water may pool around the threshold when raining, so sealing the gaps is a must. To do this, I am considering protecting the wood side of the gaps with spacers, filling the cavities with concrete, then removing the spacers and sealing the rest with sealant.

Would appreciate any comment or feedback on if my plan is acceptable, or what is a good way to seal the gaps.

Best wishes, h.

 

I see some large gaps there. You might be better off with some bricks & mortar.

 

Brickmould is 2" wide and it doesn't look like you have quite enough room for the full 2" there. So you might have to cut the edge down and caulk it in. As far as the gap, that's normal. You should carefully insulate that gap with some door and window foam. I say "carefully" because you don't want to overfill it by putting too much in and you don't want to get ANY OF IT on the stone/block/siding.

As far as leakage, I would suggest that a few days before you go to trim the door you use a self levelling cement sealant to fill in any depressions where water might have a tendency to want to run back under the brickmould. If you pool up a little bit within the rough opening, you will be good to go.

Then after the brickmould is installed, run a very fine bead of sealant (like Vulkum or similar) around the edges of the sill where the aluminum sill meets the side jambs... and where the brickmould caps the ends of the sill. Once you've caulked all the places that need a fine nozzle, cut the nozzle bigger and go across the front of the brickmould and sill where it meets the sidewalk. I'm not a big fan of caulking in front of door sills but in this case it's probably a good idea.

 

Thanks again, XSleeper. Yes, the brickmold is wider than the space between the door casing and stucco edge. I was thinking of cutting an inch off the stucco to fit the brickmold and then refinish stucco.

Will use self-leveling cement to seal the cracks and pits around the threshold and inside the gaps.

Do you mean the insulating foam should not be in contact with wood of the door casing, cement and stucco? Is it hard to get off or is it chemically aggressive?

The gaps are too small for bricks, I guess, Pulpo, unless you are joking...

 

IMO it would be easier to rip the brickmold than it would be to cut the stucco and then redo it. You do want to remove any excess mortar - what probably originally spanned the gap between the stucco and the molding. It's best to get a decent fit and then caulk between the wood and stucco. I like to prime the bottom edge of the brickmold [where it sets on the concrete] and several inches up the hidden edge and backside.

 

Just to make sure... I would only use the self leveling sealant where it will be largely covered up. (the pits to the left and right of the sill). I don't think I'd recommend you run a bead of it in front of the sill nose because it will really puddle up and could run all over the place. But you can be the judge of that. It's just practically impossible to remove once you start putting it down, so....


Self levelling sealants really do seek their own level, so be careful not to put too much in... as it will slowly run to the lowest spot. You can make a dam out of clean sand if you need to.

What I am saying is not to overfill the gap because foam continues to expand for a few minutes after you apply it. If you put too much in it will expand, come out of the gap and onto the face of the brick and door. You don't want that mainly because it is also impossible to get off since it's VERY sticky. It will leave a yellowish/orange residue on the surface. You'd probably need to scratch it off the surface with a wire brush.