Learn Me Metal Exterior Doors

I had a wooden hallow core 32" X 80" exterior door (garage to side yard) installed about two years ago and the recent heavy rains in Southern California have completely destroyed its bottom section.

It replaced a door of similar construction that lasted 46 years so this door probably would have been fine if it had a larger gap at the bottom but my home is adjacent to open land so I have to keep the gap tight to keep rodents out.

Questions...

I'm reasonably handy but I've heard that leaving windows and doors to the pros isn't a bad idea...do I DIY this or just bust out my credit card?

Are wooden hallow core doors a reasonable solution in this application or should I go with metal or some other material.

BTW, I wasn't present for the installation so for all in know the bottom of the door wasn't ever sealed or painted and any inspection now would leave the door in pieces.

Thank you in advance for any guidance. 

In your situation the right solution might be a fiberglass door.  We do a lot of them in Florida because of exposure problems.  I have seen skilled painters paint them with stains so that they look much like a varnished wood door.

You didn't say what condition the bottom of the door frame is.  Is it water damaged also?   Sometimes we install PVC frames in wet areas, with PVC trim, or Hardi trim.

Prehung doors are super easy to DIY.

-Get the measurements

-Order/buy a door

-When it shows up, double check the measurements and configuration

-Pop the interior trim off

-Sawzall the nails that hold the old door frame in place.

-Pull the old door and frame out.

-Clean up any nails or offending shims or anything else in the opening.

-Put the new door assy in the opening.

-Square it up, shim as required.

-Screw the new frame to the opening

-Caulk what needs caulking

-Put the trim back in

-Transfer the door knob or install your new door knob.

Should take about an hour for anything reasonably recently built.  I am sure some of our experts will chime in with more info but thats the nuts and bolts of it.  There should be 1000 Youtube videos explaining it in greater depth.

I personally would never use a wood hollow core door for an exterior door. They're just too light duty.

If you are reasonably handy, I would buy a prehung Masonite or fiberglass insulated exterior door. All the hard stuff is done and it is mostly a matter of getting it relatively level and plumb.  Just remove the old door (which is probably already pre hung too) and frame and slip the new package into the rough opening.

You will need to be able to caulk and do minor trim work too.

First, what an amazing community...a question asked on Sunday evening gets quality answers rolling in within minutes.

Here's an image...

It looks like the pre-hung recommendations made above are the way to go here as the frame is in poor condition.

I'm super interested in the fiberglass suggestions...I'll see if they're available in a six panel style as my home cape cod.

I'll see what Mrs. Reven' thinks before I get too committed so she doesn't feel left out.

Thoughts???

Getting a door with brick mold already installed can make installation easier and can help you avoid some trim work, but it also depends what is going on with the exterior.

After having multiple steel Stanley doors rust and/or fall apart, I've moved to fiberglass. The only downside so far is having to trim them for lock plate installation. You have to be very careful trimming things vs just using a wood chisel on a 'normal' door.