Wooden doorframe rotting - how to dry out and protect when it won't stop raining?

[DukeHumfrey]

My front doorframe seems to be suffering badly from the rain: I think it's dissolved the (not very wonderful) paint and got under. The wood feels squishy. Only at the bottom but obviously I don't want it to get worse.

It's raining again as I type. How can I get the wood dry and ideally save it and protect from further damage? Is there something I can paint/stick on to stop any more water getting in? I assume it will need to be dry before I can paint.

[PigletJohn]

If you poke a small screwdriver into the wood, how far will it go in? Assuming the rot starts at the bottom, how high up does it go?

Is yours an old house, or modern? How old do the door and frame seem to be?

Does the door also seem rotten? Is the door a nice one that you want to keep?

Start assuming that the frame will need to be changed. Luckily door frames aree not very expensive, but you need to find recommendations for an experienced local joiner, who will be able to do a better job, faster, than a DIYer or general handyman. It is possible to cut out the rotten part and splice in a new bit, but the labour will be similar to fitting a new frame, unless it is a very unusual size or shape.

Does water seem to be running down the gap between the wall and the frame, or bouncing up from the ground?

Please measure the door, it will probably be 32 inches wide, possibly 30. Doors are sold in metric, but they are actually still 24/28/30/32/36 inches wide.

[DukeHumfrey]

Thanks. No idea about screwdriver but will look tomorrow.

It's an old house & listed but both door and frame are modern. Almost certainly a non-standard size though.
The rain is bouncing up from the ground and running down. Double trouble!

[trixymalixy]

Our sash window frames were a bit worse for wear in our old flat, we stripped them, cut away most of the rot, soaked them in wood hardener, filled the holes and repainted and they were as good as new.

[PigletJohn]

Some examples

looks like a good buy

not as good

There is probably a door and frame merchant in your town who can do a good deal, but don't buy one just yet

[trixymalixy]

wood hardener

[PigletJohn]

if it's a modern one, it may well be a cheap softwood thing, not much good if exposed to the weather. The Wickes examples will probably be better.

Luckily doorframes are made of 4 pieces of wood, and can easily be altered to non-standard sizes using a special trade tool called a "saw"

You can slosh on some extra wood preserver, and paint the concealed edges (especially top and bottom) to give extra weather protection before fitting. Builders don't usually bother....