Exterior Bedroom Door Progress – Replacing Hardie Board Trim With Faux DIY Concrete Stones

I labored with them on the time to determine the most effective answer, and this was the most effective we may give you. I assumed I may make do with it. I had satisfied myself that I’d be glad with it as soon as it was all painted. However the extra I checked out it, the extra I hated it.

It has Hardie board trim that’s type of even with the stone facade, and that Hardie board trim wraps across the door jamb and meets the PVC trim that got here on the prehung door. However one main situation is that we couldn’t put trim above the door to match. So the entire thing simply appeared awkward to me.

That door was put in eleven months in the past, and I’ve been attempting to determine an answer ever since then. However since then, I did a really large concrete venture on our entrance porch utilizing concrete to create a fake stone facade for the porch skirting space to match the stone on the remainder of our home.

I began by eradicating the Hardie board trim from the left facet of the door simply to see what I used to be working with. I anticipated to see the two×4’s that had been used to border the door, however I had forgotten that they’d used 1/2-inch plywood on the door body to construct that space out a bit for the Hardie board to sit down nearer to the entrance of the stones.

Reasonably than take away these, I made a decision to maintain them there, however I had plenty of gaps to fill and plenty of waterproofing to do earlier than I may get to the enjoyable a part of this venture. I used Nice Stuff increasing foam to fill within the gaps.

I let it develop and remedy for a couple of hours…

…after which I trimmed off the surplus with a pointy serrated kitchen knife.

After which I went again over these areas, in addition to the nail holes and any tiny cracks, with caulk.

When the caulk was dry, I did another waterproofing step. I used my Semco liquid membrane…

And I brushed that onto the entire space, ensuring that the wooden, the remaining Hardie trim on the jamb, and the entire caulked areas had been absolutely coated.

I did that further step not just for waterproofing but in addition as a result of I didn’t wish to put concrete on any porous floor that may suck up the moisture from the concrete because it was curing. So this waterproofing membrane helped to maintain the water within the concrete through the curing course of fairly than being depraved out into dry wooden.

Subsequent, I made a decision on my sample for the fake stones. I wished a number of the new fake stones to be a continuation of the unique stones, whereas I wished others to be separate, particular person stones. In different phrases, I didn’t need the completed door to seem like I had simply added a sequence of five-inch stones across the door. So I made a decision which authentic stones I wished to proceed across the door, and I used my handheld grinder to grind about two inches of the face of these stones in order that I may get down to reveal stone. The stone on our home is painted, and I couldn’t add concrete on prime of paint. So I wanted to reveal the naked stone to offer it some “tooth” in order that the brand new concrete would adhere to it.

You possibly can inform by the colour which of them I floor down with my handheld grinder. The paint on our home is grey, so these off-white areas are the areas that I floor down.

Subsequent, I wanted to connect some galvanized diamond mesh lath over the areas the place I wished to place the concrete. With out this, there was no probability that the concrete would maintain. I discovered this within the concrete part of my native Residence Depot. It is available in a 27″ x 96″ piece, so I had to make use of my tin snips to chop off the dimensions I wanted, which was 7″ x 89.5″.

After which I used 2″ exterior screws to screw the lath onto the realm. I made positive to fully cowl the entire wooden and the Hardie trim, wrapping it round to satisfy the PVC trim on the prehung door.

After getting that lath on the entire space, I went again and added extra screws in any areas the place it wasn’t mendacity flat towards the wooden. If it appeared prefer it was bowing out or had any give to it, I added a screw.

With the lath on, I used to be lastly prepared to combine some concrete. I used Fast Set Cement All for this venture, which is identical factor I used to pour the fake stones for the entrance porch. I actually like Cement All as a result of it makes use of a very effective sand as the mixture, so it may be feathered out to a very effective edge, which was necessary for creating the stones. However I used it for my scratch coat as properly. Utilizing a 6″ x 2″ trowel, I lined the lath with the concrete, ensuring that I pushed the concrete into the lath rather well. I wasn’t involved about how this scratch coat appeared. The truth is, the rougher, the higher. The roughness offers the subsequent coat (i.e., the fake stones) one thing to seize onto.

Right here’s a better have a look at that scratch coat. You possibly can see that earlier than I added the concrete, I put painters tape on the white PVC door trim to guard it from the concrete and to offer myself a transparent visible of the place my “stones” wanted to cease.

I began on the backside and labored my approach up. I did this as a result of I actually had no concept what I used to be doing and I used to be pretty sure that I’d have to do a couple of stones earlier than I felt comfy with the method. So if I tousled on the primary couple of stones, these may ultimately be hidden behind some fairly planters. 😀 And positive sufficient, my first “stone” appeared ridiculous. All I may see was some type of smiling Jabba the Hutt face wanting again at me. However as a result of the concrete units up so quick, there was no eliminating that face. (I did return with my grinder and reshape it later.) The second “stone” was higher, however nonetheless not nice. Once more, I waited too lengthy to attempt to texture it, and by then (actually inside ten minutes), it was too laborious to get it good.

By the third stone, I used to be getting my course of and method down a lot better. I’ll nonetheless return and repair a number of the bizarre components with my grinder earlier than portray these fake stones, although.

And whereas I do wish to repair some areas with my grinder now that these are cured, I’m very happy total with how that is wanting. I feel that is going to look so a lot better than that awkward Hardie trim across the door!