My mitered door edge corners suck

[citylights]

So... I miter cut the aluminum T molding for my door edges. They dry fit ok (not beautiful, but just OK) but when I applied the butyl tape and screwed them in, they now have a 1 / 8 th or so gap where the two pieces meet at the corner. They look like crap and have really sharp exposed edges.

Any suggestions for how to fix them?

Do they make a corner cap that I can just screw in and cover the messed up miter joints?

Wall corner, ok, I guess.



Door corner, really crappy!

[CarlLaFong]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Silicone- ... lnW5hBWeuM

[eamarquardt]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Silicone-II-2-8-oz-Aluminum-and-Metal-Caulk-GE285/203152957#.UlnW5hBWeuM

I agree with "CarlLaFong". I think the problem is that the amount of tape remaining under yer trim (because it's too firm to be all squished out) is keeping yer trim from sitting where it did when you mitered it and fit it. A less firm sealant (silicone or polyurethane) will squish out (but seal all the gaps and voids). I did a bit of poking round on the internet and there are reports of silicone losing it's adhesiveness over time and allowing water to intrude. The stuff "Carl" is advertised per "GE Silicone II Aluminum and Metal caulk adheres to most aluminum, stainless steel, masonry, brick, concrete, granite and metal surfaces". Maybe it has been especially formulated to solve the issues I've read about.

If you wanna be "bulletproof" you could use a polyurethane adhesive/sealant like 3M 5200. If you do, I doubt you'll ever get the trim off, if you ever attempt to do so, w/o ruining everything as it is a really good adhesive. I don't think the silicones are quite as aggressive as far as adhesion goes.

After getting it on and seated to your satisfaction, I'd take a sanding block and put a radius on all outside mitered corners. As is they could do some serious damage to unsuspecting arms, legs,etc.

Hope this helps.

[Vedette]

I would take the door to a good aluminum welder, have it clamped properly and welded.
Then I would file and sand the outside and slightly radius the corners.
It will look nice, last forever, and help you to avoid losing an eye or suffering a major gash if you ever get in either in the dark or while you are thinking of something else!
Money is not always everything!
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[aggie79]

I used 3M 4200 to seal the t-molding to the doors.

[citylights]

have it clamped properly

BINGO! It's amazing what happens when you hear the right words. Who makes a frame without clamping it? I tried, I thought the screws would suck it into the right position and I didn't use clamps. That might ultimately work, but I would need a heck of a lot more screws.

So... Going to take the screws out, wrap a frame clamp around it and squeeze the $&@/! Out of it. Then it should fit a little better.

I will also radius the sharp corners as suggested.

[citylights]

Fixed it. Couldn't clamp the butyl hard enough. Switched to silicone based glue. Worked great. Hope it holds up.