Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Feb 21, 1999 11:47pm | #1

   *
   Assuming that the door was not warped prior to installation and only warped after, you should determine why it warped first.

   Check to see if the wood door was properly sealed and painted on the edges, top AND bottom.

   You may want to redo the sealing of the door if this is the case.

   Assuming that the door was sealed and installed warped, then other than shimming the hinges and averaging out the warp then installing a surface mounted weather stripping, I don't know what else to say without seeing the door for myself.

2. 
   Craig_Gibons | Feb 22, 1999 01:49am | #2

   *
   Ah, Gabe, straight to the heart of the matter. It was warped when I bought it (used) and I did not realize it until I hung it in a frame I built. And the frame is square and plumb. Now I know to check a door first, but I have what I have. Enough confession, any other ideas?

   C

3. 
   Guest_ | Feb 22, 1999 02:08am | #3

   *
   Craig in that case you have to decide whether you want to raise the bridge or lower the water.

   There are several ways to remedy the situation.

   If you build a proper exterior frame then I would assume that you did rabbet the frame to accept the door. In this case whatever you do, even if you try to balance the error by adjustments to the hinges you still end up with a 1/4 in gap.

   The use of a weather strip still makes sense and is effective in closing the gap to the outside elements.

   The last suggestion I have is the door itself.
   I can't see it so I'm only guessing. You may be able to take it off and straighten it with steam or hot water. Strip it down first, remove the glass and on a perfectly flat surface weight is down and apply pressure to force the door 1/4 past plumb the opposite of what you have now.

   You do this because after steaming, during the drying process it will want to return. Once done to your satisfaction and properly dried, DO SEAL THE DOOR PROPERLY. I've done this a couple of times in restoration work and did so without having to actually take the door totally apart.

   Good luck.

4. 
   Craig_Gibons | Feb 23, 1999 07:23am | #4

   *
   This is good, Gabe. thanks.

   C

5. 
   Guest_ | Feb 23, 1999 08:02am | #5

   *
   I second the sealing. I installed a slab w/9-lite that i bought off the lumberyard dog pile perfectly, only to see it "grow" 1/4" in the wet weather. To the credit of the doorbuilder, no warp, the rails and stiles moved as they should have. I took the door down, replaned and squared it, then sealed every edge with OIL primer -- the 3 coats of latex did nothing to stop moisture. The endgrain is the absolute worst. Now the works perfectly again...

   Adjustable weatherstripping is a very good approach, but 1/2" is a huge gap.

   Some recommend laying the warped door on sawhorses with weights to persuade it back. Haven't tried it.

6. 
   Craig_Gibons | Feb 24, 1999 07:41am | #6

   *
   I want to keep the door unpainted. What is a good clear sealer for weather exposure?

   C

7. 
   Guest_ | Feb 25, 1999 11:30am | #7

   *
   Is your jamb set pre-fab or built from scratch. The reason I ask is that in many older homes where nothing seems to be square or plumb, carpenters used to set the door into the frame which was composed of simple 1x material. They would thne add the exterior stops to accomodate the door. Can you do this?

   Pete Draganic

8. 
   Craig_Gibons | Feb 26, 1999 08:38am | #8

   *
   Pete,

   Yes, come to think of it, I did make the jamb from scratch. And, yes, I could move the stops to accomodate the warp. Thanks.

   C

9. 
   Guest_ | Mar 03, 1999 10:25pm | #9

   *
   ...To the credit of the door builder no warp...

   (Y-to-K mode on)

   How did the door builder acomplish this? Was it simplk by making the mortise and tennon joints loose enough to allow slight movement?

   I've built a couple of doors and really enjoked it but kou got me wondering what thek're going to look like when Y-to-K explodes on us...

   Bok, that skstem for the Y-to-K disaster reallk works well. It does take a little getting used to though... ( < Obsolete Link > see earlier thread)

   And what are we supposed to do with all the extra "k"'s?

   But seriouslk though,

   Dan Morrison

10. 
    Craig_Gibons | Mar 03, 1999 10:30pm | #10

    *
    I have a warped wood exterior stile and rail door. It is a single panel door, the single panel being a full length window. The latch side of the door is flush at the bottom and at the latch, but warps inward about a half an inch at the top, leaving a large air gap. Are there any fixes for this?

    CLG