How much can a wooden door swell? Do I have to wait until it shrinks
again? It's never been anywhere near this bad before in the last 15
or more years.

A friend has a wood front door, a panel door I think it is called,
with six approximately 7x10" inch, whatever the standard size is,
panes of glass in the top half, and I think decorative wood in the
bottom, with the strong parts of the door being the two sides, top,
bottom, and the middle horizontal part.

Last week she saw water coming from the top of the door frame. The
water has stopped, and the top of the door doesn't feel wet, but the
door now rubs at the top and something is also keeping it from
shutting, the last 3/8ths of an inch.

She's tempted to have me plane the top of the door, esp. near the
hinges, but though it scrapes there, it bothers me more that the side
away from the hinges won't shut all the way, stops dead 3/8" away,
even when I push hard on it.

If it has swollen, how long will it take to shrink again with 50%
humidity these days in Baltimore?

The roof is only 3 years old and looks fine from the outside. It's a
40 or so year old house. The eaves are about 16", with aluminimum
soffits with periodic groups of holes for attic air ventilation. I
myself can't get up in the attic. I'm fat but it's my rib cage that
won't get through the small hole, and it's barely any fatter than it
ever was. (At most one inch thicker from front to back than if I were
thin. I still have plenty of room to get up my own attic hole.)

Any helpful advice is much appreciated.

On Sep 13, 12:35*pm, mm wrote:
How much can a wooden door swell? *Do I have to wait until it shrinks
again? *It's never been anywhere near this bad before in the last 15
or more years.

A friend has a wood front door, a panel door I think it is called,
with six approximately 7x10" inch, whatever the standard size is,
panes of glass in the top half, and I think decorative wood in the
bottom, with the strong parts of the door being the two sides, top,
bottom, and the middle horizontal part.

Last week she saw water coming from the top of the door frame. The
water has stopped, and the top of the door doesn't feel wet, but the
door now rubs at the top and something is also keeping it from
shutting, the last 3/8ths of an inch.

She's tempted to have me plane the top of the door, esp. near the
hinges, but though it scrapes there, it bothers me more that the side
away from the hinges won't shut all the way, stops dead 3/8" away,
even when I push hard on it.

If it has swollen, how long will it take to shrink again with 50%
humidity these days in Baltimore?

The roof is only 3 years old and looks fine from the outside. *It's a
40 or so year old house. *The eaves are about 16", with aluminimum
soffits with periodic groups of holes for attic air ventilation. *I
myself can't get up in the attic. *I'm fat but it's my rib cage that
won't get through the small hole, and it's barely any fatter than it
ever was. *(At most one inch thicker from front to back than if I were
thin. *I still have plenty of room to get up my own attic hole.)

Any helpful advice is much appreciated.

The problem isn't the door, its the water leak. Get help if you need
it, but the leak absolutely has to be stopped. Suggested places for
such leaks are flashing, clogged gutters, etc. Once that is corrected,
the door/frame may slowly revive and stabilize enough to consider the
best next step. Good luck.

Joe

mm wrote:
How much can a wooden door swell? Do I have to wait until it shrinks
again? It's never been anywhere near this bad before in the last 15
or more years.

A friend has a wood front door, a panel door I think it is called,
with six approximately 7x10" inch, whatever the standard size is,
panes of glass in the top half, and I think decorative wood in the
bottom, with the strong parts of the door being the two sides, top,
bottom, and the middle horizontal part.

Last week she saw water coming from the top of the door frame. The
water has stopped, and the top of the door doesn't feel wet, but the
door now rubs at the top and something is also keeping it from
shutting, the last 3/8ths of an inch.

She's tempted to have me plane the top of the door, esp. near the
hinges, but though it scrapes there, it bothers me more that the side
away from the hinges won't shut all the way, stops dead 3/8" away,
even when I push hard on it.

If it has swollen, how long will it take to shrink again with 50%
humidity these days in Baltimore?

The roof is only 3 years old and looks fine from the outside. It's a
40 or so year old house. The eaves are about 16", with aluminimum
soffits with periodic groups of holes for attic air ventilation. I
myself can't get up in the attic. I'm fat but it's my rib cage that
won't get through the small hole, and it's barely any fatter than it
ever was. (At most one inch thicker from front to back than if I were
thin. I still have plenty of room to get up my own attic hole.)

Any helpful advice is much appreciated.

It may be time for a new door, after the leak is corrected. It sounds
like the door is warped, which is quite different than just "swelled".
A normal amount of expansion can take place with temp and humdity
change, but that would not seem to cause the door to fail to shut 3/8"
away from frames. Planing would not help WARP. Floating panels are
easy ways for water to get into the rails and stiles, which are slotted
to hold the panel and would not have finish. Sounds like an interior
door? Wood can be unwarped, but it is tricky and I can't imagine trying
to do so on a paneled door.

On Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:39:03 -0400, "
wrote:


Any helpful advice is much appreciated.

Thanks to you and Joe.

Joe, the gutters are a good idea. Somone will have to check them.

It may be time for a new door, after the leak is corrected. It sounds

Okay.

like the door is warped, which is quite different than just "swelled".

Yes, I forgot to say that, but when the door latch can almost latch,
the higher part of the door is even farther from being shut.

A normal amount of expansion can take place with temp and humdity
change, but that would not seem to cause the door to fail to shut 3/8"
away from frames. Planing would not help WARP. Floating panels are
easy ways for water to get into the rails and stiles, which are slotted
to hold the panel and would not have finish. Sounds like an interior
door?

No. It's definitely meant to be an outside door, and it's been
functioning well for at least the 15 or 20 years she's been there.

A few months ago she had an episode where she couldn't turn the knob
enough from the outside, but it was easy enough for me, and it's a
benchmark that it was latching then. (Well, it was latching until 2
days ago.)

I don't know if the prior owners used this door or not. It's got a
storm door in front of it it now. She didn't even replace the glass
with screens this summer, so it didn't get wet from the front. (maybe
because she has plenty of windows, or remembering what the rest of the
country is like, more likely because she uses AC.)

Wood can be unwarped, but it is tricky and I can't imagine trying
to do so on a paneled door.

When it rains, it pours. On her, this time.

On Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:21:21 -0700 (PDT), Joe wrote:


Any helpful advice is much appreciated.

The problem isn't the door, its the water leak. Get help if you need
it, but the leak absolutely has to be stopped. Suggested places for
such leaks are flashing,

Speaking of flashing, is there supposed to be something under the tar
paper near the edge of the roof? Or over the tar paper and under the
shingles? Is that for rain or for ice dams? If the shingles are all
perfect, and it's late summer with no ice, but the dripping was last
week, could the absence of this "flashing" be the problem?

clogged gutters, etc. Once that is corrected,

I'll tell her to check the gutters. She may get me to do it.

the door/frame may slowly revive and stabilize enough to consider the
best next step. Good luck.

I really wish I could get up in the attic. Not for her sake but
because I'm always so curious. I don't know why they made the hole so
small. I'm sure she won't let me enlarge it, because she has a thin
friend who has actually made it through the hole.

Joe

mm wrote:
On Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:21:21 -0700 (PDT), Joe wrote:


Any helpful advice is much appreciated.

The problem isn't the door, its the water leak. Get help if you need
it, but the leak absolutely has to be stopped. Suggested places for
such leaks are flashing,

Speaking of flashing, is there supposed to be something under the tar
paper near the edge of the roof? Or over the tar paper and under the
shingles? Is that for rain or for ice dams? If the shingles are all
perfect, and it's late summer with no ice, but the dripping was last
week, could the absence of this "flashing" be the problem?

clogged gutters, etc. Once that is corrected,

I'll tell her to check the gutters. She may get me to do it.

the door/frame may slowly revive and stabilize enough to consider the
best next step. Good luck.

I really wish I could get up in the attic. Not for her sake but
because I'm always so curious. I don't know why they made the hole so
small. I'm sure she won't let me enlarge it, because she has a thin
friend who has actually made it through the hole.

It could be the ridge vent! That is, water runs downhill, so anywhere above
the door is suspect.

On Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:24:56 -0500, "HeyBub"
wrote:


I really wish I could get up in the attic. Not for her sake but
because I'm always so curious. I don't know why they made the hole so
small. I'm sure she won't let me enlarge it, because she has a thin
friend who has actually made it through the hole.

It could be the ridge vent! That is, water runs downhill, so anywhere above
the door is suspect.

I'll tell her. Thanks.

Doors do swell unless they are painted on the top and bottom. You can trim
an 1/8" off the top of the door or you might try loosening the hinges a bit
temporarily to let the door sag a bit until it dries and shrinks and then
paint the top of the door.

--
Roger Shoaf
If you are not part of the solution, you are not dissolved in the solvent.


"mm" wrote in message
...
How much can a wooden door swell? Do I have to wait until it shrinks
again? It's never been anywhere near this bad before in the last 15
or more years.

A friend has a wood front door, a panel door I think it is called,
with six approximately 7x10" inch, whatever the standard size is,
panes of glass in the top half, and I think decorative wood in the
bottom, with the strong parts of the door being the two sides, top,
bottom, and the middle horizontal part.

Last week she saw water coming from the top of the door frame. The
water has stopped, and the top of the door doesn't feel wet, but the
door now rubs at the top and something is also keeping it from
shutting, the last 3/8ths of an inch.

She's tempted to have me plane the top of the door, esp. near the
hinges, but though it scrapes there, it bothers me more that the side
away from the hinges won't shut all the way, stops dead 3/8" away,
even when I push hard on it.

If it has swollen, how long will it take to shrink again with 50%
humidity these days in Baltimore?

The roof is only 3 years old and looks fine from the outside. It's a
40 or so year old house. The eaves are about 16", with aluminimum
soffits with periodic groups of holes for attic air ventilation. I
myself can't get up in the attic. I'm fat but it's my rib cage that
won't get through the small hole, and it's barely any fatter than it
ever was. (At most one inch thicker from front to back than if I were
thin. I still have plenty of room to get up my own attic hole.)

Any helpful advice is much appreciated.

Wood doors can swell quite a bit with high humidity.

The *secret* of professional painters to prevent this is to paint the top
and bottom of the door. So when it gets back down to size, take it off the
hinges and paint the top/bottom.

"Bill" wrote in
:

Wood doors can swell quite a bit with high humidity.

The *secret* of professional painters to prevent this is to paint the
top and bottom of the door. So when it gets back down to size, take it
off the hinges and paint the top/bottom.



Here's a secret for the secret of professional painters. Use PRIMER on door
tops. That's what primer is for. Sealing and adhesion. In this case the
sealing of it is what's needed. Paint afterwards if desired.