Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

We live in Virginia and are having our house remodeled. New interior, solid wood cherry doors were installed before the summer humidity, but not yet stained/sealed, Now that the summer is here they have all swollen and are sticking.

Question - should we wait until the dry weather in september when the swelling should go down to have them sealed? or should we adjust the frames now and seal them while they are swollen.

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/woodwo...n-3124710-.htm

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

On 6/10/2021 10:45 AM, Sandra Vaughan wrote:
We live in Virginia and are having our house remodeled. New interior,
solid wood cherry doors were installed before the summer humidity, but
not yet stained/sealed,Â* Now that the summer is here they have all
swollen and are sticking.

Question - should we wait until the dry weather in september when the
swelling should go down to have them sealed?Â* or should we adjust the
frames now and seal them while they are swollen.


The remodeled should know what to do.

Regardless if you have sticking doors the door should probably be
adjusted, not the frame. Assuming you door frames were correctly
installed.

If only replacing the door and not the jams, trim the doors to fit and
seal/paint/stain.

Keep in mind that you should also seal the tops and bottoms of the doors
to reduce swelling.

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

"Sandra Vaughan" wrote in message
groupdirect.com...

We live in Virginia and are having our house remodeled. New interior, solid
wood cherry doors were installed before the summer humidity, but not yet
stained/sealed, Now that the summer is here they have all swollen and are
sticking.

Question - should we wait until the dry weather in september when the
swelling should go down to have them sealed? or should we adjust the
frames now and seal them while they are swollen.

I worked in Williamsburg at CW and recall that the humidity stayed high for
the summer months in Tidewater, VA. Assuming the frames and doors were well
hung (so the doors and frames are plumb, level and square with even reveals)
and sticking is the only issue, the swelling may not reach it's maximum for
a few more weeks. Being cherry we can probably assume that paint will never
be applied so no additional room is needed in the reveals (gaps) to allow
for paint thickness. If lacquer is being used an allowance should be made
for the finish thickness. Penetrating finishes (e.g., oil based) shouldn't
affect the fit.

Once the fit is corrected the timing of the finish itself generally isn't
critical. At best the finish will slow down the seasonal dimensional changes
but it will not stop them. I wouldn't expect any type of finish to swell the
wood beyond the seasonal maximum...

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

Thank you, Leon. Only 2 (of 10) new doors are sticking, so we will adjust the frames for those two.

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/woodwo...n-3124710-.htm

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

Thank you, John. This information is very helpful. We will be using a penetrating oil finish. I am relieved to know that we can go ahead and seal them without waiting for dry winter weather! Our contractor wants the indoor humidity to be below 55% for a few days before we seal the doors. Does that sound reasonable to you?

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/woodwo...n-3124710-.htm

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

On 6/10/2021 6:45 PM, Sandra Vaughan wrote:
Thank you, Leon.Â* Only 2 (of 10) new doors are sticking, so we will
adjust the frames for those two.

How would you propose to do that for a (presumably) finished install
with casing and all?

That's going to be a treat, methinks. How you going to grow the header
length to widen the opening evenly without gaps appearing? Or, if you
just spread the bottom, then the opening isn't square and even and the
angles of the casing are out.

Get out the smoothing plane, sharpen it up well and take a few licks off
the edge, instead.

--

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

"Sandra Vaughan" wrote in message
groupdirect.com...

Thank you, John. This information is very helpful. We will be using a
penetrating oil finish. I am relieved to know that we can go ahead and seal
them without waiting for dry winter weather! Our contractor wants the
indoor humidity to be below 55% for a few days before we seal the doors.
Does that sound reasonable to you?

--
For full context, visit
https://www.homeownershub.com/woodwo...n-3124710-.htm

I'm not sure that "a few days" would make a practical difference....
However, if it makes the contractor feel more confident in the process, so
he stands behind his work, it wouldnt hurt.

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

On 6/11/2021 9:29 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Sandra Vaughan"Â* wrote in message
groupdirect.com...

Thank you, John. This information is very helpful.Â* We will be using a
penetrating oil finish. I am relieved to know that we can go ahead and
seal them without waiting for dry winter weather!Â* Our contractor
wants the indoor humidity to be below 55% for a few days before we
seal the doors. Does that sound reasonable to you?

I'm not sure that "a few days" would make a practical difference.... However, if it makes the contractor feel more confident in the process, so he stands behind his work, it wouldnt hurt.




Perhaps to acclimate to the inside humidity level.

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

"Leon" wrote in message
...

On 6/11/2021 9:29 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Sandra Vaughan" wrote in message
wsgroupdirect.com...

Thank you, John. This information is very helpful. We will be using a
penetrating oil finish. I am relieved to know that we can go ahead and
seal them without waiting for dry winter weather! Our contractor wants
the indoor humidity to be below 55% for a few days before we seal the
doors. Does that sound reasonable to you?

I'm not sure that "a few days" would make a practical difference....
However, if it makes the contractor feel more confident in the process,
so he stands behind his work, it wouldnt hurt.

Perhaps to acclimate to the inside humidity level.

If they have been hung for a while I'd think they should be acclimated to
whatever the indoor conditions are. I suspect he's either thinking that a
few days would drop the moisture level of the wood... (I'm thinking "a few
days" wouldn't have a practical affect on that. A week or two, yes... a few
days, no.) -- OR -- The product he is using calls for a humidity level of
55 or lower. If the whole house is "damp" from high humidity I'd think it
would take more than a few days for that to dry out too. Alas, this is all
best guess based on my prior experiences. ;~) As the homeowner I'd take my
lead from the contractor as he's responsible for the results.

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

On 6/12/2021 7:38 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Leon"Â* wrote in message
...

On 6/11/2021 9:29 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Sandra Vaughan"Â* wrote in message
groupdirect.com...

Thank you, John. This information is very helpful.Â* We will be using
a penetrating oil finish. I am relieved to know that we can go ahead
and seal them without waiting for dry winter weather!Â* Our
contractor wants the indoor humidity to be below 55% for a few days
before we seal the doors. Does that sound reasonable to you?

I'm not sure that "a few days" would make a practical difference....
However, if it makes the contractor feel more confident in the
process, so he stands behind his work, it wouldnt hurt.

Perhaps to acclimate to the inside humidity level.

If they have been hung for a while I'd think they should be acclimated
to whatever the indoor conditions are. I suspect he's either thinking
that a few days would drop the moisture level of the wood... (I'm
thinking "a few days" wouldn't have a practical affect on that. A week
or two, yes... a few days, no.)Â* -- OR --Â* The product he is using calls
for a humidity level of 55 or lower. If the whole house is "damp" from
high humidity I'd think it would take more than a few days for that to
dry out too. Alas, this is all best guess based on my prior experiences.
;~)Â* As the homeowner I'd take my lead from the contractor as he's
responsible for the results.

Besides being in a high-humidity climate, much depends on just how big a
rush the contractor was in to finish up -- fresh drywall is replete with
moisture and if the house was open until relatively recently, there's a
lot to dry out.

Just too many variables unknown here to say much -- I'd definitely want
the humidity reduced and held down for at least a couple weeks before I
made any definitive judgements.

An oil finish will do virtually nothing effective at all to seal them,
though, unless is top-coated with a non-permeable coat of varnish or
lacquer.

--dpb

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

An oil finish will do virtually nothing effective at all to seal them,
though, unless is top-coated with a non-permeable coat of varnish or
lacquer.
--dpb


Even then - there could be some expansion/contraction -
our last home had factory-made oak kitchen cupboards
that had a couple doors that would rub in summer -
and have a full 1/8 inch space in winter.
John T.

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

On Sun, 13 Jun 2021 10:11:53 -0400, wrote:



An oil finish will do virtually nothing effective at all to seal them,
though, unless is top-coated with a non-permeable coat of varnish or
lacquer.
--dpb


Even then - there could be some expansion/contraction -
our last home had factory-made oak kitchen cupboards
that had a couple doors that would rub in summer -
and have a full 1/8 inch space in winter.

That doesn't necessarily signify much though. While one would expect
the factory to put something waterproof or at least water resistant on
kitchen cabinets, that doesn't mean that they _do_. Friend of mine
had a new bathroom installed--after it was done he realized he wanted
some more shelves. I made some up for him and Magnamaxed them. 10
years later they still look great but the finish on the factory-made
stuff is shot to Hell.

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

On 6/13/2021 9:11 AM, wrote:


An oil finish will do virtually nothing effective at all to seal them,
though, unless is top-coated with a non-permeable coat of varnish or
lacquer.
--dpb


Even then - there could be some expansion/contraction -
....

There WILL be SOME expansion/contraction -- one cannot/will not stop all
moisture transfer outside encasing in bartop epoxy or the like.

Just need to ensure are at a reasonable nominal starting point to judge
from -- even in VA, heating during the winter will drive inside RH down
significantly over summer although nothing like what happens out here in
the SW corner of KS where having an outside RH of as much as 50% is the
rare event, not vice versa. (And, yes, did spend 10 yr in piedmont
region of VA and 20+ in E TN so know what humidity back there is in
comparison. :) )

--

Should we seal new wooden doors when swollen?
 

"dpb" wrote in message ...

On 6/12/2021 7:38 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Leon" wrote in message
...

On 6/11/2021 9:29 PM, John Grossbohlin wrote:
"Sandra Vaughan" wrote in message
groupdirect.com...

Thank you, John. This information is very helpful. We will be using a
penetrating oil finish. I am relieved to know that we can go ahead and
seal them without waiting for dry winter weather! Our contractor
wants the indoor humidity to be below 55% for a few days before we
seal the doors. Does that sound reasonable to you?

I'm not sure that "a few days" would make a practical difference....
However, if it makes the contractor feel more confident in the process,
so he stands behind his work, it wouldnt hurt.

Perhaps to acclimate to the inside humidity level.

If they have been hung for a while I'd think they should be acclimated to
whatever the indoor conditions are. I suspect he's either thinking that a
few days would drop the moisture level of the wood... (I'm thinking "a
few days" wouldn't have a practical affect on that. A week or two, yes...
a few days, no.) -- OR -- The product he is using calls for a humidity
level of 55 or lower. If the whole house is "damp" from high humidity I'd
think it would take more than a few days for that to dry out too. Alas,
this is all best guess based on my prior experiences. ;~) As the
homeowner I'd take my lead from the contractor as he's responsible for
the results.

Besides being in a high-humidity climate, much depends on just how big a
rush the contractor was in to finish up -- fresh drywall is replete with
moisture and if the house was open until relatively recently, there's a lot
to dry out.

Just too many variables unknown here to say much -- I'd definitely want the
humidity reduced and held down for at least a couple weeks before I made
any definitive judgements.

An oil finish will do virtually nothing effective at all to seal them,
though, unless is top-coated with a non-permeable coat of varnish or
lacquer.

Yes, it's the indoor humidity to which the homeowner referred and to which I
was responding. In the case of the homeowner's situation there is moisture
coming out of a lot of things... That may or may not include glue, paint,
joint compound, framing lumber, sheet goods, concrete, grout, etc. They may
be living in the house too so there is moisture from respiration, cooking,
showering, etc. With the house closed up and the A/C running the air itself
will dry out pretty quickly. However, it will take quite a while for the
materials themselves to dry out in that air... more than a few days. I'd
let the contractor set the pace as he's the one that will get the call backs
if he fouls up.... and ideally he knows the conditions better than us. ;~)