Closing shut a garage door

[RichJW]

Hi,

I've a 2-door side-opening wooden garage door.
The second door to close (therefore providing the seal) has warped and the wood veers off at the top, leaving a gap of about 1-2cm and exposing the garage to the elements. The bottom and middle meet and seal perfectly.

Is there a lock or catch that I can fit that will allow the imperfect door to close firmly against the other at the top? I require the ability to enter the garage from the outside and also to leave the garage from the inside,so simply fitting something outside to pull them together is not an option.

Thanks,
Richard

 

[pinenot]

Can you post a photo of this closed/gap? also is the pair of doors fitted with matched rebated closing stiles?? or what...pinenot

 

[RichJW]

Thanks pinenot.

I'll get a photo, but yes they do have matched rebated closing stiles - the faulty door being the second closing door.

 

[RichJW]

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• RichJW
• 20 May 2013
• 1

Hope this is clear enough!

 

[JohnD]

show us a pic of the inside. I will guess that it is ledged and braced nd it might be that the bracing is loose, rotted, or nails rusted..

If you block the bottom and bend the top over in the opposite direction to the warp, it may hold its shape somewhere near the middle, especially if you can block and leave it for a day or so. However if it springs back, you can bend it over and attach a steel wire to large ringbolts at the opposite corners on the inside, to help hold it in the pulled shape. You can also fit a brenton bolt at the top.

how old are these doors? The overlapping batten on the closing door looks like it is planted on, it might be this batten that has warped and you could remove it and either put it back the other way round, or fit a less wavy one.

 

[pinenot]

Looks like a planted closure piece from the pic. Trying to force the open top of the door into place (by placing a block at the bottom and force closing against it) as John has said is good, but you may have to loosen the ledge and brace frame from the door face lining to facilitate any permanent shift, worth a try. Also if you removed the planted stop/closer, you might be able to twist the door back to shape a bit easier, then re-fix it.

Put a strait edge if you can on the face of each doors meeting stile, is one or both out of true?? post us the results will you.

Also before the doors get to the lock position, does the top of the door have to pushed over??...pinenot

 

[RichJW]

[GALLERY=media, 61536][/GALLERY]
Thanks John D - This is the inside view.
The previous owner of the property was a tradesman and apparently made the doors himself, maybe 10-20 years ago.

I'm happy to try and force the warp to be corrected, so thanks for the idea.
The brenton bolt would prevent me opening the door from the opposite end, so wouldn't help, would it? Or are you thinking to put this on to try and correct the warp?

pinenot - Apologies if I have got the style of the frame/closure wrong, I googled "matched rebated closing stiles" and it seemed to fit! :?
The working door is perfectly flush, the warped door veers off once it gets past the lock after half-way up the door.
The door locks fine, as it is only past this point that the warp really starts to take hold. If I pull the warped door at the top, it does close, but obviously springs back once I let go.

My grandfather-in-law seems to think there is some kind of lock available, which has a round hole in the door and a long cylinder key and when this is turned it springs a bolt up inside the garage door, which I could manually undo to exit the garage. Does this make sense?

Richard

 

[JohnD]

stand back and take wider views please, inside and out.

 

[foxhole]

Hardly open to the elliments , a bolt on the outside will help push it in [when you not in it].
I have a door closer on mine fixed to the centre of the door a simple pulley arrangement with a chain as a weight, this pulls the door closed and if weighted heavy will also hold the top in eventually, as it weathers.

 

[RichJW]

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• RichJW
• 20 May 2013
• 1

Untitled

• RichJW
• 20 May 2013
• 1

Thanks foxhole, I'll see if anything else works and may try that later.

 

[pinenot]

If it's not the closing door that's warped and causing the problem, try straightening the other door on it's meeting stile.
To do this you'll need a long strong straight edge, or length of 3"x2" and three cramps. Clamp to the door at the bottom of the meeting stile, then clamp at the middle, look and see how much the top of the straight edge/3"x2" parts way from the door and try packing under the middle cramp with a similar size under the straight edge/3"x2" and door. This should throw the straight edge/3"x2" out twice that distance and a cramp fitted to the top of the door straight edge/3"x2" (all cramps with packers to avoid denting the door) as you draw the door to the straight edge/3"x2", the door will begin to resist, hold thee clamp at this position for 1/2 hr, then tighten cramp again. Repeat until the door is well beyond the correct straight line and hold it here overnight. Release the clamped assembly the next day and see if there is an improvement...pinenot

 

[RichJW]

Thanks pinenot, it's definitely the second closing door that is at fault. So, on the last image I took from inside the garage, it is the one on the left. The first closing door (with faint blue paint on it), is absolutely level.

 

[pinenot]

Ok same procedure, only I would take the cover/meeting piece off prior and check it for straightness before putting it back on. If it's badly warped/bowed putting it back on the other way round could help, or replace...pinenot