Hi,
I have a Tudor-style front (exterior) wood door on my house - circa 1928. It looks like a castle-type door with an arched top and flat black hardware, etc.
At the bottom, some of the wood planks have started splitting / cracking. Most of the splits are about 3"-4" long cracks that are max of 1/16" wide, but one crack is over 12" and is about 1/4" wide. This is also happening at the top a little too.
Last summer I stripped off all of the brown paint that was badly flaking and chipping on the door. It had only a single coat of paint on it and it wasn't done very well. I found out that the wood was in good shape under the paint, so I stained the door and coated with Mixwax Helmsman Spar Urethane (Exterior). I put on about 4 coats, inside and outside. The door looked fantastic.
At that time there already were several cracks on the bottom of the door. Some had been filled with wood filler or putty. Most splits were visible, but closed.
So, my question is, what is causing this and what should I do?
Its possible this has something to do with the unusually bitter cold winter we've had here in the Boston (USA) area. If so, I would assume this is temporary and nothing to worry about.
If not, then I need to do something to stop this so that the door doesn't disintegrate. I don't want to replace it, as I'm sure that would be several thousand dollar expense.
Any ideas from the exterior wood experts out there?
Thanks,
Pete
I have a Tudor-style front (exterior) wood door on my house - circa 1928. It looks like a castle-type door with an arched top and flat black hardware, etc.
At the bottom, some of the wood planks have started splitting / cracking. Most of the splits are about 3"-4" long cracks that are max of 1/16" wide, but one crack is over 12" and is about 1/4" wide. This is also happening at the top a little too.
Last summer I stripped off all of the brown paint that was badly flaking and chipping on the door. It had only a single coat of paint on it and it wasn't done very well. I found out that the wood was in good shape under the paint, so I stained the door and coated with Mixwax Helmsman Spar Urethane (Exterior). I put on about 4 coats, inside and outside. The door looked fantastic.
At that time there already were several cracks on the bottom of the door. Some had been filled with wood filler or putty. Most splits were visible, but closed.
So, my question is, what is causing this and what should I do?
Its possible this has something to do with the unusually bitter cold winter we've had here in the Boston (USA) area. If so, I would assume this is temporary and nothing to worry about.
If not, then I need to do something to stop this so that the door doesn't disintegrate. I don't want to replace it, as I'm sure that would be several thousand dollar expense.
Any ideas from the exterior wood experts out there?
Thanks,
Pete
