French door water marks

[mazfg]

Just joined this forum and have a pressing problem with my French doors.
About 17 months I had some fitted and they have been ok, although about 8 months ago I noticed some staining around the bottom of the doors, since then it has got worse. The doors had 3 coats of varnish which I thought was enough to seal them. On speaking to a friend of mine he saw them and said that the doors are the wrong way round, in that the beading for the window panes is on the outside and should be on the inside, as in the windows were fitted from the outside. Is this correct? I can see now how this may increase the chance of wet getting in as the beading on the inside is better sealed. The staining is quite bad in places and assume this is from the water running down dirty windows and into the wood.

I attach a picture of my doors, so anyone can see

Any help would be appreciated

Mazz

 

[Tom.]

Thats water getting in the gaps and soaking into the wood, that is. The beading should be on the inside.

I'd get the company that fitted them back, and ******* the living daylights out of them. If you leave those doors like that, eventually you'll have to cut the rotten sections out and replace them.

 

[chappers]

if the glazing was fitted properly it shouldn't matter a **** which side the beading is on

 

[masona]

On speaking to a friend of mine he saw them and said that the doors are the wrong way round, in that the beading for the window panes is on the outside and should be on the inside, as in the windows were fitted from the outside. Is this correct?

The reason for beading inside is so burglar cannot undo the beading to break into your property.

 

[jofly24]

Remove beading and replace with putty. This is a job best done in summer as it is best to get wood as dry as possible.

 

[IanDB]

Looking at your picture I would hazard a guess that the water staining is nothing to do with the beading. The water marks are all along the joins in the timber at the foot of the door. I suspect that the wood has expanded/contracted (as all wood does) and that the join has opened up slightly to let the water in.

Unfortunately the wood is now discoloured and you are never going to get it looking good again. The problem with varnish is that it is fine on a surface that doesn't move but once there is a break in the finish moisture gets in behind it and it will start to lift.

I would suggest that you consider taking the varnish off and either painting your doors or, if you want a natural wood finish, using Tung oil as a better method of finishing the wood. (Ref this //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11301&start=0)

 

[IanDB]

Just remembered - I should have earlier because I have used this - another excellent finish is Sikkens. This is a microporous finish that lets the wood breathe. It's a cross between a varnish and a stain. You can get a whole range of shades depending on what you want. I would use it in preference to varnish for exterior work anytime.

This http://www.sikkens.co.uk/index2.html is what I'm talking about. It's pricey at around £20/litre but well worth it. Click on Products and then go to Product Information for CETOL FILTER 7.