Problem with new Door

[miah]

Hi all,

We had a new pine door fitted approx 2 weeks ago by a carpenter, in the first week the door closed very smoothly but after a week the door now doesn’t shut properly it keeps getting stack near the door handle.

I called the carpenter who put the door up and he trimmed some off the panel. Since then, it was closing nicely for a week but now same old thing has reoccurred again and is not just only with 1 door but with another 2 new doors which was fitted by the same carpenter.

Can someone be kind enough to help my carpenter out here, I read my DIY book on How to put a new door but could not find any thing. I checked the door hinge its all screwed in and tighten .

Is there any thing the carpenter is doing wrong here?


Appreciate your help.

 

[aaront]

Wood expands and contracts depending on the temp/humidity etc. I can only think that the door is "settling". Give it a month and ask him to come back and re plane it. It can take up to 6 weeks for wood to fully adapt.

 

[masona]

The carpenter is not doing anything wrong,it is known as part-seasoning timber and all wood contains some water, is known as moisture content depending on your room humidity level.
When you get 100% Seasoning,it prevents unacceptable changes in size occurring after installation,water from timber so that the amount of water in the timber is in balance with the moisture in the room.
The problem we are getting now is,the manufacter are buying timber which can be turned straight away and delivered to the user immediately, without any risk of warping or splitting and this is called part-seasoning.
When you buy a door it's best to leave it in the room for approx 4 weeks for settling period.I'm afraid you have to keep shaving it off until it settle.I always taper the door edge to minimize the problems.

 

[miah]

Thank you all.

You say to leave the door in a room for 4 weeks before fitting, but the door must have been kept in the store for more than 4 weeks, shouldn’t this reduce the moisture content? Or is there temperature difference?

Kind regards

 

[masona]

Your doors is still in the seasoning stages as its only had part-seasoning,basically in simple term the manufacter are cutting corner to speed up the demands to supply the timber to customer.
New doors need to acclimatise to their new environment. To minimise warping, they should be laid flat away from any direct heat. Door warp is caused by changes in humidity, wood being natural will seek equilibrium with its surroundings.
All doors will move, even old door that have latched perfectly for years will move, but a competent carpenter will be able to shave the stop lat to the contour of the door so it will close correctly. Always take care shaving a swollen sticking door in the winter months, you may end up with an unexpected gap in the summer.
And the biggest problem is when the doors are covered in plastic protected covering which is the worst thing to do !

 

[breezer]

.
And the biggest problem is when the doors are covered in plastic protected covering which is the worst thing to do !

unless of course it is a plastic door (sorry i couldn't resist that)

 

[aussie1]

yep just let door settle and plane again later

 

[dropdeadshed]

I have seen this problem many many times, and have been called back just like your carpenter has.
All the comments are right but one thing as a final note.
I have found that often the door that you have been planing and planing, come summer time the door will have a huge gap down it.
so dont get carried away and say right im going to plane this dam door this time enough so it wont stick again. Always just enough.
Also I find treating the door with some kind of varnish or something over any fresh wood helps.
To be honest I think It should be your job to do any further planing and not the carpenter as its not his fault. And if he keeps coming back he will make sure he planes it so much he will never need to come back, as discussed above.