Warped/ curved timber front door

[MoonBase1]

Hi,

I live in a new build house with a lovely timber front door. Its pretty exposed and now that the weather has gone cold the door has started to bend inward at the top and bottom. The door is sealed with a dark wood stain. Now there is a draft at the top and bottom of the door

Does anyone have any clever idea as to how to remedy it ....
Will it go back to being straight when the weather warms up?

I would have guessed that the condensation would have made it bow the other way.

Thanks.

 

[pinenot]

The most likely answer for the door bending into the room is moisture balance. The external face is exposed to the elements, cold & especially moisture, which for whatever reason is finding an ingress into the wood!
The internal surfaces are (now this where I'm making an assumption) subject to dry and warmth, comparative to the exterior. This imbalance is the seat of the problem.
Your right in the assumption that when summer swings around the problem will most likely rectify itself, but there are things you can do to reduce this flexing problem.
Are the two sides of the door painted the same, or is there a variation??...Waiting for answer

 

[MoonBase1]

I have just looked at the door .... f##king guy I had staining it decided that the top and bottom of the door didn't need treating ......
After I told him that the most important bits were the end grain.

I want to kill every builder I have ever worked with.

(ok that was just for dramatic effect, I should have checked his work)

I guess I'll treat the top and bottom of the door and hope the moisture inside evens out.

In answer to the question both sides are treated with wood stain. But the op and bottom of the door are not, DOH!

 

[JohnD]

I find it is a great advantage to use lift-off hinges on external doors, they make it so much easier to do a proper job of repainting them, and rehanging is no trouble at all.

Ironmongery Direct have some nice ones in PVD brass over stainless steel. Plain stainless ones are widely available but often have the continental style round-end leaf that may not be the same as your existing hinges.

 

[pinenot]

OK, now you know.
Is the door frame grooved to take internal draft seals or fitted with external door seals? (brass strips visible) If the later, take the top one off and replant it back on the top rail of the door and with a square edged block of timber on the two longer brass strips, knock them in top and bottom until you get a bit of a fit to the door. That should dampen down or even eradicate the drafts at the top of the door. Next get hold of a length of self adhesive draft proofing strip to fit on the rubber/plastic wiper blade on the threshold bar at the bottom of the door frame. As long as this is able to stick you should have cured the drafts for the mean time.
I wouldn't seal the top and bottom rails just yet, wait until good weather in Spring when you should have a pretty straight door, time to remove the door to get to the bottom rail, 2 coat seal both the top and bottom rails (allow a couple of hours drying between coats) rehang the door and reverse everything above, you should now have a pretty stable door...pineot

 

[JohnD]

oh yes... quite right.

wood should be thoroughly dry before painting.

A hardwood triangular weather-bar with a moulded drip will help keep water away from the bottom of the door. You drill and screw from inside so there are no visible external holes.

 

[pinenot]

One thought occurs, if as you say it's a new built home I assume it's still under guarantee via NHBC no?