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I installed a Front door that is 48″x 84″ x 2 1/4″ thick and made from fir. The door receives alot of sun and the owner requested it to be painted black. The mill work company sent a rep to measure the door. The existing door was fir also and painted black, but about 70 years old. The door has been up for about 4 months now. It has a split on one of the stiles and the outside is bleeding small amounts of sap all over the surface of the door.
Now to my question. The rep is so far willing to give me a new door. Nothing has been said about paying my labor or the painting. The rep has told me after all this that a mahogany door would bleed sap less that a fir. Should I be suck up the labor and painting costs for this or should the mill works rep informed me that this door, under this exposure could possible bleed or fail. Or the fact that the rail split should be enough for full replacement and reimbursement of additional cost to me.
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Getting reimbursed by a manufacturer for your labor happens about once every 300 years. It really depends on the defect and the attitude of the manufacturer and your supplier. I'm sure the manufacturer's warranty specifically excludes labor costs but it can't hurt to ask.
*Box lock, we are commercial door and hardware contractors in Chicago. We once had a Von Duprin exit device fail. The door was hanging on a continuous hinge and was labor intensive to remove. To cut a long story short, Von Duprin's factory rep supplied the new parts and paid 2 union carpenters 8 hours to repair the door. The only difference here is they are a huge company with deep pockets. When they know you buy their stuff regularly, they will bend over backwards to keep your business.
*Gentlemen:Could I hijack this thread temporarily? I am not deep into the door business, but a very good client asked me to install a front door. Cold climate, shady, sheltered location on the house.He is asking for the best a in a non-wood door and hardware. Your suggestions please.Regards, Fred
*Why in the world would you hijack this thread? Why wouldn't you start a new one? Just curious.John
*After the 9/11, hijacking has become dangerous. The crew and passengers agressively eject the hijacker. Do no tread on this thread...............start anew......................Iron Helix
*Box Lock,In thirty years experience in residential building material sales, there have been a handfull, if that many, millwork replacements that included labor reimbursement. Be happy at that...some millwork suppliers are very stingy with replacement of obvious defects. I usually omitted these folks in the next set of bid requests.it's a tough world out there...........Iron Helix
*Fir will normally bleed resin anyway and would give me pause before using oit on a door without special precautions.Fir is a difficult wood to get paint to stick to because of the resins so it is more nortmal to oil it instead.Black facing the sun on any door goes against common sense. The tremendous heat on one side of the door can be expected to causwe extreme stresses in the wood. Combined with the fact that fir is a splintery wood that doesn't hold paint well and bleeds resin as a matter of course, I don't know why you don't have more problems with it. Don't hold it against the maker if that is what you or the owner speced.
*I used to work for a door and millwork factory when I was in high school. The company's policy was that painting an exterior door black (no matter what side of the building) voided the warranty. I would say be glad they are replacing the door, but since they are doing that maybe they see a fault that is their's with the door and will reimburse you for labor too.Matt