Replies

1. 
   FastEddie | Jun 12, 2007 07:20pm | #1

   1.  Send a note to the Sysop asking that this discussion be moved to a better catagory.

   2.  You really don't want to clamp it tight.  That defeats the purpose of the t&g boards.  The door was built to allow for seasonal expansion & contraction, and if you clamp it tight something will get torn up.

   "Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

   "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

1. 
   dustymess | Jun 12, 2007 09:52pm | #2

   My First time on FHB. What is SYSOP???

2. 
   dustymess | Jun 12, 2007 09:53pm | #3

   By the way, thanks for the feed back!

1. 
   FastEddie | Jun 12, 2007 10:28pm | #4

   Sysop is short for systems operator ... the guys who run the forum.  Somewhere there is a button to click and it gives several options, one being to report a violation of the rules.  You can click that and just type a message, they'll get it prety quickly.

   Ok, there is a blue "options" link in the lower left of the message ... click there.

   "Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

   "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

   Edited 6/12/2007 3:28 pm ET by FastEddie

2. 
   doorboy | Jun 12, 2007 10:56pm | #5

   `If the door is protected from rain and sun, then I'd leave it alone.
   In the case of exterior doors--maybe 100 degrees outside, 72 degrees inside--90% RH outside, 50% RH inside--the wood should be expected to move seasonally. Keep a good top coat of finish on it and it should last for many years.

   "Roger Staubach for President"

3. 
   acornw | Jun 12, 2007 11:32pm | #6

   Arch top "mohogany" doors are coming over from China by the container loads. There are several things to consider.

   First, if it is moving this soon, this much, then it is most likely you do not have Honduras Mahogany - swetenia macrophylla. Pattern grade Honduras is the most desirable wood for exterior doors, and the most expensive. Everybody uses anything but Honduras, and calls it "mahogany" - maybe Philippine Mahogany, maybe African Mahogany, maybe just like Mahogany, maybe better than mahogany. The one sure thing is that it is not Mahogany, as in the Real Deal. The perception is quality, but it is an illusion. Most times not only do the retailers know (or care) what species the door is, but the distributors don't either. I'm waiting for someone to sell a Poplar door as Indiana mahogany. The word mahogany is out there for anyone to use, and no amount of complaining will stop the abuse of the term. Buyer beware. If you paid more than $3,000 for a door only, and had a local professional build it, then it is likely to be Honduras, but it is worth asking. If it is not, I'd tell them I'm returning the door for full credit since it was sold under false pretenses.

   Secondly, the door must be fully finished on the bottom and the top, preferably with marine grade epoxy. You can put a gun to the head of your painter, and he will swear to finish the bottom of the door, but he won't. Since he won't, water gets in the end grain, and swells the not quite Honduras Mahogany. Remember, that is what wood does, transport water. Even in death, it still performs. The lower weather seal needs to isolate the door from water running down the face of the door.

   Thirdly, the boards will move with changes in humidity. most kiln dried lumber will swell a bit once it is put into service - not shrink. My guess is that if the T&G boards are shrinking and other joints opening up, that the not quite mahogany is also not quite dry (that takes time and money), so is now seasoning in your house. It will stop at some point, usually a year from now.

   Sorry for the cynicism, but after 35 years of diligently practicing my craft, I get more questions about wood doors falling apart than ever. The cheesy, globalized, mass marketers peddling their short term profit crap are making all the plastic and metal door marketing claims more true than ever. Splits! Rot! Warp! Cracks! The heartbreak of wood door ownership!

   For the record, I have built - or my shop has built - over 3,000 exterior doors. One Honduras Mahogany door has warped - after 6 months of no finish, south facing, no protection. It warped 1/4". I replaced it.

   Dave Sochar
   http://www.acornwoodworks.com

1. 
   dustymess | Jun 13, 2007 02:57am | #9

   Thanks for the info. I'm wiser for it. Not to beat a dead dog, but any advise in correcting the problem short of replacing it?

1. 
   acornw | Jun 13, 2007 03:43pm | #10

   Not much you can do. Things are still in a state of flux if the wood is wet. Generally a year - 4 full seasons - is what it takes for a door to settle in. Then it will only move slightly throughout the annual humidity cycle. Paint the door bottom with marine epoxy, after insuring that the weather seal will contact the sill/threshold/riser. I will ask, in return for my cynical views, that you post who made the door, how they described it, and what you paid for it, etc. Not only as a service for the forum, but also for my informal database on the subject. I thank you in advance.It is a shame, because things are now at the point where the fake "mahogany" wood doors are far worse (integrity, build quality, longevity) than good old American Fir, Pine, or Cypress doors. But the fake mahogany command the higher prices and the buyers feel as if they are buying a better product. Sort of like a Yugo in a Mercedes showroom.If you have a notion, ask the people that took your money what the species is, and how and why they call it mahogany, if it is responsibly harvested, if it matters. Write your newspaper, tell your neighbors, your State Attorney General. This continues only because of the collective apathy of the duped buyers, one by one by one. "Which is more wrong - Steal a million dollars from one person or one dollar from a million people?" Dave S

1. 
   karp | Jun 13, 2007 04:12pm | #11

   Ditto,

   Make sure the door bottom is sealed properly.

4. 
   marv | Jun 13, 2007 12:05am | #7

   I agree, I think the boards are drying out and shrinking.  Nothing you can do but look for your gaurantee.

   You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.

   Marv

5. 
   rez | Jun 13, 2007 02:20am | #8

   bump

   I built the chimney after my hoeing in the fall, before a fire became necessary for warmth, doing my cooking in the meanwhile out of doors on the ground, early in the morning: which mode I still think is in some respects more convenient and agreeable than the usual one.     
   -Thoreau's Walden