A friend of mine has a beautiful front metal door, with two side panels that has a stain glass design in the side panels. There’s a trim that goes around the stain glass panels. About 4 months ago, one of the trim cracked in two, I used a small screw to hold it in place, glued and putty it, sanded it and painted it. Now it has come undone again, and on the other side, the moulding has cracked too.
My question is, has anyone seen this happen before and know the reason why it’s doing this? the door is facing south, and gets sun most of the day and is painted a dark brown color. I am thinking that because of these two factors, that it is expanding and contracting and this is causing the cracking. I’ve checked the door, it is working properly, so I know that it hasn’t settle or shifted so much to cause this problem.
Does anyone have any suggestions or information? I would like to find the root of the problem before patching it again..
Replies
Yes. Have seen this happen before on the same type of door construction. The plastic trim pieces crack right apart.
I don't know how I'd address it except maybe just carefully caulk the crack and repaint. It seems like it will happen again with a regular type of fix, need something flexible.
Is there a storm door with the glass still in? Cause if there is, metal doors with sun exposure go bonkers.
Lance
You can probably get new lite kits to replace what's there. Don't paint it a dark color and you probably won't have this problem again. Most dark painted plastic kits fail whether behind a storm or not. If your're losing the caulk seal that the glass was set in, there's a risk of rot to the bit of wood in the sidelite frame or even the whole door sidelite frame. Have seen that happen and it gets to the point of replacing the entire unit or at least the frame. Seven y.o. house that had this problem, I had to replace the frame and the sheeting and band below. You can reuse the door and side lites if they're still sound. If you replace the lite kit, make sure you seal the glass panel properly. Best of luck.
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Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 5/30/2003 10:15:27 PM ET by calvin
This is an opertunity to sell them a small or large porch/overhange to keep the sun off of it and the rain when theyr'e fumbling for keys.
as calvin said... no dark colors... you turn the door into a solar collector..
the mfr. put a painting instruction label on it when it was sent out that even says ... no dark colors..
the screws hold it in place.. but the heat expands the plastci until something has to give... the sun's heat on the dark color exceeds the exspansion ability of the molding..
happens all the time.. i could show you one on the south door of my office... beautiful Essex Green.. almost the perfect solar absorber..
somewhere on the top or side of the door should be a mfr.'s plate or recessed label.. or something that tells who made the door.. take that to a good lumberyard/door dealer and look thru that mfr's catalog until you find your model.. reorder the plastic moldings.. they're held on with screws that go right thru the door..the outside molding screws into the inside molding and clamps the glass in place...
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 5/31/2003 9:22:35 AM ET by Mike Smith
Many thanks to everyone who gave comments. I don't know who painted the door a dark color, but I am going to suggest to her going with a lighter color.
I was going to order new moldings instead of trying to patch it, but the company is no longer in business. I am in the process of trying to find if they went out of business or if someone brought them out.
These lite kits are many times so similar they might be the same. Size of cut out is the determining factor as most entry doors are set up 1-3/4". If you take one apart enough to get cutout size, that should help you find one anywhere. Probably could get away telling them the viewable glass size. There is some diff in the contour of various lite trim kits. Pair up w/other side, they'll never know what hit em. best of luck
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Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
first, remove all the trim and clean it up. when you put it back on use panel lock window and door sealer. it is white and has a 50 yr. elasticity warranty. this product is a glue and sealant which remains eternally flexable.. clean up with denatured alcohol while wet or cut with a razor when dry. the sandability is non existant due to its elasticity rating. i use this product on all joints and it never opens up. after drying, just prime and paint. problem solved