DW wants to paint the exterior of our front entry door black. I don’t have a problem with this aesthetically, but I want to make sure I won’t be inviting any physical problems with the door.
The door is a 15-light 3/0 – 6/8 inswing, and is currently painted white on the exterior and stained/poly’d on the inside. Not sure what species; I’m guessing fir? AFAIK, it’s the original entry door, and the house was built in 1926, so it’s of that vintage, at least.
We have a fullview aluminum storm door on that door as well; I guess one of my concerns is that the combination of the black paint and full-glass storm will trap a lot of heat and cause warpage, premature paint failure, etc. I know this can happen with the vinyl trim around the windows on steel doors, but I don’t know if I have anything to worry about with a wood door…
Would appreciate any thoughts, comments, similar experiences, etc…
Replies
if it gets direct sun, it will warp. If it's shaded by a porch or trees or facing north you may have no problem. You're essentially building a solar heater with what you're planning, though.
Even if the door doesn't warp, if the door gets a lot of sun your paint job won't last as long with the daily heating/cooling cycle...that said, just paint it how DW wants it and deal with the consequences....
Trapping heat between two doors is the issue not the color of the door. I just finished painting a secondary door for a homeowner. It has an aluminum storm and a white panel door. This door rarely is open . The paint on the door casing and the door itself almost fell off the wood.
You may have better luck because you have 15 panes of glass to move some of that heat to the cool side of the door.
Vinyl trim expands and contracts at a very different rate than wood so lighter colors reduce the amount they move. Wood has more mass and will heat up slower therefore no ripples like thin vinyl.
Good luck,
Jon
PS could you tell me who DW is and what AFAIK means? If I have to buy a glossary that could eat up my profit for the summer
Edited 9/9/2006 5:09 pm by paintguy
DW = dear wife in this context. (could also mean drywall)
AFAIK = As far as I know.
Bonus
IIRC = If I recall correctly
FWIW = For what its worth
TFB (Bill)
Edited 9/9/2006 5:36 pm by ToolFreakBlue
Thanks for the definitions. I was worried DW stood for Divorced Wife. You would be one sweet guy to be taking orders if that was the case.Jon
I doubt painting a 15 light wood door black is going to cause it to warp any worse then if it were painted white or any other color.
The paint will fade and wear faster in direct sun no matter what color you paint it.
If you can, try to find a storm door that has vents at the top and bottom.
I haven't seen it on doors, but darker-painted divided-light windows on old houses seem to separate at the coped joints more readily that the white-painted ones i've repaired. YMMV.
<YMMV>
Isn't that "YRMV"?
Forrest
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
Ah - I thought it was Your Results May Vary
Forrest
YMMV, of course, comes from auto ads on TV in the 70s (back when fuel economy was considered important). Any claim of fuel economy was followed by the "your mileage may vary" disclaimer.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Sort of like my truck which the sticker said 14-17MPG and I get a whopping 11MPG city/highway.
at least it's consistent
Some door manufacturers would void any warrantee if the door is painted a dark color.
ok, but we're talking about a wooden door the orginal poster said is probably orginal to the house circa 1920's
I don't think a warranty applies here.
Which wooden door manufactuers void the warranty if their door is painted a dark color.
No, the warrantly doesn't apply, but the REASON that the manufacturers void the warrantly is as true for old doors as it is for new. In sun black absorbs more energy and gets hotter than white. This means the day and night temperatures of the doors undergo a wider temperature swing, wood movement is increased and joints fail or boards warp to a greater degree if the door is painted a dark color than if painted a light color.
If you google <!----> you'll get a list of sites with information similar to this from http://www.wooddoors.com/warranty/finishing.html
d. Dark pigmented paints (i.e. black, dark green) facing a sun exposure will cause excessive wood movement and possible splits or cracks. Use of dark colors will void warranty.<!---->
What's the sun exposure. Any plastic parts on either door?
If the door gets any direct sun (even a low sun in the winter), it can get quite hot in there -- from experience enough to melt polystyrene type plastic, which is around 240F. Of course, the problem can exist even with a white-painted door, but will get worse with darker colors.
If the storm door has a sliding panel, leaving the screen open a notch will prevent most damage while still providing most of the benefits of a storm. You can also supposedly buy storms with thermostatically operated vents top and bottom, but I've never seen one.
You guys are missing the most important considerations - it depends mostly upon which direction the door is facing:
"THE FRONT DOOR IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT FOR WEALTH, so try painting your door an auspicious color. If your door faces SE, consider painting it purple or a shade of purple. You can also paint it a rich green color. If it faces north, paint it black. I did this once to enhance my career and within hours of painting it black, my phone rang off the hook! If your door faces south, paint the door red to enhance your reputation and renown."
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Weber4.html
Doesn't everybody know this?