I have posted a few times about an ongoing wood garage door repair. It started out with the bottom section falling apart and being repaired, including replacement of the particleboard panels which were in bad shape. I then realized that the next section was also in bad shape (the bottom rail basically fell off). So I am fixing that, including new panels. Before I glue and screw the bottom rail in place, I’m wondering if it would be a good idea to drill some weepholes in the dado of the bottom rail in which the panels sit so that water running down the face of the panel has somewhere to go. The fit between the panels and the dado is not particularly tight and water will likely get in. I have heard that it’s not a good idea to caulk that type of a joint. I was thinking of three 3/16″ holes per panel…one at each end and one in the middle. Or am I overthinking/overdoing it, as I usually do?
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If you drill the weep holes you will be introducing a path for water to follow to get deeper into the (wood) rail. Add to that the fact that you then have to be concerned with keeping the holes clear. Best to repair the door parts and sand and prep. for a quality paint job. Remember that all wood parts should be properly (and fully) painted and kept that way. The door should be able to handle occasional wetting. If it is exposed to the predominant direction of hard weathering then perhaps an extended roof over the top of the garage opening would be in order.
Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, the construction is such that it does get blasted...north facing, no overhang, door not recessed. I did soak the dado with minwax wood hardener to improve its moisture and rot resistence. Maybe that's enough. Also, even though I primed the new panels on all six sides, they probably will swell to make a tighter fit in the dado.
You are on the right track with prep work although I would have used other type sealers. Nevertheless, you at least did take extra measures to help preclude water absorption. I would think that if you use a polyurethane sealant when assembling the new panels into the rabbet you would be able to keep water intrusion into that area to a nil amount, providing you upkeep.
I really like the minwax product...it really soaks in and seals the wood fibers, like Abbatron prime-kote. I plan to use PL premium ,with screws. to join the rail to the styles, but planned to let the panels "float"...no caulk or sealants. Is it ok to set the bottom of the panel in sealant and let the other 3 sides float? BTW, the panels are tempered hardboard with 2 coats of BM oil primer on all 6 sides. I will resist saying thanks a million.
The use of the polyurethane would be as if you were setting glass in a rabbet. Gun the material onto the mating surface of the panel and press the panel in place. If you are not comfortable with using the polyurethane a good replacement would be GE XST( extreme silicone technology) available at HD. This material gives great adhesion,paintability and ease of cleanup. It will allow the panel and the wood to expand yet seal the space that you want between the panel and rabbet.
I will check that out.
I think fixing the bottom of the panel would be fine if you let the other three side float. You could seal up the side an inch or so as well. Wood movement in a panel like this is accumulative so the first few inches don't see alot of movement. I've seen this done in furniture work. Good cabinet makers tend to think about wood movement a lot.
Thanks for the input.
Didn't you say it was a masonite panel?
Glue it all around, it won't expand contract like solid wood would. It may SWELL at the edges in thickness, but it won't grow cross grain like wood panels.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Yes, masonite. Since I will be sliding the panels into the frame and then reattaching the bottom rail, I think I will just seal it at the bottom.Has anyone tried that new clear "Universal Sealant" by Loctite that I have seen at HD and Lowes?
PowerGrab? I've not tested it outdoors for such an application. I'd go with a polyurethane like PL prem. It WILL outlast the wood. And act as a caulk to keep water out.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Not Power Grab. Totally new, clear like lexel or geocel, called Universal. Comes in a regular caulk tube , but the tip screws on and off. Pricey, $9 a tube.
I was gonna say Lex or Geo first, but some folks have a hard time getting either or both. IF that stuff is aon par with them, hell yeah.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I'm with you on this one. The only wood movement he is going to get is in the stiles and rails. Set the panels in a bead of urethane caulk the will expand and contract with that movement. keep the water ot of the rabet. finish the whole thing like boat, if it gets that much water.
I'm not going to weigh in on weep holes in this particular situation, but thought I'd relate what happened with some of Norway's stave churches:
Basically the churches timber framed churches sided with vertical planks whose ends were set into notched timbers top and bottom. The original builders were savy to the ways of water and drilled weep holes in the bottom timbers to allow the bottom notch to drain. They did well this way for 200 years or so.
Then along came people who were "smarter" and they, in many cases, poured hot tar/pitch into the bottom notches to "protect" and "preserve" the wood. As a result the weep holes were plugged and rotting set in big time.
Sounds like a vote for weepholes!
Although weep holes may seem like a good idea under certain circumstances, I would say that with second and third generation lumber which contains much sapwood, it would probably not be a good idea. The structures that you speak of in Norway are most certainly built with dense heartwood. Also, if my building history serves me correctly, don't the Scandinavian countries have a long history of using preservative type compounds like "pine tar" and "black varnish"? We really don't know what might have been placed in those weeps to help preserve the wood. Maybe nothing, then again maybe something, or the wood was just of an excellent quality. The other factor is the size of the weep. Small diameter holes have a tendency to fill quickly. A large enough hole that allows for a flow through principle would have to be designed into that detail of this type of construction.I am just offering food for thought, not wishing to be confrontational.
> I am just offering food for thought, not wishing to be confrontational.Same here. But we could probably learn a lot from those old stavkyrkjer -- many were built without any metal fasteners, and all were designed with intimate awareness of the path a drop of water follows.
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