.........
..................Michael King
...........The Cajun Contractor
Excellence In Home Improvement Information
Call Toll Free
866-766-4426
Anyone that enters the promotion code "hometalk" will receive
10% off of their Door jamb Armor order.
Expansion & Contraction
QUESTION
I have a fine-looking oak-paneled interior door. It closes well, with perhaps 1/8 inch clearance on all sides, through the heating season. It starts to expand in May and then just will not close properly, getting worse until December. Is there any way to stop this expansion and contraction, due, I guess, to moisture?
ANSWER
You got that right. It is moisture that gets into the wood and expands it – often, as in your case, making the door difficult to operate. This moisture occurs in spring and summer; when the heat comes on in the fall, the moisture is pulled out of the wood and the door contracts. Oak is an open-pored wood and I think is more likely to absorb moisture than a closed-pored wood such as pine and fir, birch and maple. To keep moisture out, you have to seal all surfaces, including all edges—bottom, top, and sides. If the door is varnished, sand all surfaces and apply two coats of an oil-based polyurethane varnish. If the door is painted, sand heavily and apply an oil-based primer and finish with one or two thin coats of an oil-based primer and finish with one or two thin coats of an oil-based enamel. Do this in winter, during the height of the heating season, when the door has the least moisture and is the smallest. With luck, it will not expand when the humidity of spring and summer arrive. Another way to prevent expansion is to put in central air conditioning, which will keep the humidity low.
Return
to the "Crusader Q&A Topics" page!
If
you have a contracting problem and you just don't know where to turn,
"Ask The Crusader"...of home improvement, that is...Michael
King! Email Michael
King and explain your problem to him and he just might be able
to help you.
michaelking@hometalkusa.com
"Home
Talk TM,"
Michael King, and the Home Improvement Crusader Name and
Logo are licensed registered trademarks of the Home Improvement Broadcasting
Network.
BECOME
A SPONSOR!
CALL
866-766-4426
Sign
up for the Home Talk USA Newsletter!
Affiliate
Info & Tool Kit
The Hero Program
Home Energy Rebate Option
Home
Stations
Listen
Affiliate
Info
Ideas
& Tips
Host
Contact
HIBN
Store Topics
Partners
Site
Map
THE NATION'S MOST LISTENED TO HOME IMPROVEMENT RADIO SHOW!
Home
Improvement Broadcasting Network
307 Franklin Street
Mansfield, LA 71052
Office: 318-872-4277
Toll-Free: 866-766-4426
"Home
Talk"TM with Michael King, and the Home Improvement Crusader
Name, Logo and
"The Cajun Contractor - Michael King are licensed registered trademarks
of the Home Improvement Broadcasting Network.
Site
by...
Copyright
© 2006 Home Talk USA.
All rights reserved.