Bathroom door swelling

az2wp0sye65487

I recently did some renonvation works at home, and replaced 2 doors, one in the bathroom and one in the utility room. I haven't had a chance to treat them yet, but when they were hung originally they opened and closed perfectly. The bathroom door is now sticking in the frame in a couple of places and needs a good push/pull to open/close.

I'm guessing that this is due to moisture absorption?

I bought some ronseal clear varnish and a wood plane. My plan is to plane the door where its sticking, sand it all then varnish it.

Can anyone tell me if this will sort the problem?

Thanks.

builditwell

Hi Steviecakes,

unfortunatly your post explains the prob in the first line " I havent had the chance to treat them yet". This is the key to a door staying its true size throughout its life and as such have absorbed moisture and swelled. I know you already know this its just for benefit of others. If you were able to remove the 2 doors you would need to put them in room with moderate heat placed on wooden lats lying on the floor. These should be left for a couple of weeks if possible but I think using a de-humidifier might crack the joints in the door. Basically the longer they are left the more they will return to their closest original size. once you are happy with the fit you can take a very small pass off the door with a plane but not too much as they will shrink further once the summer weather arrives ( belly laugh for Irish summer!!!:D). I would treat them then as follows. 1 coat of sanding sealer, followed by rub down and second coat of sanding sealer. Follow this up with 2 good coats of varnish in whatever finish you prefer. A carpenter once said to me about pine doors that before they are hung you should seal and varnish the top and bottom of the door as they are never done and it these areas which tend to help it swell. Good luck with the fix.

Regards
Builditwell

az2wp0sye65487

Thanks Builditwell for the info. Unfortunately I can't realistically leave the bathroom without a door for that long.....

If I was to mark where it was sticking in the frame, take it off and plane (plain?) these areas and then treat it would this do the trick??

builditwell

Hi Steviecakes

Very true about the door, could see some very red faces in your house:mad:. Yes you can plane the door but only take off the bare amount and also remember that sealing and varnishing the door will add slight but additional thickness to the door.

Regards
Builditwell