new wooden door, swollen step-whats best?

hotcookie101

Hi,
We just had a new back door fitted, a solid wood one, which was untreated when fitted (wish he had left it with us after picking up, before fitting, so we could have painted it, but hindsight is 20-20 they say) We got a coat of primer undercoat on the door, and step, and have managed to gloss the door, but it has been raining or snowing pretty much solidly since it was fitted, and now the door is very stiff to close So we are presuming that the door step has swollen with all the rain, and hoping when it dries it will fit again!
But my question is-do we now need to wait until the door fits properly (ie the step has dried out) before we can apply another coat of undercoat, and then gloss-I am worried that if we do it now (or rather once it has stopped raining) it won't allow the moisture to leave?
Thanks for any advice

thickbuilder

is it just catching on the bottom ?
do you have a rebate strip in the bottom of the frame?(a strip of metal that sticks up about 10 mm)
was the bottom of the door primed before fitting?
look to see where its catching and plane a couple of mm off the door it could be on the rebate if it has a rebate strip
if its the bottom paint before putting the door back on
not sure what the best paint to use is

hotcookie101

There is no strip of metal as far as I can see. It has a wooden frame (which came varnished) and a solid wood door, and a wooden flat "step" at the base, which has a rubber insulating strip. It fitted fine when it went in.
It seems to be catching at the bottom, I find it very hard to close it, OH can manage better than me. I don't want to take the door off (we don't have any tools for planing etc) and would worry if we took stuff off it so it fits now, once the step dried out there would be a gap IYKWIM?
The tradesman who fitted it varnished the top and bottom of the door, we have primed and undercoated the outside of the door (using Sandtex high performence primer undercoat) and its had a coat of sandtex one coat gloss. The step has only had the primer undercoat applied.
I am presuming the step has absorbed water because of this, but was hoping it will dry out and the door will fit again-is this not likely?

missile

hotcookie101 wrote: »

I am presuming the step has absorbed water because of this, but was hoping it will dry out and the door will fit again-is this not likely?

The step was not treated prior to installation? This could lead to problems even in dry weather the untreated underside and cut ends will soak up moisture and eventually it will rot.

hotcookie101

No, the step was "raw" wood, like the door, it was only the frame that was pre-varnished. I have got primer around the edges and underneath (but not a thick coat-it was snowing when I did it ), but we really need a dry day so I can get it done properly. Will the water that has been absorbed be able to dry out if I prime and gloss it, or will that stop it getting out, like it should stop it getting in?

Westvleteren

My experience of modern solid wooden doors, no matter how much you pay are that they are rubbish! I have bought several that have been pre treated or treated by me in full dry conditions and they still swell. I think the timber used today is not seasoned properly.