Wooden Bathroom door is sticking when closing

smcqis

Hi,
Just looking for a little advice really, heres the background.

We moved into a property a month ago (was sitting idle for 2 months) and wooden doors shut fine. The bathroom door started to stick on closing at the bottom half of vertical side, I sanded this down and it was closing perfect, but the prob has come back again, prob worse than before. I assuming this could possible be because of the moisture and steam from the shower (door usually open when showing exposing bit that sanded) causing wood to slightly expand. I see no obvious cracks around door frame thinking it could be anything else, however I am open to your thoughts or ideas.

Im now thinking if I sand it down again and seal it with 'moisture repellant stuff' it might solve the problem? Though im not sure what this 'stuff' would be, I was thinking varnish but it wouldn’t look right solely on part I was sanding and don’t want to do the whole door. Does such a product exist? Any of your thought or recommedations are welcome

Thanks

WestonDave

Wax might be enough on the door to keep the moisture out. Have you checked the hinges - a couple of our upstairs doors used to stick - one was a bent hinge (kids hanging on the door handle) and the other was down to the screws on the hinge working loose.

lagi

Bottom half of vertical side, i would guess you mean bottom vertical on handle side?

Are they solid doors, mdf, hollow? Either way they are expanding due to moisture, could even be in the air. Mine do it because i have not painted them yet. If you have done any painting/plastering near them that causes it too.
Ideally you would want to wait to let it dry out and see where it sits. You would like to see a gap all the way round that you could fit a side of a coin into. Sanding might not be enough, you may have to plane it. Which if its bottom corner you would have to remove the door first.

You can get plenty of sealants once its shrunk/taken back.

GlynD

I've had this sort of problem with doors before. Sanding isn't really the answer because you are taking off such a small amount of surface that if the door is till expanding it will soon fill the gap. What I suggest you do is visually examine the edge of the door when it is closed and see if there is an even gap visible. If there isn't then mark the areas where the gap is too small and take a small plane and remove enough wood to even out the gap throughout the length of the door. Once you've done this your door will open and close perfectly. Prime and paint the bare areas as soon as possible to minimise the amount of moisture getting in.

After that just monitor the situation for a couple of weeks. If there is more swelling then even the surface off with your plane again.

The good news is that doors just don't keep swelling forever. They do have a finite tolerance, so after a very short time you'll find the door settling down. Just be patient in the meantime and don't resort to sanding again. Too much energy for too little result.

GlynD

andrew-b wrote: »

make sure the hinges are ok as well

Yes, a loose hing can cause problems. Make sure the screws are all tight and any which are loose, take them out and plug the holes with a couple of dead matchsticks or small pieces of wood before replacing the screws.

smcqis

ive checked the hinges and screws and they seem fine, what sealants would you recommend?

It may be difficult to get it to shrink back as although we have the heat on we do take showers in the room which im sure adds to the problem, its our ony bathroom

Meepster

How is the door finished? Wax/varnish/woodstain/paint???

GlynD

smcqis wrote: »

ive checked the hinges and screws and they seem fine, what sealants would you recommend?

It may be difficult to get it to shrink back as although we have the heat on we do take showers in the room which im sure adds to the problem, its our ony bathroom

I'm not sure what you mean by "sealants". The next post asks you which way the door is finished and that is relevant. Presuming it is painted then you should just use a similar paint to seal it, after putting on the correct primer.

The door is unlikely to "shrink back". It may do however and that's just something you have to live with. When a door is fitted it should have been planed to have an even gap all around. This door, for reasons I don't know not being aware when it was fitted or what it has been subject to, has either warped or expanded at that point. It's normal with wooden doors because wood will always react to heat, cold, damp, dry and other factors. The reaction decreases the older the door gets so all you need is to tailor the door to fit the gap correctly at it's most swollen and you should have no further problems.

smcqis

Not too sure how it is finished, doesnt seem to be a wax or varnish type layer on it, prob woodstain if i was to guess

GlynD

smcqis wrote: »

Not too sure how it is finished, doesnt seem to be a wax or varnish type layer on it, prob woodstain if i was to guess

You can use a clear (matt or gloss) varnish to seal it until you decide what way you want to finish it. Varnish can be bought in very small tins.

Meepster

smcqis wrote: »

Not too sure how it is finished, doesnt seem to be a wax or varnish type layer on it, prob woodstain if i was to guess

Are you sure it is finished at all?

And if it is, has it been treated on the top and bottom edges as well as the cut outs for the hinges.

I've seen LOTS of doors that have bowed/warped and 99% of them are due to insufficient finishing.

Depending on the door type, 3 coats of varnish/paint/stain are needed to seal the door correctly. Wood dye is not suitable on it's own...