Just happened to notice light (and a narrow, cold breeze) coming through a small crack in one panel of my 50-60 yr old front door.
A) quick remedy? Masking tape? Duct tape?
B) recommended caulk or semi-permanent solution? This is a door with about 1000 layers of paint on it. And *extremely* limited budget for repair. I.e., no "get a new door."
Some kind of non-hardening caulk or maybe blue painters tape would be best for now. The reason the panel cracked is because all the panel edges are glued down by old paint and when it dried out from winter low humidity it couldn't move. Cabinet makers get around this problem by allowing panels to float freely. The crack will tend to close up over spring and summer. Removing the old paint will help the situation until a new door and your budget coincide. Good luck.
Joe
Some wood putty that matched the door, perhaps? Far more stylish than duct tape, at any rate ...
AJS
I had a crack like that in my front door. Obviously caulk or putty will stop the air blowing thru (not that you are going to get all that much air thru a hole that size), but basically you can't get a permanent fix by plugging the crack--it will continue to open and close, though taping over it will last a long time, just look like hell. You probably can't get the panel to go back to floating if enough paint has gotten into the edges of the panel.
Try a colored latex caulk, worked on my door.
Damn those quick fixes. They never last too long, do they? ;)
AJS
Thanks for *all* the suggestions. I'll be caulk-shopping today.
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