swelling door

[David H]

Hi - I had to replace my front door, after the police mistakenly kicked the old one in a few months ago. As I work away from home I only had time to get the new door fitted with a few coats of base primer then undercoat. The inevitable has happened and the door is now seriously sticking.

If it's possible I'd like to avoid planing so my idea is to take the door off it's hinges and leave it in a warm room for four or five days to dry it out, turning it periodically, before I paint it properly and refit it.

Has anyone ever tried this and with what results? Thanks in advance for any advice - David.

[Michael Mcneil]

Don't be so bloody silly.

Get a neighbour who has an electric planer to take it off and give it a couple of swift swipes then put it back. The job will take half an hour and cost a drink.

If he wants to charge you more than a tenner tell him where to go and go to B&Q* and buy a cheap planer and screwdriver. Add it to the Bill's bill.

They should cough up for the plane if you haven't got one; they might quibble over a screwdriver. If they do, charge them for an expensive hand one.

*Maplins are doing a nice 24 volt driver/drill for £40 let me know what they are like as I am thinking of getting one.

[PoP]

Swollen (damp) wood takes a lot longer to dry out than 4-5 days. Make that 4-5 months or 4-5 years. And if it is swollen then the likelihood is that it could warp as it dries out.

Why avoid planing? If you get an electric planer (even a cheap one) and set it to a low setting you could take off a couple of slivers to solve this problem. You could conceivably do this even with the door in place, if there's enough room top/bottom.

Beware using an electric planer though - those are really hungry devices and they like a decent meal of wood!

What you really need is a new front door - starting price is about £80 in the sheds, pay double that to get something decent. Cut it to the right size then seal it with an appropriate varnish or paint.

PoP

[Harry Bloomfield]

Surely the police ought to have footed the bill (pun intentional).

Any wooden door will swell in damp weather and shrink in dry weather. The movement needs to be allowed for when cutting.

[chris French]

In message , PoP writes

and anyway, even once dried out and painted or whatever, it will still expand in the winter anyway, so would be a waste of time.

Indeed, I just did this for dad recently Didn't take long at all.

I don't see the need for that

Though I don't see why the police are footing the bill for all this.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Even if it did dry out - and its by no menas certain that it would, it will get wet again anyway.

Paint does not stop wood absorbing moisture, it merely slows it down a bit, and protrects it when it gets drenched.

If its sticking now, it will always stick in humid conditions. Plane it, reprime, and repaint.

Its the ONLY way.

[David H]

Yes I was being bloody silly!

The only reason for wishing to avoid planing was that the door is a particularly 'hard'wood and difficult to work - the mate who helped me fit the door in the first place, a joiner of some 40 years experience, commented on it - but maybe we're both just getting past it!

Thanks for everyones advice.

PS I'll be paying for it rather than the police; if acting in good faith they're not liable for any damage they do.

[Andrew Mawson]

***WHAT*** !!!

You mean if they want to arrest my next door neighbour but 'in good faith' mistakenly arrive at my front door and smash it down, that they are not liable to make good the damage.

This cannot be so surely ?

I support our Police fully, and feel that they have a hideous job to do in our modern world but I draw the limit at them not divvying up for damage done.

Andrew Mawson

[Colin Wilson]

I believe it is (my wife works for a council and hears it regularly) - it quite often happens if they`re trying to enter the back and front of a terraced house at the same time :-}

[G&M]

I think I would talk to a solicitor. This may be the current legal opinion based on past cases, but perhaps it may break the human rights act in some manner and so past cases become irrelevant.

Alternatively, I would expect issuing a small claim against the Chief Constable involved with lots of media attention could also get results.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Correct, as far as I know.

I try and support then fully, but I would appreciate a little help in the reverse direction. It seldom materialises.