Straightening A Door

[crokett]

A while ago I replaced our steel entry door with a true divided-light wood door my wife found at a construction salvage place. The only problem is I think the bottom of the door is warped so there is now about 1/2 gap on the latch side between the weather stripping and the door. I don't think it is hung out of plumb since at least eyeballing the hinge side it looks ok. I plan to take it off and move it up this spring - it also shrank a little for some reason. Question is, how best to flatten the bottom edge? I was thinking I have 3 options:

Angle aluminum or steel along the bottom edge. Advantage is relatively simple. Disadvantage is appearance - now I have metal running along the bottom edge of the face of the door. I would put this on the outside face since that is hidden by the storm door.

Straight steel inserted into a kerf cut into the bottom edge. Complicated and it would take a fairly thick piece of steel.

Hardwood jointed/planed straight screwed to bottom edge. Easiest but might flex along with the door.

At the moment I am thinking the angle aluminum. Lighter and easier to work than steel and since it will be between the storm door and the entry door, not really visible once it is painted.

[cabinetman]

If it's an 1 3/4" door you probably won't be able to flatten it.
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[phi1l]

Straight steel inserted into a kerf cut into the bottom edge. Complicated and it would take a fairly thick piece of steel.

If you did this, I think you would need a piece of steel with a T cross-section. Maybe a small I cross section with one end of the I cut off.

[Daryl]

Screw a flat piece of steel on the bottom, the underside, of the door. It will be pretty much invisible. Just use care in twenty years when you have to plane the bottom because you installed carpet.

[JimD]

I agree with cabinetman. When wood wants to move, it does. Stopping it is very difficult.

Aluminum is also much less stiff than steel.

I would try and figure out a way to move the weather stripping to where the door is, not move the door to the weatherstripping.

Jim

[Tom Slick]

The warp is probably why it was at the re-store. They are tough to impossible to fix.

[cabinetman]

I would try and figure out a way to move the weather stripping to where the door is, not move the door to the weatherstripping.

Jim

I had that problem with an old door. I bought some thick weatherstrip and tapered it to fit.
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[cgallery]

Screw a flat piece of steel on the bottom, the underside, of the door. It will be pretty much invisible. Just use care in twenty years when you have to plane the bottom because you installed carpet.

I'll bet this would work pretty well. If you used fairly thick (maybe 3/16") thick steel, drilled/countersunk every 2-3 inches.

I'd spring the door a little in the opposite direction before attaching the steel.

Obviously this is only going to work if you can push the bow out of the door with your hands. If it won't budge, then you could always drill some holes up through the bottom to weaken it a little before adding the steel, which will strengthen it again.

[cabinetman]

I'll bet this would work pretty well. If you used fairly thick (maybe 3/16") thick steel, drilled/countersunk every 2-3 inches.

I'd spring the door a little in the opposite direction before attaching the steel.

Obviously this is only going to work if you can push the bow out of the door with your hands. If it won't budge, then you could always drill some holes up through the bottom to weaken it a little before adding the steel, which will strengthen it again.

In theory it seems like adding steel would work. If the wood wants to move, screws won't hold it. Drilling holes, or even adding screws will definitely weaken the door, and would allow moisture to enter the wood, which could make the door even more unstable. JMO
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[crokett]

I tried moving weatherstripping to the door twice. Didn't really work either time.

I can push the warp out with my hands. I also eyeballed the hinge side and it has a pretty consistent reveal so I think the door is warped. It was not warped when we got it, I made sure of that. There was another my wife liked better that was warped. I have some time to think about it more - this won't happen till the weather warms up. I can't lift it now even if I wanted to anyway.

[eezlock]

straightening a door

I think that all of the ideas mentioned could work...provided you apply enough time , effort, money to it! If it were me, and I knew the door was warped from the start....I would not even attempt it! A warped door is just that, a warped door.The best you can ever hope to have is a patched up door that you will always be unhappy with. Junk it, and buy a good quality door and count that as a lesson well learned and the money spent as a minor loss!

[cabinetman]

I think that all of the ideas mentioned could work...provided you apply enough time , effort, money to it! If it were me, and I knew the door was warped from the start....I would not even attempt it! A warped door is just that, a warped door.The best you can ever hope to have is a patched up door that you will always be unhappy with. Junk it, and buy a good quality door and count that as a lesson well learned and the money spent as a minor loss!

As the saying goes..."One mans trash is another mans treasure". There might have been a reason the door was in salvage. Knowing what is feasible to fix and what will be an element of frustration separates trash from treasure.

I'm guilty of trash treasures. A good example was a perfectly good rocking chair I found in a trash heap...in pieces.
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[crokett]

Junk it, and buy a good quality door and count that as a lesson well learned and the money spent as a minor loss!

I like the door. It suits this house and gives it a different look, plus this house is a dark house and it lets in a lot of light. The door wasn't warped when I got it, I checked that. For some reason it did it after it was hung. It is a quality door wood door, it is just warped. I can push the warp out fairly easily so will try a fix before buying a new door for several hundred dollars. The other reason I got it is being wood, I could cut it to fit the existing opening. Can't cut a steel door.

[cabinetman]

I tried moving weatherstripping to the door twice. Didn't really work either time.

I can push the warp out with my hands. I also eyeballed the hinge side and it has a pretty consistent reveal so I think the door is warped. It was not warped when we got it, I made sure of that.

I don't understand how you can push the warp out while the door is hanging. If it's a R&S door, maybe the joint is loose or, when pushing, the hinges are relieving giving the impression the door is flattening.

As for weatherstripping, HD sells all types that either fit in a groove, or are peel and stick.
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[JimD]

I have not done this on an exterior door but I may as soon as today. In our last house I made all new interior doors. To be cheap, I used construction lumber for the frames and I used shelving boards for the panels. With some stain and poly (after through sanding and planning down to 1 3/8 for the construction lumber), we thought they looked pretty good. But the construction lumber is not really dry, not furniture wood dry, and that plus the quality of the wood pretty much dictated it would warp some. What I did was move the stops to the warped doors. Most people would not see a moved stop but would quickly see a gap between the door and stop.

To do this on an exterior door you either need weatherstripping in the stop or you need to add weather stripping, hopefully that you can attach in a way that is not objectionable in appearance. It might even be best to make up a new stop with the weatherstripping in it and put that over the existing one. It seems like it would be possible to make it look like a trim moulding and thus not hurt the appearance. Making something like this might be a decent project for somebody with lifting restrictions for reasons I fully understand.

It might be warping due to being dryer on the inside than the out or vice versa. Could be a seasonal thing, in other words. That might be an excuse to wait and see what it does when the weather is warmer and/or wetter (or dryer depending on your recent weather).

Jim