When it comes to home-related issues, few things are more frustrating than dealing with a warped front door. A warped door can cause a slew of problems, as it allows both air and pests to get into your home.
What Causes Doors to Warp?
To prevent door warping, it is helpful to understand what causes it. Door warping is most often caused by:
- Excessive Heat: Too much heat can create a moisture imbalance between the exterior and interior of your home, causing wood doors to expand.
- Changes in Moisture: Excessive humidity makes wood swell. As the wood dries, it shrinks, which can cause changes in the door’s shape and size.
- Improper Finishing: If all sides of a door are unfinished, or if one or all sides are finished inconsistently, the wood is left vulnerable.
What Can You Do to Prevent Warping?
While you cannot stop extreme temperatures or humidity, you can take steps to prevent your front door from warping:
- Apply a finish or sealant to every side of the door: This is the most important step you can take when it comes to protecting your wood door. By applying the proper finish to every side, you’re giving the wood the best protection against the elements.
- Periodically polish the door: In addition to making your front door look better over time, polishing can help ensure a custom wood door’s longevity.
- Use a humidifier: Moisture can be problematic for your door’s life span. A dehumidifier may be a wise investment, as it will control your home’s moisture content.
- Choose a weather-resistant wood type: Some woods offer better weather protection than others, including cedar, Douglas fir, and white oak. Quartersawn wood is less likely to warp as well.
In addition to the tips above, the technique we use at Vintage Millwork & Restoration helps to prevent warping. Our exterior doors are engineered for added strength. We layer quarter-inch pieces of wood, strategically positioning them with the grains running in different directions, to form the core of your door. This minimizes points of weakness and the potential for warping. We can layer the same type of wood or blend different wood species for the core and the exterior. The result is a solid, durable, beautiful wood door that will last and provide better thermal insulation than standard doors.
The best way to ensure that your front door stands the test of time is to work with a trusted company that has the knowledge and experience to build high-quality doors. The experienced team at Vintage Millwork & Restoration will properly build, finish, and install your front door, and we’ll also provide the maintenance tips you need to keep it looking great over time.
To get started with your custom front door project, contact us today.
