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rekoil

Wood exterior doors vs. the elements

rekoil
16 years ago

Hi,

Our community (a set of townhomes) had an admittedly bad contractor replace our exterior front doors during a large renovation project about 7 years ago. The old doors were high quality, and I still can't get a straight answer as to why they were replaced, but the newer doors are stained/varnished fir, and thanks to neglect (under a previous HOA decision to leave maintenance to owners) and high sun/heat exposure, many of the doors are peeling and cracking. Many units have no shade or overhang, which exacerbate the issue.

Last year the HOA decided to take the doors on as an HOA responsibility and replace them. We've been looking at options, and one issue is that people here, at least the ones whose doors are in better condition, really want to keep the wooden doors, despite the maintenance concerns. Others believe fiberglass is the answer, but the expense is a concern. Given the fact that all the houses face a central courtyard, we really need to keep a common look, though.

Also, we're not sure whether or not we can replace just the slabs with anything other than wood - could a fiberglass slab go into existing framing? Our doors have a half-moon window on top, which would mean that replacing that framing, not just the slab, would make things much more expensive.

What sort of advice would you offer in such a situation? What sort of maintenance would be needed to keep a wood door in good condition without an overhang? Or should we forget about wood altogether and just go with steel or fiberglass?

Comments (4)

  • spanky_md
    16 years ago

    Our carpenter told us to use marine varnish on our exterior fir door. It does have a storm door, though. It's been a year and is holding up ok. That's probably not long enough to know for sure but you might look into it.

  • sierraeast
    16 years ago

    Wooden doors should be treated w/ a finish that contains u.v protectors. They should be lightly sanded and a light top coat annually which might sound overkill, but for the small amount of time to do this project, you'll never experience peeling, flaking,etc. Let it go too long and you are replacing doors. For oil finishes such as linseed oil, twice a year before winter/summer is preventive maintenance.

    If the existing doors aren't warped or pulling apart at the glue joints, they can be re-finished keeping in mind the annual maintenance.

  • webhomework.net
    16 years ago

    Wood doors, well constructed with solid mortise and tenon joinery and stable stock, well maintained should be a fine choice. Notice there's alot of caveats there. You failed to mention WHERE in the country you are. In most climates a storm door will greatly improve the longevity of your solid front door. After refinishing literally hundreds of doors, I have found that 3 coats Pratt and Lampbert vitralite uva spar varnish offer the best long term performance and not need yearly recoats. ( P/l vitralite has a garish gloss so I generally advise final buffing, after 1 week drying, with 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits, orange oil or paste wax to cut the gloss to a more palatable satin)
    Minwax spar may be easier to find, but it pretty much sucks and you will definitely need to keep re-doing it.
    It is important that all SIX sides (top, bottom, hinge side, lockset side, front and backside.) of the door be finished especially the bottom edge to help limit warpage and swelling in big moisture swings.
    Nothing beats the beauty of a well made well finished front door.
    fiberglass??
    eww
    good luck and enjoy!
    Reid

  • sierraeast
    16 years ago

    You want to be careful w/ storm doors. They are great in the winter, but unless you have operable panels that allow them to vent in the summer, they can allow heat to build up big and cause harm to the door in that respect. Highly dependent on your location as well as the doors location.

    No matter the quality of finish, an annual light sanding and light re-coating of an exterior door, garage door, wooden clad windows, etc is simple insurance and not a time consuming project(s). When you let them go, then you have a big project(s) on your hand.

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