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Although it is presumed that people involved with the joinery supplied today in the Building Industry are familiar with the correct storage and handling of timber products, experience shows that this is incorrect. Please inspect carefully for correctness, and quality size prior to any cutting finishing or fitting.
- Doors should be handled carefully to avoid scratching and other damage. Doors should be stored only in dry rooms with normal humidity.
- Never store doors in an area where they will be subject to extreme changes in heat or humidity (e.g. open-sided corrugated iron sheds, containers).
- The top of the door in the stack should be covered with a suitable material such as plywood, hardboard or cardboard to avoid bow due to loss of moisture on the exposed surface.
- Doors after manufacture will still be subject to shrinking, swelling and warping, as any wood product is, when exposed to dramatic changes in the dryness or temperature and humidity.
- All joinery products, i.e. doors and framing should be sealed immediately after delivery onto the site and before hanging, on all six sides to avoid gain or loss of moisture depending on local conditions. It is imperative that doors be sealed on all six sides after trimming.
- At least three coats of a recommended sealer should be applied within twenty-four hours of one another, to all six sides of the door.
- Timber doors must be maintained by the client and re-sealed regularly at least six months, dependent upon the exposure to elements.
- Timber products will be degraded and have a reduced aesthetic and functional life span if neglected.
- Proper care and attention should be paid to levels to allow for screed thickness.
- Not to impair the structural strength of a door, doors must be trimmed equally from both sides, top and bottom. A maximum bottom and total of 25mm in height.
- Endeavor to only hang doors as near as occupation as possible to avoid damage due to banging, whilst left open. Fit this into the production programme at the outset.
- Any door found to have a factory fault will be replaced free of charge within 6 months of delivery.
In conclusion all external timber doors must be maintained throughout their life time. It is however obvious that the doors are being abused and not sealed with three coats immediately before hanging. Failure to do so allows loss or gain of moisture depending on prevailing conditions. The abuse of joinery and its treatment are extremely prevalent. Regular maintenance must be maintained should be used to remove “dead” sealer and then resealed. Timber is extremely durable if handled in the proper manner, but it is essential that the initial storage, trimming and sealing is done correctly.
Medium hardwoods obviously exhibit less of a tendency to shrinkage than light hardwoods and this should be borne in mind. Most problems generally occur when the product is removed from storage and having been manufactured during the summer rainfall period will absorb moisture to equilibriate moisture in the air. If doors are then exposed to greatly reduced moisture in the air, i.e. in winter, and are not treated and sealed immediately, shrinkage, warpage etc. will be impossible to avoid. This is the basis on which manufacturers world wide expect joinery products to be handled.
