It’s that time of year. The sun has made it’s return and the heat is rising. And to all those that fit wood grain doors, this is also the time where many south facing homeowners ring up asking for someone to look at their door!
It’s door expansion season! We started to receive calls from our customers and some that are not about their doors not shutting properly and catching on the sides and bottoms. We ask if their doors are wood grained and south facing, they say yes. We then explain that if we come out to try and alter the door, we would create a problem rather than solve one when the heat goes out of the door and it returns to it’s original size. So we go through some heat reduction techniques with them and it seems to solves the problems.
It’s not an ideal situation as telling people there’s not much to be done sounds a bit half-arsed. But it’s the nature of the product we work with that is the problem. I know panels and wood grain doors are getting better when it comes to heat retention, but we are still dealing with a rather large old stock of dark doors which retain so much heat.
We have a double glazing industry which seems so affected by the weather in this country. Autumn and Winter causes us problems with external condensation with energy rated windows. Heat causes half the doors in this country to expand so they don’t shut! @AlumTradeSupply will like this one…is it time to move to Aluminium!?
We don’t have problems with timber doors either!
Aluminium has minimal contraction in this scenario very marginal and the answer to your question is a resounding yes! have a look here…..latest aluminium doors, many wood effect. and all powder coated not foiled! (excuse the shameless plug) http://www.aluminiumtradesupply.co.uk/2679/the-residential-entrance-door-market-may-be-flat-but-the-latest-aluminium-entrance-doors-offer-scope-for-new-business/
Shameless promotion by Nick, love it, I had a similar problem with upvc doors on my house which I thought was really weird until I worked out they were just badly fitted got it sorted in the end.
woodgrain seem to be the worse.
If it is known that dark UPVC doors when installed in south facing aspects expand in sunshine or warm weather to the extent that they no longer work properly – then why do double glazing installers put them in such situations – I have one and I was never warned. In addition, the design clearance of the door within the frame should accommodate thermal expansion.