Door Sometimes Just Get Swollen

This door expands. It keeps on expanding so after a while, it is quite bad. So once you push it to close, it is hard to open. This customer ask someone from outside to help kick to door open. And the door cracks. (UPDATES: After checking on the client’s door, just the surface laminate layer crack actually, not the whole wood wall. Inside still solid)

Wooden door is quite hard to predict. Some expand, some shrink, some twist. And some happen to new door (can claim warranty), some happen after 1 year, some happen after 2 years, etc. 

We are fully focused on locks, so door knowledge is somehow limited to experience only. From experience, we can guess what type of door will expand, what type of door shrinks, etc. But why? We can only guess, can’t be sure.

We have worked with some door seller. Some just sell. Some is a contractor carpenter. They are almost the same like us, they can explain what happen to the door but is a pure guess on experience. 

But there are a few, who are really  specialised door maker. He knows what’s wrong with the door once he sees and touches it. The differences with common carpenter is he can explain to us the technical and scientific reason behind it. Just like a teacher explaining in details.
So for door problem sometimes we need a skillful and experienced carpenter’s advise or if better a specialised door maker’s advise. We always keep their number with us. Called them up so often that we have become friends.

Here we list a common door-cannot-close problem:

1. Hinge problem. It might be the hinge screw worn out or loosen, or the hinge is a bad quality type. Change the hinge (cost more than installing new door, as the workmanship involved is actually removing, and reinstalling door again, so is a “double work”)
2. Door expand: need to plan the door or grind it
3. Door shrink: causes the door to unable to latch. In this case the strike plate needs some extra padding to thicken it so that it can catch the door latch.
4. Door twist: can opt to readjust strike plate, or readjust hinge alignment 
5. Door joint problem : the door spine/ bone joint is no longer strong, causes the door to drop in shape. Need special angle steel plate to lift and strengthen the joint.

Advise from locksmith,
www.finelockshop.com