Do Not Buy A New Door Until You Read This
Your front door, have you looked at it good and hard at it lately? Have you convinced your family that old and rotting front door needs to be replaced? Have you convinced them that this would be the best thing to do and would surly add value to your home? Has the fact that the door doesn’t work properly and on a cold day you can feel the draft coming under the door and the lock doesn’t properly work either. The frustration is understandable when it is an old worn out exterior door which has foggy glass. The situation is constantly on your mind and increasing your frustration. You have some options. You can either do a door repair, refinish the door or you can get a replacement entry unit. The choice is yours.
Several things need to be considered before deciding on a replacement, a repair or the refinishing of the door unit. Consider why you feel the door needs repair or replacement. What may have caused the doors condition, other than the age of it. Why does it look worn out and old? If the door is stained wood and has faded, what kind of sun exposure is the unit exposed to. A polyurethane finish, on a stained door, which had faded could have excessive exposure in excess of industry standards. The polyurethane on outside doors were quite different fifteen years ago. Very different than what is available today. They were not very environmentally friendly. The UV protection in the polyurethane finish today does not hold up to the strong rays of the sun today, because of the environmental laws which have put in place. Generally today the poly is not nearly as effective as it was prior to the environmental law being put into action. Additionally if your door is the color red or a mahogany, it is the first to be effected. The red pigment is the first color to be faded by the suns rays. This results in a brownish tone in a short period of time. That doesn’t mean the door doesn’t still look good. The door is still looking good, but that rich red pigment will be definitely faded. Because of exposure to the suns UV rays. And unfortunately the protection of the poly no longer is as effective as it used to be. In the poly small cracks develop and this allows moisture to penetrate and results in the swelling, splitting and cracking of the wood. It doesn’t matter what kind of wood, it could be mahogany, cherry, oak or cedar. A stained wood door treated with polyurethane, which fails in its protection, will have problems unless the door is maintained. Maintenance is needed two to three times a year on a stained mahogany door or any type of wood door that is exposed to the sun.
There will still be damage from some form of rotting even if you happen to paint your door and you’ve painted over and over again. Exposure to the sun is most probably the cause and is relative. Damage will occur in a wood door over time from contraction, rain, expansion and snow, but exposure to the rays of the sun is always the root of the problem.
The door can always be made to look new again with a good paint job, but that solution is only like putting on a band-aid on a bleeding cut. This will not prevent any further damage from exposure to the changing weather. With continued exposure to the elements the door will continue to deteriorate. Water will continue to seep into the cracks so small they are invisible to the naked eye. Damage to the door, that has been painted or stained, caused by the sun, causes moisture to be absorbed by the wood. Almost as a sponge would. This absorption of moisture causes rotting and door panels over time split. Eventually the damage to the door would be so severe to need a new unit if it was not repairable. Maintenance is a necessity to keep a door, regardless of finish, in good condition and to help protect it against sun exposure. To do this you need to freshly paint the door or put a new coat of polyurethane on the door. There is also another option and that is marine wax. This would be done at each change of season and the waxing would protect the doors finish. Something like waxing to protect your car from the elements. This is necessary to prolong the life of the door and prevent any damage such as those tiny cracks that cannot be seen by the naked eye.
It is very important for you, the homeowner, to have a clear understanding of the damage that is caused by sun exposure. Sun creates havoc to anything exposed to it for any period of time. Think of what would happen, for example, to your dining room set if it were left out in the sun. If even only for a few short weeks. Sun is great if you are raising vegetables, flowers or trees, but not furniture or exterior doors unless they are maintained and protected UV rays of the sun. Constant maintenance. How do you determine the amount of sun exposure your door has had and whether or not it exceeds industry standards of exposure? Which direction is your door facing, east, west, south or north. Where does the sun set and where does it rise. It’s common knowledge that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. You have a problem if the door faces south, west or southwest. Exposure to sun is at it hottest and hottest in this direction and does the most damage in late afternoon. This is the most critical exposure and problem definitely needs to be addressed as soon as possible. A door facing in either of these directions will take a beating from the sun.
If not all, then most manufactures of doors require an overhang that is equal to the size of the bottom of your door to the bottom of your overhang, or “X” needs to equal “Y”. If “X” is your 7-foot door unit and to the bottom of your overhang is an additional 3 feet, then “X” will equal 7 + 3, or 10 feet. Now “Y” will need to be 10 feet to be well with-in manufacturers standards of warranty. Manufacturers do not take this standard requirement lightly, Be sure you understand the warranty and take accurate measurements of “X” and “Y” to protect yourself. Know your warranty and know your exposure, it can save you thousands.
The rules are different for doors facing north or east than the doors facing south or southwest. While “X” remains as “X” and “Y” remains “Y”, the difference is now “Y” only has to be 1/2 of “X”. So in our example above the overhang will only need to be 5 feet, instead of 10 feet that is required for a south/southwest exposure.
It may seem a bit confusing, but the manufacturers are “strict’ with the enforcement of the warranties. It’s for your own protection. You can make the decision when you are ready to decide on your exterior door. Whether you make a decision to repair that exterior door, refinish the fading, fix or replace the foggy glass in the door or to replace the entire door armed with the information you have just read. Knowing what is need for your particular doors exposure to the sun and avoid making the wrong choices. You need the manufactures warranty in hand. Make sure all those involved are aware of what is and what is not covered. Usually the labor involved replacing a door is not covered in a manufacturers warranty. If you’ve chosen the wrong door and the exposure to your door is higher than what the warranty covers, the warranty is not valid. Your decision, repair, replace or refinish your old door. Is now the time for a new custom door?