Hi All, I have an oak door that is sagging as you will see it is a "shed door" type of construction but has no diagonal bracing. It is a design fault as a neighbouring house with an identical door has the same problem. I am thinking of getting a Superbar under the bottom to jack it up as level as possible and then try and pin it. I was thinking of drilling a couple of holes where each horizontal tenon enters the timber and inserting oak dowels with a spot of glue on to stiffen up the joints a bit. That would give about 16 fixings in all. I know I am taking a chance with the glass but if it goes that's not the end of the world and I might in fact be removing some pressure from it. I could either cut the dowels flush or leave them slightly proud as a feature but that will mean lots of potential runs when re-staining. At the moment I have inseted a Teflon coated furniture foot disc into the sill so the door sits on that and can still be opened without jamming. What do you think of it as a solution or any other ideas please?.
Nice door, has this sagging happened recently? may be just the picture, but the door looks square to the frame apart from the top? I'm guessing this door is very heavy and I personally would start with adding at least another hinge or even 2. B J
Now then Tea Break. The door is way too heavy and can be lightened by cutting the top off it and taking the window and turning it into a more conventional window/light. The frame must be huge. You should have 3 good quality roller type ball bearing hinges on a door like this and that's just for a 2m door. When you say "sagging" is that because the hinges are coming out of the frame or because the tenons are parting from the mortices? I can see that your suggested course of action would help IF the joints are failing but if you're not careful you'll maybe damage the joint and actually weaken it. I any case you're going to need some sort of jig to hold your drill square. Perhaps a Souber lock jig could help make the hole. The glue you're going to use is crucial. Perhaps a foaming Egger D4 would be the way to go. Finally you'll need to put the door on it's side and it should be cramped up to ensure the joints are tight when you drill your dowel holes. So you'll have to consider making a cradle of some sort. Perhaps your could do this whilst the door is in the frame but you risk making the problem worse by drilling the door when the joints are misaligned. Alternatively put a piece of 100mm x 35mm across the back as a brace and hammer some 150mm nails through. Don't forget to hammer them over. I hate a rough job! Good luck mate! That last suggestion was my attempt at humour.
Nice door indeed. It does look as tho' it has sagged a bit at the handle side - the gap along the top increases towards that upright stile, whereas the gap down that left hand side looks even - suggests door frame itself is sagging. What you suggest may well work, tho' it'll come down to how well you can inject adhesive in the dowel holes - I'd suggest that just wooden dowels on their own might struggle to secure the frame. However, drilling these holes may allow you to inject adhesive into the tenon joints where they are needed. I wonder what you could use to inject powerfully? I think what I'd try is - door off and laying flat, inside face upwards. Drill just a single dowel hole in each tenon about a inch from the visible join and not all the way through! Stop jest beyond where the tenon part sits - this will act as an injecting point, 'cos the dowels themselves won't do the job. Brace the door up very fractionally beyond the 'level' point if you can using a clamp going diagonally - or check to see if it remains square when you remove the clamps. Make sure the dowel hole is a tight size and your longish piece of dowel is not serrated. Very slightly thin some PVA (or other suitable adhesive), pour a bit into the hole and tap in the dowel - if the hole is tight, it'll powerfully inject that PVA into every nook and cranny in there. Pull dowel out, refill, repeat. (Dowel is long enough to grab and remove easily to begin with. When you are happy that all the PVA is injected that can be, tap dowel home, trim level, and screw on a black iron metal decorative 'stud' to cover it (and it'll also make the dowel expand). SF used to sell these, but I can't find them now - it would suit your door really well, I think. Repeat for all stile tenons. I think a lot of the door's strength may also be in the centre panel, but I doubt there's any easy way to stiffen that section in relation to the outer frame.
Hi thanks for the replies, It has happened over the 6 years we have lived here, a little more each year. The alarm triggered once because the gap was increasing! The hinge side seems fine just a little sag in each joint allowing the lock side to drop. I was wondering if I put lots of glue in the holes will I find I cannot drive in the dowel due to the glue being compressed.
Hard to see in the photo but if you look at the RH joint it is just a little wider at the top and the LH is wider at the bottom seems the slats are all slightly dropping down like steps. The door is in fact a normal size around 6' 6" high it just looks extra tall in the photo because of the "top light" panel inset.
Should you decide to go with my 'idea', then when it comes to finally adding the dowel for its permanent fix, you will either find you can tap it in slowly with glue easing out around it (or ideally with glue easing out through the stile gaps) or else you'll have achieved hydraulic lock and get nowhere. In which case, pull out dowel, and replace with either a serrated equivalent or else cut a thin slot down the edge of an existing plain one. Jobbie jobbed. Then get a 3mm drill, and pierce a hole in each end of a raw egg...
If using the pressure of the dowel, you should be 'pressing' it in, rather than tapping it. The hinge side tenons are the culprits, I'd be doubtful that retro-dowelling would help at all! Mr. HandyAndy - Really
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