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This post is for all the contractors/handymans out there.
I have a 2 yr old house built with a crawlspace, not slab. Every winter, my bedroom door gets stuck and will not close properly because the top of it hits the door trim. I also have a diagonal crack running from the edge of the door opening to the ceiling. This lasts throughout the winter no matter if it's wet or dry, but when the weather finally warms up in summer, the door begins closing fine. It continues working fine throughout the summer no matter if it's wet or dry outside. I've heard that houses built on clay soil can settle based on the wetness of the soil, but why does temperature affect it?
Materials expand/contract in proportion to their length, by a percentage. So a ten foot beam will expand/contract about ten times farther than a one foot beam.
It may be that the doorway is resting or supported or fixed on a long piece of wood or something that is contracting just enough to throw the doorway alignment off.
Solutions: Can you get your builder to work this?
Re-mount your door in such a way that it doesn't rub/scrape when the alignment changes. Change the shape of the door or doorway, increase gaps.
I'm not sure if it is possible or advisable to insulate the crawlspace so it doesn't get as cold and wouldn't allow contraction of house materials. I just don't know. The theory is, if you could prevent your crawlspace from getting cold in winter, maybe the wood wouldn't contract. However, other wood beams in your house, like on the external walls, could be getting cold too and produce this misalignment.
Is there attic space above this door?
If there is- check to see if there is a roof brace on the header above the door. If it is, it should be moved to one end of the header- shouldn't be seated directly in the middle of the header.
Since your home is only two years old- the floor (ceiling of crawl space) should be insulated- code requirement. And you should have a vapor barrier on the ground- these two things will help control temp/moisture.
How/where you control the temp (which in turn can relate to the humidity level) in the living area can also have a effect. After two years your home should be climatized- done all the shrinking it can.
Move my home to a warmer climate - I wish I could! LOL!
The bedroom door is on the 2nd floor and an attic is above. I do not know if there is a beam across the door header. I'll have to check. The attic is insulated. No other doors in the house have had a problem like this. I got the builder to fix it back when I purchased, but the house was more than a year old when the problem reappeared. I believe that my water heater (which is also, stupidly, placed in the attic) sits right above this doorway. Could that be an issue? I just thought is was odd that the temp affects it and not the moisture in the air or soil.
Is there attic space above this door?
If there is- check to see if there is a roof brace on the header above the door. If it is, it should be moved to one end of the header- shouldn't be seated directly in the middle of the header.
I'd be very careful about this. Only a licensed person who can sign off a load bearing adjustment of this type should be involved.
Yes, temperature and humidity both play a part. Typically, colder temperatures make materials contract a little bit. Extremely dry conditions will do this too.
In a way, I'm surprised that your door isn't shutting properly in the winter. It's more typical that that would happen in the warm, humid summer.
Now... Is it "close" enough in tolerances that you could simply sand or plane a tiny bit off the door and get it to close properly?
In the middle of winter, I would have to sand quite a bit to close the door. Probably a millimeter or so. I'm hoping spring will help the door go back to its normal position.
In the middle of winter, I would have to sand quite a bit to close the door. Probably a millimeter or so. I'm hoping spring will help the door go back to its normal position.
I think you should call the contractor who built the house. This is more than a light bulb burning out, and it should not be happening on a 2-year old house.
Problem is that this particular builder has been ignoring the phone calls of many of my other neighbors who are having problems of various types. The market went south and he has all but disappeared from the neighborhood. He was a small builder, not a large one. I'm afraid that my phone calls would be ignored, so I'm assuming this will be something I end up fixing.
Your house is wood framed? Wood moves. All the time.
Have a carpenter/handyman check the square/plumb of the frame/door. It can probably be shaved (not sanded) and solve your problem.
This is only a deal. Not a big deal.
You'll wait forever for the builder to fix this. It should cost you about $40.00 to have a decent carpenter fix it.
Regards,
Streamer1212
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