Walk in door losing square and hitting jam

[DustynF]

I installed two new walk in doors about a year ago followed instructions to the letter and it seems like as months go on that they have started to touch the jam and are hard to close. The garage is old but the framing was correct with the header and doubled 2x4's on each side. Am I missing something or could this old building just be settling and causing this. Not sure what to do since I have sprayfoamed my walls. I really don't want to re-frame the opening. Ideas?

Also no water is getting to the wood and the outer trim is caulked all around but it does seem that winter has hit the rubbing has gotten worse.

 

[RazrRebel]

Couldn't be the spray foam has expanded and pushed the wood out some where causing the rub? Was it foamed recently? Is it heated? Could be expansion or contraction because of the temperature.

 

[baartman]

Is it rubbing at the top or the bottom of the jamb, or all the way down the jamb?

If you sprayed a closed-cell insulation to completely seal the unit after install, because the wood can't breathe, the jambs may be cupping.

 

[Gary S]

There is a special low expansion spray foam made to be used around doors and windows because the basic spray foam expands too much and distorts door and window frames. If you used standard spray foam around the door, that is your problem. You probably will have to dig it out and replace it with the correct stuff.

 

[5lima30]

Like the others have said I think your spray in foam insulation may be your problem. I have seen it happen with windows as well. One other thing you didn't mention was the new door wood, metal, or fiberglass? If wood that could be part of the problem as well.

 

[larry_g]

Have you done the simple things like check the hinge screws for tightness? Have you checked that the opening is still square? Have you checked that the opening and the door are still plumb and level? Is the gap around the door changed all the way around, or just at the spot dragging? It should be very quick to check these things and find out what has changed.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Brentocool]

Could just be the weather change. I had the same problem. I plained them and have no more problems

 

[steven083008]

If spray foam was the issue, I don't think you would have seen a big delay in it warping. Once the foam has hardened it isn't exerting any pressure on the frame, so it couldn't have moved it. The only force spray foam exerts is while it is expanding.

I agree w/ Brentocool, it is probably just the weather. EVERY winter we have issues with almost every door in our house. Properly done doors shouldn't be this bad, but our doors were half-assed and work fine in the summer but catch in the winter.

 

[wnstwolf]

I am with Brentcool if the doors worked fine with the foam in place the climate change swelled the doors. What are they made of? If metal I am fuul of poop ;-) if wood product then may need a slight plane.

Killer of this theory is that the doors would typically tend to shrink a little in winter then spread a little in warmer more humid temps.. Also if it's real cold in your area ground freezes and could cause a little impact to the frame, is door at dorner of building?

 

[pattenp]

Did your doors come with a couple of long screws that go in the top hinge. Sometime those screws get loose and the door will sag. The long screws should go through the jam and into the rough frame.

 

[steven083008]

Killer of this theory is that the doors would typically tend to shrink a little in winter then spread a little in warmer more humid temps..

You are correct that the swelling occurs in the summer. The frame shrinking is what actually causes the problem. The door changes in size much less than the framing, so when the frame shrinks back to actual size in the winter (probably framed in the summer when the wood was expanded), it is now too tight of a fit around the door.
That's my guess.

 

[ishiboo]

There is a special low expansion spray foam made to be used around doors and windows because the basic spray foam expands too much and distorts door and window frames. If you used standard spray foam around the door, that is your problem. You probably will have to dig it out and replace it with the correct stuff.

Window and door foam expands at the same rate as the "regular" foam. However, window and door foam is open cell vs closed cell for the regular, so it does not exert as much force.

If he had used the wrong stuff, he would have noticed it within a day

Probably just the weather. What type of door is it? Take a 4' level around the frame and verify its still straight and the building isn't pressing on it. Where is it tight?

 

[DustynF]

Guys, thanks for the replies. I used three inch screws for the lagging and shims all the way around. They sprayed open cell foam in the garage a couple months ago but the doors were fine after that. The door is touching in two places. First place is at the bolt entrance into the jam and 18 inchs up from that point. Both of those points are lagged very well with 3 inch screws and in the hinges as well. I have fixed it once by taking a skill saw to the crack to open it up between the door and the surrounding 2x4. The door is metal and the frame is wood. The inside of the garage stays around 43 and the outside has been swinging from 60 to 30's the last month her in southern IN.

 

[Milton Shaw]

I have seen steel doors that get the afternoon sun heat up enough that the dead bolt was hard to release. Had to use a die grinder to enlarge the opening enough to make up for the door moving almost 1/4" from shaded to heated from the sun. The door would actually take a bow on the outside from the heat. Door was also painted dark, a white would not absorb as much heat. I have seen doors with glass storm doors on the outside melt and bow the vinyl trim to the point it was trashed from the heat.

 

[donnie m]

it's the weather....just smack the inside jamb with a hammer and block of wood where it is sticking.....you'll be surprised how much it will move.