Asked on Mar 19, 2017
What can we do?The barn door we made for our bathroom has warped!
by
Mare
+9
We put up a barn door on a bathroom...and now it has warped. Anything we can do...and if not what kind of wood should we get for next one?
MAYBE you can salvage this with matching cross bars. Just a thought though. We are still waiting for our master carpenter to build ours.
Perhaps the answer isn't what wood to use, but what to seal the wood with to keep moisture from penetrating it. My guess is you can't do much to fix the warped wood, but you can prevent it in the future. I would use wood made for outdoor deck use and use the best sealer you can afford.
Thanks...I think the sealer will make the difference with new wood and cross bars
Also stagger the end grain of your wood. This will also prevent warping or cupping. Then seal.
My carpenter said that the thickness of the wood is also important.
Sure you can fix it. Take it down and wet it and sandwich it down with something heavy so it can't move. Two solid flat surfaces. Let it dry and resand it. Make sure you wet it down good.
Hi, first, take a look at why wood warps and which wood is less likely to do so and choose a better/different wood for replacement. utilizing several tried and true methods will help reduce warping, several have already been suggested but may not fix the problem.
I have used wood in very wet and humid environments and found that the ones who tend to warp were not initially cured before I bought them. this old article explains it a bit
http://www.iment.com/maida/favs/house/useful/woodselecting.htm
You may be able to wet it again and flatten it but it will still dry and then later warp, not sure why but unless it is forced to stay flat often the same flaw in the wood will show up again.
Another problem is not allowing sufficient room for wood to expand and contract with humidity. some frames are to tight. The slightly expanded board has no where to expand so it bows and warps.
as for sealing.. double edge sword the boards now a days still need to dry out. sealing in the moisure left in them is just as bad. Sorry abotu the long answer but understanding why it happened is not just about the location and humidity may save you another warped project. Good luck.