swelling french doors

just installed (in the last 2 weeks) two sets of solid fir exterior french doors. they came pre-hung and at initial installation doors and jambs were plumb and doors opened fine. one set got rained on after only one coat of primer and became hard to open and close because the doors were rubbing, the other set was tarped and didn't get wet so no problems. after a few days of no rain stuck doors were ok again. now both sets of doors have 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint so i left them uncovered during the rain and they are both sticking. so i figure the moisture is making the doors swell and fit a little too snugly. what are my options to resolve this as i don't want doors that are hard to open everytime it rains. the jambs are already shimmed and nailed so i really don't want to go that route. i'm thinking maybe to take the door without the slidebolts down and plane a 32nd or a 16th off the side of the door where the hinges are, make the hinge mortises a tad deeper and rehang. any problems with this? are there better options? thanks...

 

First thing I would try is to remove 1 short screw from each hinge mortise and put a long 3" screw in its place. If you do this on each side, and tighten the screw down good, it will ever-so-slightly increase the gap between the doors. Usually it is only the top hinge that needs it, due to the weight of the door itself, added clearance is needed at the top. So I'd try the top hinges first and see if more are needed at the middle and bottom. I am guessing not.

Just a thought, but have you primed and painted all edges of the doors- tops, bottoms, etc, leaving no bare wood exposed anywhere? Does the glass seem to have a good seal to the wood? If not, rain hitting the glass is probably soaking into bare wood around the edge of the glass. A very fine bead of clear silicone glazing around the perimeter of the glass (not getting any on the painted wood surfaces) would help.

 

Yes, by all means, paint the doors 6 surfaces. If you take the door off, you may find imprinted on the bottom, something like warranty void if this surface is not painted. And the tip on the silicone bead (tiny) around the glass is an excellent one. You may want to make sure the silicone you use is paintable.

 

well upon closer inspection today, it looks like the water has been getting to the doors on the tops and bottoms. i feel like a dork for not sealing the sides and top and bottom of the doors . part of the problem is that the inside of the doors are going to be stained and not painted and i haven't gotten to that yet so i wasn't really thinking about the doors edges. today at least i put a coat of minwax wood finish stain on the tops and bottoms and tomorrow i'll get to the sides. should one coat be enough or two? i'm going to try the hinge trick too because the fit of the doors is still pretty snug and i'm worried any kind of paint or stain on the inner sides will only make it worse.

 

Stain itself does nothing to prevent water absorption. You need a water resistant finish, either an exterior paint or a durable clear finish such as Helmsman Spar Varnish.

 

The only time I bother to stain the top edge of a door is when you can see it from above - from stairs, loft, etc. I do however always seal them with poly or primer/paint - whichever is easier or more convienent

Sometimes there is a gap at the top/bottom edge where 2 pieces of wood are joined together - this should be filled with caulk or putty.