The double doors on my shed have gaps between them when shut, giving mice a nice entryway into the shed. Horizontally, the gaps are as much as 1/2 inch between the bottom of the doors and the floor, and vertically, about 1/2 inch where the doors meet at the bottom and 1/4 inch at the top.

In the winter, the doors swell to the point where I almost can't shut them, and they bow out and put stress on the latch. Any suggestions?

 

If they swell that much, they are not sealed. Seal all 6 side/edges with a water proof material. For exterior I would use an exterior stain/sealer.

 

If your shed is on a cement, or there is a sidewalk leading up to the doors, it's likely that the cement under the doors is heaving due to frost (getting tight in the winter, getting loose in the summer)

I've had this problem before on sheds that are not on a footing, or maybe the shed is and the sidewalk isn't and there ain't much you can do about it unless you want to make sure all the concrete is on a footing that's below frost.

You could cut the doors a little more on bottom (so that they wouldn't be tight in the winter) and put an adjustable door bottom or sweep on them that you could lower as you see fit. Or attach an oak threshold to the floor that will act like a stop. (if you don't mind stepping on/over it when the doors are open)

Sorry to hear about the problems. I know a house where the exact same thing is happening on a shed where I made them new doors.

 

Thanks for the advice. The doors have been painted, can I still apply sealer over the paint?

There is an RV pad leading up to the shed and a small step made with bricks/concrete, so this is likely part of the problem. I will probably do a sweep or threshold, I hadn't thought about that.

I've considered redoing the step since a few of the bricks are loose, but it sounds like I would probably just have the same problem again once it heaves.

 

You don't have to use sealer [it will work] but primer and paint will also work. You need to take the doors down and paint/seal the top and bottom edge [along with all the visible sides]

 

You can install a batten (thin strip of wood) on the inside of one door so that it covers any gap between the two.

 

The doors were repainted last fall by the previous owner before I bought the house. I could add another coat and see if that helps.

The batten sounds like a good idea, would this go on the back side of one door, or directly between the doors?

 

It's not so much the visible part of the door that needs more paint but the parts you can't see - the top and bottom edges. The batten would be attached to the back of 1 of the doors. That would be the door that opens last and closes first. It's kind of like a door stop for the other door.