warped door

Not sure if this is the correct forum, but have to start somewhere. I'm pretty sure I'm just hosed with this situation, but I'm a desperate man and at least want to throw it out there and see if I can get lucky with any info. This is concerning our front exterior "Steel" 6 panel door. It appears to be warped as it is not sealing tight at the bottom. I know steel doors aren't supposed to warp....and I have done all the tests....string....level....etc. and it appears that I may be one of the poor souls where what doesn't usually happen is happening. I have also checked the door jams for plumb and all is well. As per the level...it appears that the door is slightly warped....approx. 1/32 of an inch from about two-thirds of the way up from the bottom down to the bottom. The level reads perfectly plumb on the middle and top portion of the door and it is out of plumb around the bottom third of the door. Heres one thing to consider. Our front door faces South and it is painted black and we have a storm door. thus when the sun beats on the door it gets hot enough to fry an egg on. The apparent warping of the door is permanent and does not subside when the door cools. Now my question. Other than taking the door off and putting it into some kind of a hydraulic press or backing a truck over the warped portion...(Joking)....any ideas other than replacing the door. I would like to fix the door as opposed to re-doing all the seals and such as they are all in fairly good shape. Thanks again, and sorry for the lengthy post.

 

I don't know if you can get the bow out of the door but it should never have been painted a dark color and the storm door makes it worse [mini oven between the 2 doors] Replacing the door is best, although you could add some extra weatherstripping where needed if you have to keep the door for awhile.

 

I gather you are using a small level. Do you have a longer (4'+) level or straight edge you can lay on the face of the door? Is it flat? Place your level on the hinge side frame (not molding) and latch side frame to make sure they are both plumb.

 

Is this the latch side of door? Assuming it is, 1/32" out of plane does not seem that bad.

If you can see daylight, or feel a draft, chances are it is more than 1/32".

I would swap out weather stripping as Mark said. Or adjust latch side of door slightly to try to close up gap. Adjust latch side by removing screws and moving jamb in or out to find a fair balance between top gap and lower gap.

 

Look at the latch catch and see if there's a rectangular shaped hole in it.
It there so it can be bent a small amount with a flat screwdriver to hold the door tighter against the seals.
No hole, the catch can still be removed and bend the tab with a pair of plyers.
There was a sticker on that door when it was new warning about painting it a dark color.

 

Thanks for the solid remarks and suggestions. The house was brand new construction when we bought it so there was never a sticker on the door warning of the problems that painting a door black could cause. Understanding these warnings for a wood door would have been easy....but I must admit that I may have thought to myself that this won't be a worry with a metal door if I had even seen such a warning. Oh well...it is what it is. I do appreciate the feed back and since I'm about 99% sure that the door is actually warped now, i'll have to go with that fact. I am still open for any suggestions though....thanks again.