Specifications

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Doors
Passage Doors
Certain doors in your home are made of wood and they may shrink. The wood in both exterior and
interior passage doors must season. Don’t make hasty adjustments on new doors since the
condensation and humidity of a new home will affect them only temporarily. Occasional slight sticking
is normal and even desirable for a weather tight fit. Be sure to keep the paint finish in good repair,
repaint doors regularly.
When your doors were installed, all joints were tight and firm, but over time they may expand and
contract. During our rains even interior doors may swell and stick. If the sticking is minor, try applying
either a paste wax, light coat of paraffin or candle wax to the sticking surface. Be sure all screws are
tight. Exterior doors are especially affected because of temperature extremes from one side to the
other. To eliminate minor sticking, try paraffin, candle wax, or commercial dry lubricant sticks. If
sticking persists, tighten hinge screws with a screwdriver. If the door still sticks, wrap a piece of
sandpaper around a block of wood and sand those edges that stick. Planning is a drastic solution. Do
it carefully and cautiously or the door may refuse to close properly in drier weather. When the doors
closes to your satisfaction after sanding or planning, seal the raw wood with matching paint or varnish
to reduce the chance of swelling or warping later. The tops and bottoms of exterior doors should be
sealed or painted.
Warped doors are the result of too much moisture. Should a door ever warp, the best remedy is to
take if off and dry it thoroughly in the sun. If a door is badly warped and won’t straighten, prop up
each end and apply weight to the bulged center section and leave it for two to three days. Doors are
not guaranteed against warping, only against excessive warping as set by the Association of
Manufacturers.
Since door hinges move, they require occasional lubrication. Gently pry the hinge pin loose, lubricate
it with a graphite-based paste or powder and replace the pin. Oil can be used, but it is not
recommended because it attracts dust and can drip onto carpeting, woodwork, and floors.
Your home has secure, brand-name locks built to give years of trouble-free service. If occasional
sticking occurs, exterior locks can be easily freed with lubricants sold in most hardware stores. Locks
may require adjustment of the strike plate on the door jam. Two remedies are suggested. One is to
remove the strike plate and carefully file the latch opening. The other is to move the strike plate by
moving the screws into new positions.
We will make minor repairs to such items as doors sticking, cabinet drawer adjustments only if
submitted to us in writing during the 90 day period following the close of escrow or the date of
occupancy, whichever occurs first. After 90 days, these items are considered to be part of the normal
maintenance responsibility of the Homeowner.