Flori-Door, Inc.
Handling & Finishing Information for Solid Hardwood Doors
To assist you in protecting your investment in quality wood products from Flori-Door, please read and follow all the instructions below. Failure to do so could result in potential damage to your door and certain voiding of our limited warranty.
Before you order your door:
To adequately protect your door and extend its life, you will need to consider your climate, in addition to the direction your door will be facing and the amount of overhang covering it. Without a good overhang, hardwood doors with western or southern exposures will require more frequent maitenance. Remember to always check your local building codes and regulations. Flori-Door, Inc. offers Design Pressure Rated as well as Impact Rated doors, sidlites, and transoms for all coastal areas which require wind load tested exterior doors.
Wood doors with large panels are more adversely affected by direct sunlight than those with smaller panels. Doors with wide panels require 100% protection from the sun. If your entryway receives any direct sunlight, select a door with smaller panels.
If the opening
where the door is to be installed has less than the required overhang,
as detailed below in the installation information, any problems
with the door will not be covered by our warranty.
When your door arrives:
Immediately upon receipt of your door(s), inspect it (them) for warp, broken glass, damaged moldings or any other manufacturing defect or freight damage. In case of freight damage, it is your responsibility to refuse the shipment or to file a claim with the delivering freight company at once. Digital photographs of the damaged freight are always a good idea to ensure a proper claim.
Do not cut, hang, or finish a defective door, if you plan to return it.
Storage and Handling of your door(s):
Doors should be stored flat on a level surface. However, if this is not possible, they may be stored for a short time on their side - supported by at least two vertical supports. NEVER store them standing on one end and leaning against a wall.
Doors should not be exposed to excessive heat, dryness, humidity or direct sunlight prior to finishing. As the mahogany ages its color darkens. Direct sunlight speeds up this process. The lighter area caused when a piece of casing is accidentally left lying across an exposed door is very difficult - if not impossible - to remove.
Handle doors with clean hands or gloves and do not drag them across one another.
Installation of the door(s):
The structural integrity of the door must not be compromised in the fitting of the door, the application of hardware or cutting and altering the door for lights, louvers, panels or any other special details.
All doors must have at least 3 hinges. All doors over 7'0" must have at least 4 hinges. Be sure that all hinges are set in a straight line to prevent stile distortion. Allow approximately 3/16" clearance for swelling of the door and jamb during future damp weather.
If the door must be trimmed, do so before the hinge preparation. The MAXIMUM YOU CAN TRIM OFF ANY EDGE IS 3/4" without cutting into a mortise pocket. If you do accidentally open a mortise pocket, fill it with quality wood filler before you apply the finish.
Wide Panel Warning
Doors, sidelites, or transoms with any wood panels wider then 13 1/2" measured across the grain will not be covered by the Flori-Door Limited Warranty, if it receives ANY DIRECT SUNLIGHT.
Doors should not be installed where there is insufficient overhang or where there is excessive exposure to direct rain and/or southern/western exposure, which allows direct sunlight to hit door.
Overhang
To determine if your wood door has the required overhang, measure up from the bottom of the door to the point where the overhang meets the wall and divide that distance by two. The resulting number will be the minimum allowable overhang for wood doors not containing wide panels. Example: If you measure 10 feet from the bottom of the door to the overhang, you will need a minimum of 5 feet of overhang. If your overhang is more than 10 feet from the ground, you will require extra overhang to protect the wood doors from direct sunlight. If you have a western or southern exposure, you may still receive direct sunlight on the doors.
Finishing the door(s):
Finishing your wood doors is very important. A properly finished wood door will last longer than a door that has been neglected. Most
compressions/dents may be removed quite easily using a steam iron
and a damp cloth. Feel free to call and we can assist you with the process.
In order to prevent warpage or excessive deterioration of your door, avoid using dark stains or paints on exterior door surfaces. This is most critical for doors with large panels and/or doors, which receive excessive sunlight.
IMMEDIATELY after fitting, cutting for closures, weather strip and/or threshold, but before hanging, ALL EXPOSED SURFACES OF THE DOOR MUST BE SEALED, including THE TOP, BOTTOM, SIDE EDGES AND HARDWARE CUTOUTS. IF THE DOOR IS NOT TO BE HUNG IMMEDIATELY, ALL SURFACES MUST BE SEALED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF REACHING THE JOB SITE.
Use only oil-based stains or primers. If water-based paint is used, it must be applied over an oil-based primer. No lacquer or water-based sealers are acceptable on exterior doors. Stained doors must have at least 3 coats of 95% Polyurethane or 95% Varathane as a final finish.
The
end grain at the top and bottom of each stile (the long pieces on
the outside edges of the door) and the end grain of each raised panel
are areas which require special finishing attention. THE END GRAIN
IS THE MOST VULNERABLE POINT FOR WATER PENETRATION AND MUST BE COMPLETELY
SEALED TO PREVENT FUTURE PROBLEMS.
Before the sweep (Door bottom) at the bottom of the door is installed, verify that the bottom of the door has been properly sealed.
MOST PROBLEMS WITH DOORS ARE DUE TO IMPROPER HANDLING, INSTALLATION AND/OR FINISHING!
MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH YOUR DOOR HAS READ AND UNDERSTANDS THIS WARRANTY INFORMATION.
At Flori-Door we take great pride
in our manufacturing process, From concept to reality,
because we know that our entries will
stand up to the elements for years to come.
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