House is moving?

[Crystal]

Hi everyone,

Most of the doors of my new IP were sticking when I purchased. So I planed the tops of the doors to ensure they closed neatly.
A few days later one of them was sticking again, so I planed it again.
Since then, 3 doors in my house have been planed 3 times and a couple are sticking yet again!!!!
The house is weatherboard and is nearly 40 years old but it has been renovated and the doors are relatively new. The pre-purchase building inspection reported no structural concerns.
Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Crystal

 

[noddy]

I'm no expert but I read in a Melbourne paper that with the drought, over 50% of houses on strip foundations and stumps are experiencing movement and will see sticky doors and cracks in the walls.

Apparantly it is worse for those in areas where there is more clay in the soil.

This may help explain.

Cheers,

Noddy.

 

[manny]

Hi Crystal,

as Noddy mentioned, the drought would have something to do with this... being a 40yr old wb home I would assume it is on stumps... has the house been re-stumped?

If not, it may be a worthwhile investment, that way you can get new concrete stumps (red-gums can be replaced) & the house can be leveled once again... only thing I would tell the stump guys is to go for more concrete per stump, that way you shouldn't get as much movement in the future & the problem of cracking &/or doors jamming should be substantially reduced...

Cheers,

MannyB.

 

[Kristine..]

Crystal

Trouble is, once all that lovely new work is done, the last thing you want is to relevel the house. Say good bye to nic enew architraves and doorframes if you do that!!

Having just installed 17 new doors I am mindful of the 'seal top and bottom' rule. The manufacturer recommends at least one coat of seal top and bottom, particularly on outside doors or doors to wet areas eg bathroom.

The outside doors have ventilation holes, but the timber should be sealed to prevent undue swelling and contraction.

Next time you have the doors off the hinges, it may be worth a quick once over with the paint brush. If the joints in the architraves haven't opened, then the sticking is not due to the house moving.

Cheers

Kristine