Doors are designed to fit snugly within their frames otherwise, nobody would bother with the things and would opt for curtains instead.
A warped door is one of the most aggravating things in the world, especially when you need privacy and it won’t shut right.
There are many different ways to construct a door. Most of it is about style but to keep it from warping, it’s all about the finish. A minimum of two coats with a premium, high-quality finish is just the start.
You’ll need a good applicator and it’s also a good idea to keep the door in a dry environment, preferably in the room where you plan to install it.
You should pick up a dehumidifier for the room, at least until the protective coats are completed and cured.
What Causes Warping In Doors?
Moisture is the natural enemy of wood and, as the wood dries, slowly shedding its moisture, the wood fibers shrink to fill the voids of the absent moisture.
Bathroom doors and doors located near frequently used sources of water are the most frequently affected.
If the door is exposed to a rise in humidity and that humidity later dissipates, it will experience shrinkage in the wood fibers.
Basic interior doors are filled with recycled wood fibers and encapsulated in vinyl, or have a honeycomb hollow core. They don’t warp; they’re cheap and easy to construct, but they aren’t a solid wood door, if that’s what you’re after.
What Wood Should You Use?
Plywood
Plywood is by far the easiest wood to use when wanting to construct a door. Easy to work with, durable and accepts finishes well, which is the most important thing to stop a door from warping.
Medium Density Fiberboard – MDF
If you want to build a door that won’t warp, MDF is the way to go. It’s basically sawdust that’s been compacted with adhesives to form the panels, stiles, and rails.
In a machine shop, it’s easy enough to use planers and routers to style the MDF how you want.
The problem with making MDF doors is that you will need a good deal of equipment, including a floating router.
Each panel, stile, and rail has to be cut and formed separately. Then you will need long clamps (C-clamps won’t cut it) to glue the individual pieces together to form the door.
Making a Warp-Proof Door
The easiest construction method is with plywood. The building and design process is irrelevant and it’s all about the finish and storage of materials.
Keep everything in as dry an environment as you can make it until the door is complete.
Interior doors are generally 1 and ⅜” thick and you will need to measure the height and width of the space where the door will be installed.
You’ll need the following:
- ½” Plywood for the panel
- Electric sander
- Circular saw
- ½” Additional plywood for stiles and rails
- Straight edge/square
1. Cut Your Plywood
Cut your ½” plywood to the length and width of the door frame. Be sure your lines are as precise as you can make them. A door is a tight fit and a mistake in either height or width will ruin the entire thing.
Cut strips of plywood that are 4” in width and the height of your door. These are going to be your stiles. When you subtract the 8” from the width of your door, you’ll have the correct length to cut your 4” wide rails.
You need to cut 4 rails and 6 stiles.
2. Sand Everything
Use an electric sander to sand all of your pieces, including the edges. You don’t have to go crazy with it, just enough to open the grain up a bit and smooth down your edges.
3. Wood Glue Your Rails and Stiles
Clean the surfaces of all sawdust and place your rails, with adhesive, on the long edges of your door (don’t forget to get both sides).
When one side dries enough to hold the stiles, do the other side. Then glue down your rails. Use C-clamps with cardboard strips to press all of your pieces down.
Let that hold for 24 hours before you apply your trim.
4. Add Some Trim
The rails and styles will form squares or rectangles on each side of the door (two stiles and three rails on each side).
That should come with 16 pieces of trim (your choice of design), cut to length. Use your wood glue to place them firmly in position.
5. Finish
A minimum of two coats of premium, polyurethane varnish is necessary and you need to coat every square inch of the door.
Use a paintbrush and do not spray it on. Cover the front, back, and all of the edges. Allow it to cure and coat it again. A third coat is optional.
All Things Considered
Making the door isn’t hard but if you want to keep it from warping, you can stick with MDF, which is more difficult to work with, or plywood, which will require multiple coats of polyurethane varnish.
It’s also important to keep the door in a dry room until all of your coats are applied and completely cured.
If necessary, use a dehumidifier to keep the room as dry as possible. With the MDF board or premium varnish, your interior door will be protected from the warp-inducing effects of humidity.
