Solid oak cabinet doors will shrink and swell

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DonN
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Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:00 am
Location: Accokeek, Maryland

Solid oak cabinet doors will shrink and swell

Post by DonN »

Solid wood shrinks and swells in response to changes in humidity. Coatings on wood can reduce the rate at which wood picks up or loses moisture but not stop the process entirely. There is very little change in dimension along the grain (the height of the door) but very much across the grain (the width of the door). The doors that fold together on my B190 swelled so much that they would no longer close. I either have to remount the doors or shave off some wood from where they come together so they can come together. Then when the wood has shrunk back to its pre-swelling size, there will be a larger gap between the doors that fold together than before. Solid wood doors in RVs may be more of a problem than solid wood in houses because RVs may be exposed to more variations in humidity.

Have any of you B190 Enthusiasts out there had this problem?
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Planck
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Post by Planck »

Not me. Doors have always worked fine, except for the weakening gas springs.
airoff
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Joined: Sat Jul 27, 2013 5:11 pm
B190 Year: 94
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Re: Solid oak cabinet doors will shrink and swell

Post by airoff »

I realize this is an old post, but I am having the same issue.

My 93 B190 is now spending its winters in Iowa after a life down south. The cabinet doors are swelling and warping.

If anyone has ideas of how to prevent this, I'd love to hear them!!
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lido14co
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B190 Year: 1992
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Location: Los Osos, CA

Re: Solid oak cabinet doors will shrink and swell

Post by lido14co »

Here's a good article on door swelling and warping, one of many. It says you need to seal the doors. There're some other articles out there that tell how to straighten a warped door and also reference why they may warp in the first place (usually wood not dried properly). Good luck with the fix. http://www.vibrantdoors.co.uk/news/?p=2186


Cliff
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