Barn Door Warping

[Dan Russ]

I recently built a sliding barn door for a customer and it has cupped severely. I build the doors by first screwing the face frame together with picket holes and then flip it over so the back side is facing up and I then glue and nail tongue and groove pine to the face frame. Is there a reason why the door is warping? Should I not be gluing the T&G boards together and only gluing them to the face frame?

[larry senen]

what has cupped? the t&g pine? or the face frame? at first guess i would avoid glue altogether on an "outdoor" project.

[Bill Orbine]

Normally, T&G don't get glued together. And you should allow some spacing between each T&G for room to expand and contract....especially outdoors. Got any pictures?

[Lee Schierer]

Your panels need to float as the boards will expand and contract in width with seasonal moisture changes. The face frame boards will also expand and contract in width but not in length. If the T&G boards are nailed glued to the frame so they can't move in width the result will be a cupped door.

You need to alter your design so the panels can float and move as they expand and contract.

[Cody Colston]

Should I not be gluing the T&G boards together and only gluing them to the face frame?

I wouldn't glue the T&G boards at all, certainly not to each other, but would use finish nails to secure them. The whole point of T&G is to allow movement without seeing a gap between the boards when they shrink.