Warped / Twisted Batten / Ledged Doors

[Matt Roberts PA]

I've made four batten or ledged doors and all four have twisted as shown below. They're between 0.75 and 1.0 inch at the corner. Some are out at the top side, some in.

I bought the wood in February, stored it in my garage until I built them this summer, then installed them (unfinished) this fall. I didn't notice anything off when I hung them, so I really think they warped after hanging. Why I hung them unfinished - never got around to it and didn't realize the harm.. :(

So two questions of course are:
1) What did I do wrong? I have two more doors to make, and likely more in my life, I'd like to learn from my mistakes.
2) Any thoughts on fixing? The ledges and brace are screwed on, but I already plugged the screws. I could drill them out - a PITA, but possible. I was going to try laying them on the garage floor and weighing them down. I'm also considering rewetting them, but any guidance on how to not make this worse?

Also note - I did leave a 1/8 gap between the boards.

[Robert Engel]

I think the thickness of the doors is one problem. The design is another one. There's too many ways for the wood to "misbehave".

A standard door design with rails and stiles is probably your best bet.

[mreza Salav]

I agree with Robert, several things are not done right; to list some: boards and the door is too thin, the boards are too wide, the construction method is not good for passage doors; doors need to be finished on "all" sides (means top and bottom too) to keep the moisture absorption/release more stable.

[Lisa Starr]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the others on this. I have batten style doors in my home that are almost 200 years old. They are flat, not warped and are 1-1/8" thick, 4 wide boards form a 32" door. I can understand the OP's intent with 1x stock, but I don't think it will work. Additionally, most pieces in my doors appear to be quartersawn rather than flatsawn, which I think would greatly improve stability.

[Matt Roberts PA]

The boards are 5/4 - the ledges and braces are 3/4.

I also have several batten doors in my house made from 3/4 knotty pine with 3/4 ledges and braces, which are at least 80 years old.

I didn't invent this style of construction...there must be a way to do it right.

[Dave Zellers]

I have built a LOT of board and batten doors in the last 40 years and all of them were 3/4" pine. Usually 3 boards to cover the opening. All of them are fine decades later. It is smart to choose the batten stock carefully as they are doing all the work. Quarter or rift sawn is the best bet.

Now for the elephant in the room question- did you glue the battens? Because that is verboten. But it sounds like you didn't, by your description. It honestly sounds to me like your screws aren't holding. If you start with flat stock and screw them well, I've never had a problem. I also only screw one edge of each board (usually the tongue) and let it move freely around the tongue of the adjacent board.

[Joe Calhoon]

What I am seeing is your boards must not have been faced and planed well. They look cupped. Also from the top view the grain is all going the same way. You should reverse the grain of each one.
For this type door the boards should not be glued together. Just do T&G not glued. The braces hold everything together.
We have done a few of these and a little warping can be expected. It’s a ancient construction method.
joe

[Andrew Pitonyak]

What I am seeing is your boards must not have been faced and planed well. They look cupped.

In the third photo, you can see that a board is cupped in the center of the board that looks like it was very close to the center of the board. In other words, it cupped exactly where you should expect it.

I would expect that quarter saw would not have this problem (at least not as great).

[Matt Roberts PA]

No glue. The battens are screwed with 1.5" screws, each hand tightened. I'm rather confident they're tight.

I managed to take a photo of the one board I oriented wrong - the rest have the grain alternating.

The cupped board in photo three wasn't that way when I built these. It must have dried out in the house. I guess I should have either a) checked the moisture or b) brought the wood into the house to acclimate prior to construction - but that seems so unrealistic in practice.

As for repairs - any chance? Or waste of time/effort?

[Dave Zellers]

As for repairs - any chance? Or waste of time/effort?

Yeah, it wasn't lost on me that no one actually answered your main question, including me. :rolleyes:

Given that the door boards are 5/4, I would think that the only real fix is to deconstruct the doors, joint and plane them flat and then reassemble. But as you already know, OY! what a pain. But I believe at this point, if you rebuild with flat dry wood, you will be happy with the results. And only screw one edge of each board, except the first one (hinge side) for obvious reasons.

But the wood has to be flat. No twist.

[Robert Engel]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the others on this. I have batten style doors in my home that are almost 200 years old. They are flat, not warped and are 1-1/8" thick, 4 wide boards form a 32" door. I can understand the OP's intent with 1x stock, but I don't think it will work. Additionally, most pieces in my doors appear to be quartersawn rather than flatsawn, which I think would greatly improve stability.

Actually I think we do agree a little. Your doors are stable b/c they are thicker doors & quartersawn, neither of which apply to his doors.

Thicker braces & moving them closer to the top and bottom might help his situation.

I just think the design and type of lumber is asking a lot to stay perfectly straight.

[John TenEyck]

[QUOTE=Matt Roberts PA;3088224]No glue. The battens are screwed with 1.5" screws, each hand tightened. I'm rather confident they're tight.

I managed to take a photo of the one board I oriented wrong - the rest have the grain alternating.

The cupped board in photo three wasn't that way when I built these. It must have dried out in the house. I guess I should have either a) checked the moisture or b) brought the wood into the house to acclimate prior to construction - but that seems so unrealistic in practice.

As for repairs - any chance? Or waste of time/effort?[/QUOTE

Was this construction lumber?

John

[Steve Rozmiarek]

It's just construction grade lumber doing what it does.

[Tom M King]

With doors like that, it only takes one board that moves to put a twist in it.

[Bradley Gray]

It's just construction grade lumber doing what it does.

I agree. I have made lots of door like this. I don't think you need thicker boards, I think you need better boards. I also would rather use 3/4 for the boards and 5/4 for the frame.

[Matt Roberts PA]

The lumber was 5/4x6 S4S. Air dried I believe. It wasn't 2Xs.

[Matt Roberts PA]

Do you think the 3/4 battens have trouble holding the 5/4 boards? Would 5/4 battens be better?

[William Hodge]

I have built some batten doors like this.

I use good D and better Select Eastern White Pine, and clinch nail it, no glue. The grain should be pretty good, not lots of circles. There should be at least 15 growth rings per inch, measured on the radius. The arc of the rings should be as flat as possible, meaning the wood was from big trees. Moisture content should be 10% or less. After assembly, the doors get primed with shellac based primer, if interior.

Applied stops on the jambs will allow for some adjustment in case of wood movement.

[Dave Zellers]

Applied stops on the jambs will allow for some adjustment in case of wood movement.

Excellent point.