Front door is VERY hard to open since winds and rain?

Question

I'm in central FL and there was a mild hurricane through here; lots of rain and strong winds.

Now my front door seems to have swollen shut. I have to pull it VERY hard several times to get it open. Will it dry out and go back to normal, or should I inform the landlord and ask him to repair?

There were no damages otherwise... It was a weak hurricane.

Answer 1

You'll need to let it dry naturally. Wait for the air to clear up and the humidity recede. Once the sun comes out, it should do the job.

Answer 2

Actually, have the landlord replace it - - it is the result of Hurricane Damage so his insurance will cover the cost...sooo do it now !!

If your going to keep the same door though, the opposite is the best choice here. You should continue to soak the door so that it swells to its maximum capacity. Right now it is swolled from absorbing water but it is not to its full capacity, most likely. Wet sponges, etc will be all you need to do this. Once it is totally swollen you sand down all surfaces to remove " Raised Wood Fibers" then you shave the door to fit the doorway easily. Now you seal the wood to  "  Lock In Moisture" and prevent shrinkage or further absorbtion of water.

If you go the other way ( allow it to dry out to fit again) it will take a very long time for the wood to dry out. Furthermore, once wood is soaked and allowed to dry by any means, that wood is weakened. It is much more brittle than it was before, it will crack, splinter, and chip very easily now. This is the reason furniture is sealed wood ..to lock in moisture not dry out the wood and prevent moisture from entering. You cannot undo what damage was done, so drying out is thinking you can go back to a time before the damage occurred. Wrong...you should continue to develope what had begun and seal the moisture into the wood at that point. It will last years if sealed...

Answer 3

vanilla, this is nothing unusual, in fact it is a common occurance. Yes it will improve as it dries out, but if this is going to be a regular happening, then, yes I would contact the land-lord and ask if he can get something done about it, because if you can't get out of a door in the case of an emergency, you are in trouble, make this point and remind him of the health & Safety regulations. Good luck

Answer 4

this will happen constantly due to humidity. maybe you could mention this to your landlord and have it replaced with a steel or fiberglass door.

Answer 5

It'll go back to normal.  You can phone him and ask him to shave it down if he has time, but it will go back to normal once it dries out.  You'll find that on humid days it may stick shut as well.