Stan in Oly, WA
Well-known Member
I have two related situations where shed doors and a gate I built and installed last summer---our driest part of the year---have swollen to the extent that they now bind in the openings. I used framing lumber which had already had a full year to dry in covered storage, and simply did not anticipate the amount that primed and painted wood could still swell during our six month wet season. The shed doors will be relatively easy to fix because after I take them down and trim them to size I can reposition the surface mounted hinges. For that situation I only need to know a reliable exterior wood filler to fill the old screw holes for repainting.
The gate presents a much more difficult problem because it is huge and heavy. It is mounted with large strap hinges---each using nine 3/8" X 3" lag bolts. The strap hinges are in the only places they can be vertically, so moving them up or down to get them away from the existing holes isn't an option. Moving a hinge 1/2" laterally when the screw holes are 3/8" in diameter is the challenge. A few years ago a friend of mine who is a remodeling contractor rebuilt a rotted section of a structural beam (and the building department approved it) using some type of specialty epoxy which was very, very expensive. That would probably work here as well, but I'd like to avoid that last part---the very, very expensive part---if possible.
Stan
The gate presents a much more difficult problem because it is huge and heavy. It is mounted with large strap hinges---each using nine 3/8" X 3" lag bolts. The strap hinges are in the only places they can be vertically, so moving them up or down to get them away from the existing holes isn't an option. Moving a hinge 1/2" laterally when the screw holes are 3/8" in diameter is the challenge. A few years ago a friend of mine who is a remodeling contractor rebuilt a rotted section of a structural beam (and the building department approved it) using some type of specialty epoxy which was very, very expensive. That would probably work here as well, but I'd like to avoid that last part---the very, very expensive part---if possible.
Stan