Interior Finishing

 

Stain-and-Clear Finish

A solvent-borne finish system is recommended for interior doors and may be a lacquer-based system. If a brush application is to be used, it is recommended that a presealer be used prior to staining. For best performance, a minimum of two clear top coats should be used over stains.

 

Paint Finish

Doors should be sealed with a good quality oil-base primer followed by two top coats of a solvent-base or latex enamel.

 

Fitting and Hanging

X = 1/2 Y
Figure 1: Where X is the length of the overhang required and Y is the distance from the bottom of the door to the base of the overhang.
1. When hanging door, allow adequate clearance for swelling of door or frame in damp weather. Allow approximately 3/16" clearance for swelling when the door is installed in fully dry conditions. Jambs must be plumb.


2. Do not cut doors down in height by more than 2" (1-1/2" maximum from bottom, or 1" on doors with UltraBlock® technology, 1/2" maximum from top). Care should be taken in cutting doors down in width to avoid exposing engineered components. Use a sharp fine-tooth saw for trimming ends of doors.


3. Caution must be used to avoid impairing the strength of the door when fitting for locks. Allow at least 1" of wood back of mortise.


4. Use three hinges on doors up to 7' in height and four hinges on doors over 7'. Hinges must be set in a straight line to prevent distortion.


5. Jambs and stops must be set square and plumb.


6. For best performance and to meet the standard Simpson warranty, any exterior door should be installed under an overhang or with sufficient protection. Adequate overhang depends on typical weather conditions of the area where the door is installed, but at the minimum means an overhang projecting a distance from the structure equal to one half the distance between the bottom of the door and the bottom of the overhang. (see Figure 1)


7. If an adequate overhang is not feasible Simpson offers a selection of products warranted for this application, including a 5-year limited warranty on doors featuring WaterBarrier technology and a 10-year limited warranty on Nantucket® Collection doors.


8. Do not use dark colored stains or paints.


9. Immediately after cutting and fitting (before hanging), seal all cut surfaces and ends of door with an effective quality sealer. See exterior and interior finishing recommendation for complete instructions.


10. Prior to exterior exposure, doors must be finished with complete finish system.


11. To minimize heat loss and save energy, use weather stripping.