Glue advice

[GweithdyDU]

Hi people. Help please regarding re-glueing an internal door.
I purchased my single storey cottage (as was) that was renovated and massively extended by Bodge the Builder. No planning, no building regs and little quality apart from the blockwork ; he also built as a disabled person who was on benefits and needed loads of free help from his mates and for that, he does sort of have my respect. Anyway, one of his ideas was to build his own door frames from rough-sawn 3x2 with roofing battens nailed to it and use some 4 panel doors he found. Unfortunately, he built his own acid bath and stripped one of them before getting a rollicking from his wife before he managed to dip the rest. The one that was subjected to the acid has fallen apart in that all the joints are loose, very loose! I don't think PVA will do it for very long and am not really a fan of it but would welcome the opinions of others who have more knowledge on glues than I have. Obviously I will be clamping it while it dries so drying time is not much of an issue (apart from we'll be bloomin cold without a front-room door while the glue dries/hardens) brrrrr.

Thanks/Diolch

 

[Bingy man]

Is it an option just to fit new doors // frames . If this is not feasible for you then titebond would be my go to glue providing the internal joints are sound . I’d probably give standard Pva a miss tbh. Excess titebond is easier to remove with a damp cloth before it dries.

 

[GweithdyDU]

Is it an option just to fit new doors // frames . If this is not feasible for you then titebond would be my go to glue providing the internal joints are sound . I’d probably give standard Pva a miss tbh. Excess titebond is easier to remove with a damp cloth before it dries.

, Thanks/Diolch. The aim is to replace all the doors and frames eventually. In fact, in one of the pictures you can see the very rough shape of the doors I want to make and the internal windows the same (yes, we have internal windows lol). However, I'm not in a position to purchase materials etc for perhaps a while longer than I had hoped and need to make the door close efficiently over the winter. It opens up into an area that doesn't need so much heat but I'd like to keep the heat in the kitchen and front-room area from seeping out to that area.

The joints seem ok, it is all just a bit loose and you have to lift it back up every few openings/closings. Thanks again for the pointer.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Is it an option just to fit new doors // frames . If this is not feasible for you then titebond would be my go to glue providing the internal joints are sound . I’d probably give standard Pva a miss tbh. Excess titebond is easier to remove with a damp cloth before it dries.

Titebond though a perfectly good glue has no significant advantage over any other proprietary brand PVA, they're all easy to remove with a wet rag.

 

[Beatsy]

If the joints are loose I'm not sure Titebond will have enough "gap filling" ability to give a good bond. I'd choose a "structural" UF resin like Semforite or Cascamite. These can be cleaned off with water too.

 

[Homeless Squirrel]

Hi if not painting door so staying wood colour id secure joints with something that can get into them that you like/find? or joint mate with activator sort of thing?
Then run round gaps after with a wood coloured mastic/caulk which will also hold panels from rattling! if painting or not worried standard Mastic/Caulk will do.
You can if like so gets in more places place tube in heat/hot water before using so more runny.
Something i used to do when Decorating to repair plasterwork/boards/cracks mixed PVA up with Caulk in a pot with hot water then paint into ? Never re'cracked again plus repaired damaged decorative plater type coving in some "Ancient" place then painted looked good.
But once skins up/cools it firms up and holds objects but still retains some flex. "Tricks of the trade"
You can work things into joints etc like cascamite with something like those little plasters double ended tools which are useful for all sorts rather than just plastering also small filling knives or putty knife.

 

[deema]

I’d look at using say 30 or 45 minute waterproof PU glue. You can get it either in a pot or for use in a gun, (like silicone sealant). It has gap filling ability more so than Cascamite. It foams a bit like expanding foam, but is easy to clean off. You typically wait until is dried so it’s not wet, but not hard and it simply peals off. If it goes fully hard a chisel soon removes it.
Cascamite needs at least overnight to harden or if it’s cold it can be longer. You must weight the water and powder constitutes to be sure it will harden properly. With PU you can have the door back swinging the sane day,

 

[rogxwhit]

It has gap filling ability

The gap-filling property is non-structural and this is an internal door, so no benefit.

 

[deema]

@rogxwhit I think PU has a lot of benefits over either Cascamite or PVA, it’s very cheap with a quick drying time. I think they are keen to get the door swinging quickly as they mention it’s very cold without it.

 

[sawdustandwax]

Appreciate you say you're not in a position to purchase materials but IF you do have some ply/mdf you could wedge the door so the gaps are closed and screw the ply to the door, 6 or 9mm would be fine. The door could in situ and it would help deal with gaps in the panels. Not pretty, but quick and effective and will get through the winter.
If you're going to be gluing you may well need to use some veneer/thick plane shavings to help take up the gaps caused from the acid drying the wood out. Just relying on glue it will fail again and possibly quite quickly from the described location.

 

[rogxwhit]

Or with the door off, just cramp it up and peg the joints ...

 

[niall Y]

A 'pukka' job would be to disassemble door and re glue with new wedges. A not so 'pukka' but convenient way , is to introduce glue where you can and clamp the joints tight.
You can then pin them . I used to find lost head masonry nails good for this - a couple
through each tenon.

 

[rogxwhit]

I used to find lost head masonry nails good

I hate it when people lower the tone ...

 

[Bingy man]

Titebond though a perfectly good glue has no significant advantage over any other proprietary brand PVA, they're all easy to remove with a wet rag.

My advice was based on what I’ve used with good results on similar projects, I’ve used expanding ( foaming) glues before that unfortunately kept expanding long after I’d cleaned up the excess. I’d then find it had set completely meaning a lot of wasted time removing it . I’m guessing I probably used too much in the initial glue up . Good points regarding other Pva glues for future reference.

 

[GweithdyDU]

Wow! thank you all. Lots of really good ideas and may use a several of them combined for a 'belt-n-braces approach. Also, apologies as I should have mentioned that I do intend to paint the door once it is fixed so doweling the joints is definitely an option. If I can find my sketch of the design of door I wish t replace them with, I'll upload it and we'll see what all the clever woodworkers think re manufacturing them myself.

Thanks again to everyone who has responded. Much appreciated.

IF you do have some ply/mdf you could wedge the door so the gaps are closed and screw the ply to the door, 6 or 9mm would be fine. The door could in situ and it would help deal with gaps in the panels. Not pretty, but quick and effective and will get through the winter.

That, is a very interesting 'bodge', and I don't mean that disrespectfully at all. Functional, solves the problem cheaply and would likely pay for the ply in less than one winter. I hadn't thought of it but it is the sort of solution that I like and have had to resort to over the years with woodwork, mechanic-ing, building, gardening, power generation etc.