Hi guys, I’ve been having trouble with a door frame in our 30+ year old house. The frame that the fusuma sits in has drooped down and is catching the fusuma as it slides. I’ve heard this is a relatively common issue with fusuma. The issue only really occurs when it’s raining due to the humidity expanding the wood.
Has anyone had any experience with the same or similar issue?
Points to consider:
– I have used a jack to push the frame up but it’s a temporary fix. It drops back down over time. I’d like a permanent fix if possible.
– I can’t remove the doors as the frame doesn’t allow for enough space for me to remove them anymore.
– I have also looked at fastening the roof of the frame to another piece above it but the wall above is hollow, so there is nothing to fasten it to.
– I also can’t remove the door frame section as it’s a single piece that wraps around to one of the rooms the door is leading in to.
2 comments
There’s some products like “Suberou” wax sticks or silicone liquid in an applicator tube that you use in the groove, that would help if it’s just sticking, but it sounds more serious than that. Can you use the jack, take out the doors, and plane off the bottom?
Probably not just the frame, likely that area of the house (or more) has moved/sagged/settled, and the ‘frame’ is just a symptom of that.
Jacking the door frame is the wrong way to (truly) fix this. You’ll need to figure out what the frame is on, structurally, and go under it and lift that in the proper way. If it’s the first floor, then likely something under it all, so if there’s a crawl space… If it’s the second floor, then very likely more than just that frame is sagging.
Interim, but possibly ‘good enough’ fixes might be to take out the door and plane the top and/or the bottom–be careful since a little bit goes a long ways. And the whole length of the top/bottom will not need it, just toward the end that’s sticking.
A small hand plane might be best, but careful use of a rasp or longer sanding block may also work.