treating knots in wood

[Shnozz]

I have some new garage doors that my dad has made for me over the summer. I plan on putting clear varnish on them but before I do the old man reckons I should treat the knots. Web searches suggest that knots only need to be treated if you are painting the door, rather than varnishing them. Anyone here know anything about wood? Do they need treating to stop them drying out before I varnish them?

[pic]http://home.btconnect.com/Cloud9/garagedoor2.jpg[/pic]

[Podie]

I'd sort out the roof... funny angle that...


Seriously though, I didn't know you had to treat the knots...

[UKBob]

Im knot an expert, hence I wood'nt know. Well done your dad on a good job though.

[Prof Beard]

Yes you should treat the knots, they can exude resin and dry out and shrink - you treat them with, believe it or knot - "knotting" - you can get it in B&Q

Prof Beard

[FROSTYR1]

Iam a carpenter and joiner and yes you should treat the knots with "knotting" prior to varnish/woodstain otherwise they will bleed through sap with the different temperature changes especially in the summer months when the timber is drying out.

[MikeyT]

Yes, treat the knots. Are your hinges big enough - I think you can get them smaller!

And they need to be black ...

[tuscan30]

MikeyT said:

Are your hinges big enough - I think you can get them smaller!

They look about right to me - those doors are going to be pretty heavy.
Why are the hinges on the outside though ?
Unless you've used security fixings the local scallywags can unscrew the hinges and gain access. Inside would look better imo. Once those "bright metal" hinges get a bit of weather on them they could rust and stain your door, unless the galvanising/plating is top quality.
Nice doors tho, and yes it is best to treat the knots.

[parrot of doom]

I wouldn't varnish them. I'd oil them instead. Much kinder to the wood.

I use Danish Oil, easy to apply and totally waterproof. Just don't put it on too thickly or it won't dry.

[MikeyT]

OK, they're maybe the right size(ish) but six of them?

I've got similar door and have just the four. Not quite as big either.

Agree though, they should maybe be on the inside?

But whatever you do, you want to be doing it NOW as these things can warp - big as they are.

>> Edited by MikeyT on Tuesday 20th September 10:59

[Shnozz]

cheers chaps, will head off to B&Q. Already got the exterior varnish so will fill all the small holes with wood filler and then treat the knots first.

Yeah, hinges would be better on the inside but unfortunately the angle of the garage means its not so easy to achieve. Cuzza's Elise in there gives you some idea of the angle.



The hinges were going to be painted black, but everyone has said they actually look pretty good in silver, so I'll see. If they do start to rust, they will be painted before it stains the wood!

As to the amount of hinges, since neither of us knew what we were doing, we were rather cautious in going for the 6 massive hinges! The doors are pretty heavy thanks to the construction at the rear of the them



in fact, each door weighs about the same as the entire steel door that was on there before.

Security wise, the hinges are bolted through so cant be unscrewed, plus at the top right of the picture you will notice the CCTV camera The area doesnt really have any problems with theft, but I figured better safe...

[vixpy1]

Ask a boy Scout, they are good with knots

[Stamp]

They look good. Take no notice re the hinges. The more there are, the longer they take to unscrew, the more chance of the would be theif walking to the next door.

[DanH]

Who'd unscrew the hinges? Just take an electric drill to the hinge pins!

Probably easier to attack the lock with a crowbar anyway

>> Edited by DanH on Tuesday 20th September 20:46

[simpo two]

Varnish will simply fall off in a few years and have to be scraped off and redone. I'd have gone for stain or clear preservative. The knots will exude a bit of sap but I wouldn't worry; IIRC 'knotting' is white so will show!