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Hi
My wooden front door has panels and the panels have shrunk, leaving gaps - please see the picture. The front door gets the full afternoon sun and is rain facing. The door is Jarrah and is varnished.
I'm not sure what to use to repair it?
Thanks!
Hello @Niamh
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about your door panel.
Your Jarrah door is showing a very common issue called panel shrinkage. Because the door gets full afternoon sun and is exposed to rain, the panel has expanded and contracted over time until it has pulled away from the frame, leaving that long visible gap. Panelled doors are built so the inner panel “floats” inside the frame to allow seasonal movement. When a timber like Jarrah loses moisture from heat exposure, the panel shrinks. Because your door faces sun and weather, the shrinkage is more extreme, creating those long open gaps. This is not a structural failure, just natural timber movement.
What are your repair options? First would be a high-quality flexible wood filler such as Timbermate 1kg White Earl's Multflex Exterior Flexible Filler and Nordsjo Professional 330g Flexible Wood Filler - 330g or acrylic gap sealant designed for exterior use can move with the panel and is the easiest approach.
Next is to use a thin strip of matching Jarrah cut, lightly tapered, and glued into the gap. Because it is real timber, it blends perfectly after sanding and refinishing. It moves more naturally with the door, so it is far more durable than fillers. The third option is to disassemble the door and take the broken panel out and re-gluing it together. This would be the most involved repair option as the panel needs to be taken out and re-installed in the same floating position.
For best long-term protection, I suggest sanding the door back to timber and coating it with a high-quality exterior timber oil or marine-grade varnish with UV blockers.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
