Can PVC doors swell in the heat?

It's completely normal for doors to swell, whether they are composite, uPVC, or timber. Unfortunately, they all suffer from swelling when it gets hot outside. As with the majority of materials, uPVC expands and contracts slightly in more intense weather conditions.

seal-lite.co.uk - Do new uPVC doors swell or warp? | Seal-Lite Group

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If you’re considering replacing your current doors with new uPVC doors, you may be wondering if they swell or warp over time. This is a common concern for many homeowners, so we are here to explain this issue using our knowledge and expertise.

What is door warping?

The simple answer is that some doors, mainly older timber ones, warp due to uneven drying of the wood fibres contained within them. Some woods have higher moisture content than other kinds of woods and are therefore more susceptible to warping. Exterior moisture levels also can contribute cause wood to warp. Our reliable uPVC doors provide excellent protection against the diverse weather conditions we experience along the South West coastline, let alone the rest of the UK! Resistant to warping or cracking, you never have to worry about your Seal-lite door warping or bowing.

Why does uPVC swell?

It’s completely normal for doors to swell, whether they are composite, uPVC, or timber. Unfortunately, they all suffer from swelling when it gets hot outside. As with the majority of materials, uPVC expands and contracts slightly in more intense weather conditions. You may find that in extreme warm and cold weather your doors are becoming stiff and not opening and closing properly. uPVC is known to expand in the heat; at 40°C it is possible for uPVC frames to expand by up to 2.4cm. This is a perfectly natural element of the material and absolutely nothing to be concerned about, but it can cause temporary problems and difficulty with opening and closing your doors.

What can you do to help with uPVC doors swelling?

Fortunately, here in the UK, we don’t experience extreme heat that often and temperatures of 40°C are seldom. That being said, if your uPVC doors do swell, when the temperature cools you should find that your doors return back to normal and no permanent damage will be caused. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done except to wait for the uPVC to cool. However if the swelling does become too extreme you can always try to spray it with cold water or use a cold, damp cloth to pat it down. This should help to cool the plastic and allow it to return back to a normal temperature quicker.

Do you need to worry about your uPVC doors swelling?

No! Your doors are not broken and do not need replacing if they swell. This is a perfectly natural occurrence and can affect darker-colored uPVC products more seriously due to the amount of heat being absorbed.

uPVC doors from Seal-Lite

Manufactured in-house, our dynamically durable uPVC entrance door range has energy efficiency ingrained within their design. Exceptionally user-friendly whilst offering first-class security features, our uPVC replacement entrance doors dramatically retain and conserve energy within homes and businesses across North Somerset and the South West; so much so, they can considerably reduce heating bills too.

Seal-lite are here to help with your home improvements

Seal-Lite of Clevedon are a specialist installer of high-quality home improvement solutions. We’re ready to help with your next home improvement project, call us on or receive your free no-obligation quote here.