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HANDLING, INSTALLATION AND FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS

Immediately after receipt of your order, inspect each door for any damage or defects. Notify your dealer promptly of any problems.

HANDLING

Handle all doors with clean gloves and equipment. Handling damage is not considered a factory defect. Avoid dragging the doors across one another or across other surfaces and avoid leaning them at a steep angle.

Cover the doors to keep them clean but allow air circulation. The doors should not be subject to abnormal or extreme changes in heat, dryness or humidity. Avoid sudden temperature changes, such as forced heat to dry out building.

INSTALLATION

All doors should be conditioned to average prevailing relative humidity of the locality before hanging. Doors shall not be exposed to excessive moisture (above 55% RH), excessive heat above (above 90 degrees F), dryness (above 30% RH), or direct sunlight.

When hanging a door, allow adequate clearance for swelling of door or frame in extremely damp weather. All glazed doors should be hung with the removable wooden glass beads facing the interior side of the opening.

Avoid cutting doors down in width. Use designated sizes. If width trim is necessary, do not trim over 1/4" per side. Use a sharp, fine tooth saw for trimming the ends. Top rail may be trimmed no more than 1/2", bottom rail trimmed as necessary.

The utility or structural strength of the door must not be impaired in the fitting of the door, the application of the hardware, or cutting and altering the door for lights, louvers, panels or any other special details. Use three hinges on doors 7’ in height or less, use four hinges on doors over 7’ in height. Hinges must be set in a straight line to prevent distortion. Be sure that jambs and stops are set perfectly square and plumb.

FINISHING

Make sure the doors are dry. Avoid finishing them too soon after a rain, damp weather or during periods of higher than average humidity. Remove all handling marks, instruction labels, stamps and effects of exposure to moisture with a thorough, final sanding over all surfaces of the door. Use 150 or 180 grit sandpaper.

NOTE: Small amounts of grease, oil or pitch can be wiped clean with mineral spirits.

Clean door thoroughly after sanding to remove all excess material. However, avoid using caustic or abrasive cleaners. Some species of wood (oak particularly) contain a chemical that reacts unfavorable with certain finishes.

Where possible, the surface should be tested for unfavorable reactions. Application of a sealer before finishing will usually prevent this difficulty. Notify your finish supplier or door manufacturer if any wide undesirable reaction is noticed. DO NOT continue with finishing until the problem is resolved.

All of the doors manufactured by Karona require sanding prior to finishing. The degree of pre-sanding preparation will depend upon the customer’s selection of stain and whether or not they are spraying or wiping on the stain. Immediately after cutting, fitting and sanding, but before hanging, all surfaces of the entire door, including top, bottom and side edges, must receive a protective finish. Finish door in a horizontal position, if possible.

Darker stains and high gloss paints tend to highlight even the subtlest of surface conditions. Karona will not be responsible for the appearance of field-finished doors (except for specific defects). Specific defects include de-lamination, cracked panels, and stile and rail separation.

NOTE: Sand lightly between all coats whether painting or staining, making sure that all surfaces and edges are covered every time a coat is applied.

To minimize moisture penetration where wood parts, or glass and wood, come together be sure enough paint or sealer is applied to form a bridged film across any voids. Make sure that the finish does not prevent movement of the panels.

Using all products by the same finish manufacturer insures compatibility. The finish manufacturer can tell you which of its product may be successfully applied in combination with each other. Follow instructions closely.

NOTE: On all stained doors, apply a coat of exterior woodwax and buff with a soft cloth occasionally.

NOTE: The proper application of wood doors requires protection from sun and moisture along with multi-step finish. It will be the discretion of Karona or its representative to approve or reject claims due to poor application, installation or finishing.

Exterior Doors

Exterior doors must be protected from direct sunlight and moisture penetration prior to finishing. They must be properly finished with at least three coats of an exterior grade material. The amount of finish on the door depends on the application. A substantial overhang and protection from the elements best minimizes swelling and other problems inherent to exterior doors.

When painting use a high-grade exterior primer followed by at least three coats of high-grade paint. For natural finishes, use an oil base semi-transparent stain designed for exterior use followed by at least three coats of marine spar varnish or locally approved exterior grade finish containing UV inhibitors to protect from sun damage. High gloss and lacquer based finishes are not recommended for exterior use.