As the subject says - we are coming to the end of the renovations and I'm merrily painting a variety of newly hung internal doors. A sticker on the edge of them says the bottom edge and top edge must be primed and painted / sealed. I figured this was to stop warping.
On a side note I checked the other internal doors that have been in the house for 14 years+ and none of them have been painted top and bottom and no issues etc with changing shape.
I can do it, it's just a pain in the backside to flip them etc and then flip them again when they are technically all done on the main faces and side edges.
Would leaving them 'open' and unpainted not allow the door to breathe moisture out as well as in?
The advice to paint top and bottom may be to prevent insect attack. Door rails are probably untreated pine. Go to doors that are from say 40 year old houses and look top or bottom rail for borer.
As far as moisture goes, the door from the factory is as dry as it's gonna get. More than likely door will absorb moisture, particularly if used on a wet room opening.
I would paint top and bottom, it will also look better as you won't see a "furry" edge after the second coat.
None of the above is cast in stone, just my experience.
It is to seal moisture from entering or leaving to help prevent warping. Modern pine doors are more prone to warping as pine sucks the moisture like crazy. However, in a reasonably dry house you will probably get away with it. Not bathroom (or kitchen) doors though.
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