Stuck door
easy 20–90 min
Tools: screwdriver, pencil, block plane or coarse sandpaper on a block, hammer, chisel · Materials: 75 mm (3-inch) screws for the top hinge, cardboard or plastic shims, wood filler and paint
Steps
- Close the door slowly and watch where it touches: a rub at the top of the latch side means the door has sagged on its hinges; a rub along the bottom or across the top in summer means the wood has swelled.
- Tighten every hinge screw; if a screw spins, replace it with a 75 mm (3-inch) screw that reaches the stud behind the frame — this alone fixes most sagging doors.
- Mark the rubbing edge with a pencil while closing, take the door off its hinges, and plane or sand just to the pencil line; a millimetre is usually enough.
- If the door binds at the latch side and there is a gap at the hinge side, remove the top hinge and put a cardboard shim behind the hinge leaf to push the door over.
- Seal the planed edge and the top and bottom of the door with paint or varnish — unsealed edges are why doors swell every summer.
- If the latch will not catch, check the strike plate: file the opening a little or move the plate rather than slamming the door.
Stop and call a pro if
- several doors in the house have started sticking at the same time, or there are new diagonal cracks above door frames — that is the house moving
- the frame itself is out of square or split
- the door is an exterior fire-rated or steel door, which should not be planed
What a pro does that you can't
A carpenter rehangs a door with new hinges, re-squares or replaces the frame, and a foundation specialist checks a house where every door started sticking in the same season.
DIY cost: $5–20 in screws, shims and sealer