How to Fix a Sticking Door

There are few things as annoying as a door that sticks. Sticking doors are especially annoying when the door refuses to close and later magically opens on a whim letting the cat out and bugs in. Fortunately, fixing a door that refuses to open or close (or both) is a fairly simple project for the do it yourselfer.

The first step to fixing a sticking door is to diagnose the problem. Make certain that the fault is in the door and not in the doorknob. If your wood door only sticks when the humidity is high (or when the door gets rained on) the problem is probably due to swelling of the door or possibly of the door frame. When the humidity has returned to a normal level and the door has worked properly for a few days, take the door off the hinges and seal the edges of the door to waterproof them from drawing moisture and warping. If this does not solve the problem you will need to waterproof the door frame pieces, almost always the problem is the door swelling.

For those doors that stick regardless of the weather the first place to start is the hinges. Over time doors will begin to sag as the hinge screws will begin to loosen. Simply tightening the hinge screws will fix many problems. Use small wedges of wood to apply upward pressure to the door during tightening or have a helper hold up on the door while you tighten the screws.

If your door continues to stick you need to identify the area of door that is sticking. To locate the area where the door is sticking, simply close the door on a sheet of paper and then pull the paper out. The paper should pull out easily. Keep moving the paper to different areas of the door until you find an area that grabs the paper focus your further work in this area. You will need some coarse sandpaper and begin sanding the door a little at a time and checking for fit. In extreme cases you may need to use a plane, rasp, power sander (being careful not to take too much off in on area and cause cosmetic damage to the door).

Hopefully now your door works properly, if not give it a good kick, it will at least make you feel better. Visit my Content Producer Page for more home improvement, travel, hunting, and fishing articles and much more.