Day 2 – Fixing a Sticking Door
Welcome to Day 2 of my 31 Days of Handy Home Fixes. Today I’m going to show you a tip for fixing a rubbing or sticking door.
Day 2. Fixing a Sticking Door
Do you have a door in your home that rubs on the frame or gets stuck certain times of year? Our bathroom door used to stick in the summer (but not the winter.) The excess humidity in the air caused the door to swell just enough that it rubbed at the top of the frame. The fix literally took less than five minutes!
Take a look at your door and determine where the door is rubbing. Assess which direction you need to nudge the door to break the contact.
The simplest fix is to try loosening or tightening the door hinge screws. Take a look at the door below. The door was too tight in the upper left corner. To relieve the rubbing loosen the screws a half turn in that top hinge. Test the door again. You may also need to loosen the screws on the middle hinge and tighten the screws on the bottom hinge.
Is your door still sticking? Try removing the screws completely from the door frame. Instead of shimming with a wooden shim (which would be too thick) cut a piece of thin cardboard (think cereal boxes and product packaging) and inserted it behind the hinge. Then drive the screws back in.
95% of the time the above two tips will resolve your issues. If your door is still sticking, you may have to take more drastic measures like routing out more material from the door frame with a Dremel or using a power planer to trim down your door.
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I thought I was going to have to sand the door down to fit. Thanks!
Mya, you may need to if this trick doesn’t work. But, try this first.
You won’t believe it, but I had been living with a rubbing powder room door since I bought my home 6 years ago! When I remodeled the powder room last month, I was taking down the door to paint it and wouldn’t you know . . . the top hinge was hanging out with loose screws. The. whole. time. How embarrassing for this self-proclaimed DIYer! Haha! But in my defense, I’m short and didn’t notice it until I got up on the stepladder to unscrew it – that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! Hahaha! Anyway, looking forward to all your great tips this month!
Jeanie, that’s awesome that it was such an easy fix. And don’t worry, sometimes it is easier to overlook a simple fix ;-D
oh my gosh brittany we moved in this house a little over a year ago and for the first time (after you showing me what to do) i can open and close my bedroom door without my cussing up a blue streak… next i am gonna check out water line to fridge i will be following this whole series very very closely thanks again xx
That’s sooo awesome Chris! Glad it was an easy fix.