How to fix a sticking door

A sticking door is one of the most common jobs around the house. The door rubs against the frame, drags over the floor or no longer closes by itself. It often starts small, but if you keep pushing, the hinges and the paint wear even faster. The good news: in many cases you can fix it yourself with a screwdriver, and sometimes with a planer. In this blog you will read how to find the cause and get the door closing smoothly again, step by step.

👷 Calling in a professional is never superfluous. If the frame itself is out of square, there is a crack in the wall above the door, or it concerns a front door with a burglar-resistant lock, have it assessed by a carpenter. Problems like these can point to subsidence or to an issue that planing will not solve.

Why does a door stick?

Before you loosen or plane anything, it is important to know why the door sticks. The most common causes are:

• Loose hinge screws. The weight of the door gradually loosens the screws. The door then sags a little and touches the frame on the lock side or at the top.
• Moisture and seasons. Wood absorbs moisture and swells. Many doors stick in autumn and winter and work fine again in summer. This is especially true for external doors and bathroom doors.
• Too many layers of paint. After being painted a few times, the door may have become just too thick for the rebate.
• A new floor. After laying laminate, vinyl or tiles, the floor is often a few millimetres higher, so the door drags at the bottom.
• A frame that has shifted. If the frame itself is crooked, you usually also see cracks in the plaster or a gap that gets wider from top to bottom.

First look: where does the door stick?

Close the door slowly and watch where it first touches the frame. The paint is often dull or damaged there. If in doubt, rub a carpenter pencil along the edge of the frame: after opening and closing the door a few times you will see exactly where it rubs. Then check the gap around the door. Normally it is about the same width on all sides, around 2 to 3 millimetres. Measure the gap with a tape measure with auto-lock and hold a 60 cm spirit level against the frame to see whether it is still straight.

💡 Does the door only stick at the top on the lock side, while the gap at the top on the hinge side is larger? Then the door is almost always sagging on loose hinges. You can fix that without planing.

What do you need?

Tools

• A screwdriver set to tighten the hinge screws.
• A cordless drill driver for pre-drilling and driving new screws.
• Longer screws for wood and chipboard if the old screws no longer grip.
• A 20 mm wood chisel and a claw hammer to adjust a hinge recess.
• A cordless planer if the door really needs to be planed.
• A tape measure with auto-lock, a 60 cm spirit level and a carpenter pencil to measure and mark.

You can read more about choosing screwdrivers and bits in our blog on screwdrivers, bit sets and screw extractors.

Sanding and finishing

• A sanding block grit 120 and a sanding block grit 220 to smooth the planed edge.
• A bevelled sanding block, grit 150 to round off the edges slightly.
• A flat brush for lacquer to lacquer the bare edge straight away.
• blue painter's tape and masking film to protect the floor and the hardware.
• A construction vacuum cleaner to clean up shavings and sanding dust.

Personal protective equipment

• safety goggles against flying wood splinters.
• An FFP2 dust mask when sanding, especially if the door has old layers of paint.
• earmuffs when using the cordless planer.
• work gloves with nitrile coating for grip when lifting and moving the door.

Step 1: tighten the hinge screws

Open the door and firmly tighten all hinge screws, both in the door and in the frame. Start with the top hinge, because that is where most of the force is. If a screw keeps turning, the hole is worn. You can then:

1. use a longer screw that grips deeper into the frame;
2. fill the hole with a small wooden dowel or a few wood splinters and wood glue, let it dry and drive the screw in again.

💡 On the top hinge, replace one screw on the frame side with a much longer screw. It pulls the door slightly back towards the frame, lifting it on the lock side.

Then close the door again. In many cases the sticking has already disappeared.

Step 2: adjust the hinges

If the door still sticks a little, you can adjust its position with the hinges:

• Door touches at the top on the lock side: place a thin cardboard shim behind the bottom hinge, on the frame side. The door then tilts back slightly.
• Door touches at the bottom on the lock side: do the same, but behind the top hinge.
• Door springs back or is hard to close on the hinge side: the hinges are set too deep. Place a shim behind both hinges.
• Gap on the hinge side is too large: the hinge recess is too shallow. Deepen it a fraction with the chisel, a little at a time, checking as you go.

⚠️ Always work away from yourself with the chisel and keep your other hand behind the cutting edge. A chisel must be sharp: a blunt one slips more easily.

Step 3: take the door off its hinges and plane it

If adjusting does not help, or if moisture or paint has really made the door too thick, some wood has to come off. First mark with the pencil how much needs to go. Usually it is 1 to 3 millimetres.

1. Lay masking film on the floor.
2. Lift the door off its hinges. Do this with two people: a solid door is heavy and awkward.
3. Lay the door on two trestles or stand it on its edge against a workbench, and secure it with clamps. You can read more about choosing the right clamp in our blog on carpenter's clamps.
4. Plane with the cordless planer along the grain, in calm passes. Set a small cutting depth and check after every few passes.
5. When planing the top or bottom edge, work from the corners towards the middle. This prevents the corner of the stile from splitting off.

⚠️ Never plane through hinges, locks or screws. Remove the hardware first if you have to plane near it. Stop if you hit a steel strip or a nail.

Step 4: sand and lacquer the planed edge straight away

A bare wooden edge quickly absorbs moisture, so the door may start sticking again within a few weeks. Sand the planed edge first with grit 120 and then with grit 220. Lightly round off the sharp edges with the bevelled sanding block. Make everything dust-free and lacquer the edge in the same colour as the door. Do not forget the top and bottom: that is exactly where most moisture gets in. You can find more tips for a smooth result in our blog on painting a door.

Does the door drag at the bottom because of a new floor?

After laying a new floor, the door often needs to be shortened. For a few millimetres you can plane the bottom edge as described above. If more has to come off, the door is usually shortened with a circular saw along a guide rail. With hollow-core doors that have a thin edge, you may then saw into the core. In that case, leave the shortening to a carpenter, who knows how much can safely be removed and closes the bottom edge again.

And a front door that sticks?

External doors often stick in the wet season. Do not plane too quickly in that case, because the wood shrinks again in summer and you end up with a draughty gap that lets in rain. First tighten the hinges, check the draught strips and see whether the paint is still intact. If you do have to plane, preferably do it in dry weather and seal the edge straight away.

👷 With a front door, security also matters. Locks, hinges and the frame together determine how burglar-resistant the door is. If in doubt, or if the lock has to be moved, call in a carpenter or locksmith.

Common mistakes

• Starting to plane straight away, while loose hinge screws are the real cause.
• Removing too much wood. What is gone cannot be put back.
• Leaving the planed edge untreated, so moisture makes the door stick again.
• Planing a door heavily in winter, resulting in a large gap in summer.
• Lifting and moving a heavy door on your own.

Working safely

Wear safety goggles when planing and chiselling, and hearing protection when using the cordless planer. When sanding old layers of paint, wear an FFP2 dust mask and vacuum the dust instead of sweeping it. Always secure the door properly before planing, and lift it with two people. If you work on the top of a tall door, use a sturdy step ladder and never a chair.

Frequently asked questions

How big should the gap around a door be?

For an interior door, a gap of about 2 to 3 millimetres at the sides and top is usual. The gap at the bottom is often larger, so the door clears the floor or mat and allows some ventilation.

Can I plane a door without taking it off its hinges?

On the lock side this is sometimes possible with a small hand plane, but working neatly and safely is easier with the door removed. For the top and bottom edges, the door always has to come off.

My door only sticks in winter. Should I plane it?

Preferably not. First tighten the hinges and check that the paint is intact, so no moisture gets into the wood. If it does not improve, plane as little as possible and lacquer the edge straight away.

Read also: Which hardware does my interior door need? and How to cut hinge recesses in an interior door

When should I call in a professional?

When the frame is out of square, when there are cracks in the wall, with a front door with burglar-resistant hardware, or when the door needs to be shortened considerably. A carpenter will quickly see what the real cause is.

Where can you find everything for this job?

At Saniso, the online store for DIYers and professionals, you will find tools, materials and personal protective equipment for your job.

• Browse our construction tools and our workwear and safety.
• Create a customer account and order easily.
• Working on a bigger project or want to hand over the job? Request a project quote.
• Book a showroom visit, at least 24 hours in advance.
• Not sure which material suits your job? Get in touch with us.

In doubt about the approach? Feel free to call in a professional.

Read also: How to paint an exterior door

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