How to fix a sticking door

Most sticking doors in KC homes are humidity, loose hinges, or a latch that no longer meets the strike. Start with the cheap checks. Stop when you are cutting the door or the frame is out of square.

Check this first

• Tighten the hinge screws. If they spin, the hole is stripped.
• Look at the gap around the door. Tight on one corner usually means the door or jamb moved.
• See if the latch hits the strike plate high, low, or short.
• In summer a wood door can swell. In winter it can shrink and rattle.

What you can try

• Longer screws in the top hinge, into the stud, to pull a sagging door back up.
• A light plane or sand on the edge that rubs, then seal the raw wood.
• Move the strike plate a hair if the latch just misses.

Call me when

• The frame is rotten or the slab is cracked.
• It is an exterior door and weatherstrip or the sweep is shot.
• You already planed it and it still will not close.

Door install and repair is the service page. Same form either way.