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Doors
How To Plane a Door
Most interior doors are made of wood or composite material. Planing wooden doors is one option for fixing a door that sticks. For minor adjustments you can sand the edge of the door.
You can usually tell from the scuff marks on the edge of the door where it is sticking at. Try sanding the spots until the door closes without too much friction. If you sand through to bare wood you will need to touch up the paint or varnish. It may take a little elbow grease to sand off enough material to matter.
For related information see, 'Troubleshooting Door Problems', 'How To Adjust Interior Doors' and 'Adjusting Exterior Doors'.
I do not recommend trying to plane the door unless you have some experience working with wood planes and doors. One reason is that unless the door is solid wood, it is probably made of a composite material. Masonite, plastic and mdf do not plane well at all. The other reason is that prehung doors should not need to be planed, the doors are correctly sized for the openings. It is more likely that it is sagging and needs to be adjusted.
If after adjusting and sanding, the door still sticks you can try running a couple of square drive trim screws (2 1/4” Screws should be long enough) through the jamb and into the framing. Do this at the location where the door is sticking. You may be able to draw the jamb in enough to relieve the pressure. Hopefully you have been able to get the door working freely for this repair on a prehung interior door.
Planing a door along with sanding may be needed if the door swells and will not close. However, this should be done cautiously, since taking too much off the edge of the door can leave gaps when the humidity is lower.
You can usually tell from the scuff marks on the edge of the door where it is sticking at. Try sanding the spots until the door closes without too much friction. If you sand through to bare wood you will need to touch up the paint or varnish. It may take a little elbow grease to sand off enough material to matter.
Do not try planing the door unless you have some experience working with wood planes and doors. It is easy to damage the door by taking off too much material. Make sure the door is not out of adjustment first. See the article 'Adjusting Exterior Doors' for more information.
If after adjusting and sanding, the door still sticks you can try running a couple of square drive trim screws (2 1/4” Screws should be long enough) through the jamb and into the framing. Do this at the location where the door is sticking. You may be able to draw the jamb in enough to relieve the pressure.
How To Fix a Door Knob
A strike plate that is mis-aligned can cause the door not to lock or close properly. Adjusting it can help.
Not your problem? See 'Door Repair' for a complete listing of door topics. Door locks are discussed in depth in the article 'Door Lock Repair'. Use this link to get to that series of articles.
Fixing door locks and strikes are the main hardware issues for an interior door. Door locks need to align properly with the strike plates on the frame. Even a minor deviation can cause the door not to work.
The strike plates on the lock set can cause the door to bind. There are three ways that the strike plate can cause problems. (1) A door that is sagging will not allow the lock to properly align with the strike plate. When this is your problem you need to adjust the door. See the article 'Adjusting Interior Doors', for more information.
(2) The strike plate needs to be the proper distance from the door stop. A strike plate that is not close enough to the stop will leave the door loose in the opening. On the other hand, when the strike plate is too close the lock won't catch and the door won't stay closed. (3) The third problem is when the strike plate is binding against the door itself. This happens when the plate is not recessed into the frame.
Based on the above information, determine whether your door is too loose or if the latch isn't catching. When you have determined which way the strike plate needs to go you can move it. Measure the distance from the face of the door to the flat portion of the door lock tongue. See if the distance is different between the door stop and the flat section of the strike plate.
You can remove the strike plate and use a chisel to remove some wood from the mortise. The plate should be flush with the jamb and not protrude out. Strike plates should not be fastened on top of the jamb. They should be recessed in. Use a pencil to draw an outline around the strike plate. Remove it and use a chisel to cut out the wood to recess it.
Adjusting Interior Doors
Adjusting interior doors is something that need to be done periodically. The weight of the door pulls on the hinges and causes them to get out of alignment over time. Fortunately, adjusting the door is not too hard and only requires a few tools.
Not sure if this is your problem? See the article, 'Troubleshooting Door Problems' for a complete listing of all the door topics.
Inspecting a Door
The first thing to do is look at the door from the inside when it is closed. There should be an even gap across the top and down the latch side. This gap occurs between the door and the frame or jamb. It should be about an eighth of an inch and be consistent.
If the door is tight against the frame at the top and there is a gap at the bottom, the door is sagging. If the door is hitting the floor, it will still be indicated in the margin along the latch side. Is the gap wider at the bottom and narrower at the top? Yes, then the door is sagging.
Tightening a Top Hinge
Open the door back up and remove the two inner screws for the top hinge. How long are they? An inch or less? This means that the hinge is only being supported by the door jamb itself, not the framing lumber for the wall. Are the screws long, say 2 ½ to 3 inches. That's good, all you will need to do is tighten them up. This prehung interior door repair could be that easy.
More is not better in this situation. If you over tighten, the door will bind in another direction, meaning you will continue to need a prehung interior door repair. Tighten until the margins are even and the door closes easily and then stop. With the long screws in place you may have to snug them a little from time to time. Five minutes now that you know how. Door closes, Great! Go to the next project on your list.
If you have long screws, make sure the heads are not stripped. For short screws you need to obtain some 3” number 8 screws. Square or Torx drive are better, but phillips head will work. Install the long screws, angling them slightly toward the center of the jamb. Snug them up and then check the margins again. Still sagging? Tighten them a quarter turn at a time until the margins are even and the door closes properly.
Summary
The top hinge is the key to most door problems. Getting the door adjusted properly will solve many of the issues that you have.
Interior Door Problems
Is the door hard to close or open. Try to determine where the friction is occurring. There are two spots that take the prize most of the time: (1) The upper corner on the latch side of the door (the side with the door knob). (2) The bottom of the door, again on the latch side. Both of these conditions indicate that the door is sagging. Over time the weight of the door pulls on the top hinge and loosens it up. See Step Two below for instructions on tightening the top hinge and checking the door for alignment. This is a very common prehung interior door repair problem.
Is the door hard to move even when it is not going into the frame? Are the hinges squeaking or making noise? The hinges may be binding up. See Step Three for instructions on lubricating or replacing hinges.
Do you think the door is swelling? This is only going to be true if it is an all wood door and it is not sealed very well. Check the margins first before you start sanding or planing a door. See Step Five for instructions on sanding or planing a wood door.
How To Fix Swinging Doors
Do you have prehung interior doors? Are they in need of repair? Interior doors are used for bedrooms, bathrooms, closets and any other rooms that require a level of privacy. Generally they have a door knob that can either have a locking or passage function. Doors also help with sound transmission in the home. It's great when the kids can shut the door and you don't have to listen to their music.
Not sure if this is your problem? See the article 'Troubleshooting Door Problems' for all of the door topics. Working on an exterior door? See the article, 'Fixing Exterior Doors' for more information.
This article will discuss some common problems that occur with prehung interior doors. We are going to focus on the operational problems that can arise. Visually, you may need to paint or caulk some items that need attention.
You want your door to open and close correctly and the locks to provide privacy. These features can be addressed without replacing the door. Read on and evaluate what you need to do, to start repairing your prehung interior doors.
Repairing Prehung Interior Doors - Information
What Can You Save?
That depends on whether you repair the door or replace it. Often, people will equate repairing prehung interior doors with door replacement. A decent off the shelf prehung door will run from $50 to $100. Solid wood or high end doors can run a lot more. It will cost another $100 to $200 to have it installed, assuming there are no problems.
You may be fortunate and find a carpenter that will repair the door and be honest with you. Minimum it will involve a service call, around $50 plus any parts. This would be to adjust the door or lock set. You will need to be the judge on whether or not you want to be sold a new door. So you could save from $50 to $450. The lower figure is for something that might take you fifteen minutes to accomplish.
How Hard Could It Be?
Working on prehung interior doors is not that difficult. Take your time and be patient.
Check the Simple Things!
Over time doors get out of adjustment, this will cause them to sag and not close correctly. The common culprit is the top hinge. Check the adjustment on the door before you do anything. The alignment on the strike plate can also cause the lock not to work.
What Can Go Wrong?
Worst case, you take the door out and cannot get it put back in. Your prehung interior door repair problem has escalated. If you take the door off and can't get it re-installed you will have to put something up temporarily. You can also make things worse if you start adjusting the door the wrong way. A sticking door could turn into a door that won't close at all. Make sure you understand what you are trying to accomplish before you do anything.
Repairing Prehung Interior Doors - The Steps Involved
Adjusting Interior Doors - Most of the problems you will have with a door are related to adjustments. The alignment of the door in the opening and the alignment to the hardware is very important. This step covers where adjustments can be made.
Problems With Hinges - Hinges can start to make noise and in extreme cases seize up. This step covers lubricating and replacing hinges that are causing trouble.
Troubleshooting Door Locks - The door lock and door strike need to work together. Adjusting a replacing the hardware are options that this step covers.
Sanding and Planing a Door - When adjustments won't work, you may need to sand or plane the door.