Everywhere we go, we find doors that don't close properly. Often, the answer is right in front of us and the repair is simple.
First, look carefully at the edges of the door and the jamb (the frame all around the door, including the floor). Visual inspection will show you anywhere the door rubs against the jamb.
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If a door doesn't close flat, it's probably warped. Flex it with your feet and hands (remove the glass from a storm door first). Painting an exterior door seals it from the weather to reduce warping.
A door rubs or sticks in one small spot because the edge of the jamb is not flat. All that may be needed is a large hammer to pound the frame slightly. Hold a scrap of wood over the area so the hammer head doesn't put dents in the jamb. Since you'll move the wood slightly, you may need to touch up the paint where the jamb meets the ornamental moulding on the wall.
Look at the edge of the door on the hinge side. Compare the gap beneath the bottom hinge to the gap above the top hinge. Often, the gap at the top is larger. If the door has four square corners and the jamb has four square corners, this means the door is twisted in the jamb. If the top-left corner has a large gap, the right edge will drag and stick. If you can lift the door by the handle to close it smoothly, it's sagging.
Sometimes all that's needed is to tighten all the screws on the hinges to make the door square inside the frame. If a screw hole is stripped (screw won't grab), remove the screw, stuff a few sturdy toothpick pieces in the hole to take up the gap, and tighten the screw.
If the door is wearing and dragging on a weatherstrip on the floor, dirt may have collected under the strip over the years, lifting it slightly. If it's difficult to remove the strip, try tapping it softly with a hammer to break up the dirt, then blow it out, lowering the strip. Tighten any loose screws. Some weatherstrips have a matching piece on the bottom of the door; inspect with a small mirror and correct bends or damage. If you must remove the door, lift out the hinge pins with a screwdriver and hammer tapped on the bulb on the top.
If the latch won't grab, or a deadbolt is sticky or can't be bolted, first see if the door is hanging square (see above). Determine where the bolt or latch fails to fall into the plate (bottom or side edge?). Most plates cannot be moved easily. You might try a small file, a small rotary burr on a drill motor, or even a small hammer and chisel to remove enough metal from the plate and the jamb to let the bolt or latch fall through the plate. A few layers of paint may be all that's blocking it. Removing the plate may (or may not) make it easier to work on it.
If a lock is worn and your key sticks, try spraying in lock graphite. Try another key and buy a copy of the good one. You can have a locksmith re-key a lock, but it's far less expensive (~) to pull the lock out yourself and take it to his shop to be re-keyed than to have the locksmith come to your home (~0). Some hardware stores will re-key a lock for . Leave someone at home since your door cannot be locked. Consider having the back door re-keyed to the same key at the same time. If it doesn't stick too bad, try lifting up on the key, or pressing downward on the key to see if it works better that way.
Worn doorknobs (locksets) are easy to replace. Just remove four screws and take it to any home-improvement store. If you have trouble twisting the knob to open a door, you'll probably find a child or a guest locked in or out of a room. If you replace the lockset on your front door, consider replacing the back door at the same time with a pair of locksets keyed alike. Locksets, like nearly everything else in modern homes, are only designed to last 20 years; long enough to raise your family and move out. Homes built before World War Two have old "mortise" locks.
Take careful precautions for lead paint if you sand or file anything and your home is over 30 years old. Wear a mask, ventilate well, vacuum carefully. Lead makes you permanently stupid.
Exterior storm and screen doors have their own set of rules. Inspect the latch plate on the jamb -- it's usually adjustable. Loosen two screws and the plate will move or modify to make the door seal tighter or looser. Test and readjust.
The pneumatic closer that keeps storm doors from slamming is easy to fix. A wide-open storm door should close fast, then slow, then very slow, then latch. Closing too fast will smash children's fingers or the glass.
If the closer closes too fast or too slow, look for a +/- screw or knob, or see if a part can be twisted after removing the pin on the door. Adjust as needed (if available). If the door just slams shut, the closer must be replaced. They cost around - and are simple to install (follow the instructions). Take the old one with you to match it up.
If your door was caught by the wind and tore the closer bracket out of the wall, see if you can install it higher or lower on the door. Screw anchors let you enlarge the holes, insert the anchors, and return the screws. Obtain a protective strong chain/spring combination, sold in home improvement stores next to the door closers. Adjust so the chain prevents the closer from being over-stressed.
One common problem: the door cannot be propped open using the small tab on the closer's silver shaft. You'll see the tab has a fold; yours is too flat, so it won't grab. Close the door and lift out the small pins on each end of the closer (they may be different sizes). Remove the folded tab, hold the square portion with a pair of pliers or an adjustable (crescent) wrench and press the point against a hard (concrete) surface to put a little more bend in it. Return the small spring between the tab and the closer.
Folding closet doors have a setscrew near the top hinge/post that gradually loosens and lets the post assembly slide sideways. The door sags and won't close properly. Open the door, loosen the screw, slide the plate slightly closer to the wall, tighten the screw. Test and adjust. There may be a similar adjustment on the post at the bottom, but it rarely needs adjustment. When properly set, the closet door should just miss scraping the wall on the hinge side. If the door does not snap closed securely, move both sliders slightly.
If the post on the bottom of a folding closet door has been abused, it won't sit securely inside the door. Lift the entire door to inspect the lower post. If the hole in the bottom of the door is severely damaged, consider using epoxy (two-part) glue to restore its integrity. You can't easily move to new holes because they sit into a vertical wood frame inside the door.
Cupboard doors have weak hinges that are easily bent if the door is ever forced. Some hinges are adjustable, so look carefully at yours and adjust them as needed to make them operate smoothly and accurately. Inspect and consider bending or replacing simpler hinges as needed. If the door doesn't close flat, use your hands to gently flex and flatten it.
China cabinet doors will stick if the cabinet is not level and square. Tape a long string and a weight (plumb bob) from the top of all the corners to see if it's level. After you make sure nothing will fall inside the cabinet, carefully lift each foot slightly and put matching sheets of paper, cardboard or plastic under each foot to level the cabinet (at least one foot should be on the floor). A filled cabinet will sit differently than an empty one. Use a lever or have an assistant gently lift a corner to make lifting smoother and easier. When finished, all the strings will follow the edges of all the corners.
Doorwalls and screens get stuck in their tracks because they're dirty or need adjustment. Use the brush attachment on a vacuum cleaner, toothpicks, etc., to get up all the dirt in the tracks once each year.
If your doorwall has worn or scraped areas on the lower track, the door is riding too low and dragging. You'll see a small hole, near the bottom, on both edges of the sliding door that adjusts a roller assembly. Lift the screen off its track and inspect the bottom to see an example. A screwdriver is used to turn a screw inside each hole.
Lift the door slightly to take the tension off the roller assembly, place a block under it or have someone else hold it up, and turn the screw a half-turn. Try to slide the door. If it's worse, repeat but turn the other way. Do the other end of the door.
There should be just enough clearance to move smoothly. Too much clearance will weaken the roller assembly. If you can lift and remove the sliding doorwall and screen, clean the roller assemblies with Windex and Q-Tips or similar.
A spray oil like WD-40 may make heavy doorwalls slightly easier to slide if elderly people use them, but will hold dirt and require annual cleaning, and may drip on the track and get carried to carpets.
Check and adjust locks and latches after you've adjusted a doorwall or screen.
Do NOT work on garage door hinges or tracks. These have heavy counterweights or powerful coiled springs to make the door nearly weightless. They are extremely dangerous. Leave garage door repairs to a professional. Check your manual for electric garage door opener issues.
Doors are not complicated. Inspect all surfaces carefully and use your head. Anyone with simple hand tools can often fix almost any problem with any door in your home. Inspect, comprehend, repair, inspect.
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Charlie Gosh has written lots of helpful articles that show anyone how you can save money, improve your life, save time, and other interesting topics.
They have to be easy to do, or people won't do them, so the emphasis is always on doing things a different way that's easier, yet still saves money and time.
Many of the things that frustrate us the most can be fixed easily if we only knew how.
Charlie has a blog at http://www.charliegosh.com if you'd like to see more. You can follow Charlie Gosh on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/charliegosh
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