Door Dilemmas


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SBS Gift Cards make shopping for that handyman easy!	Door Dilemmas It's a problem nearly every homeowner can relate to - sticky, creaky, nuisance doors. Sometimes the door won't shut. Other times, it's a major project to get the door to open (a problem that always seems worse when carrying three bags of groceries and a child into the house!). Door problems can be caused by a variety of factors including humidity, hardware failure, wear and tear or improper installation from the start. It's time to stop ignoring the problem, and to do something about it. Following are four of the most common door problems, and do-it-yourself solutions for fixing them: Door doesn't latch When a door doesn't latch, the problem can be either that the door or frame has shifted, misaligning the strike plate and strike, or bolt. Start by figuring out where the problem is by putting lipstick on the protruding bolt, then shutting the door. Wherever you see lipstick, that's the problem area. If the misalignment is less than 1/8-inch, take out the strike plate, clamp the plate into a vise and use a flat metal file of approximately the same width as the strike opening to file the side that needs to be enlarged. When you return the strike plate to its position, you may have to remove some wood behind it to allow the bolt to penetrate the jamb freely. If the misalignment is more than 1/8-inch, move the strike plate in the jamb instead of filing it. Door binds on outside top edge If you have a sticky door, chances are it sticks along the latch side near the top. Look for wear in that place, then check for loose screws in the top hinge plate. Try tightening the screws for a short-term fix, but they may become loose again because the original hole is often stripped. A long-term fix is to replace the loose screws with larger ones. Use a No. 8, three-inch screw and put it into the trimmer stud closest to the stop. When applying the new screw, brace yourself against the latch-side jamb and push hard to avoid stripping the screwhead. Door binds along bottom edge A door rubbing on the latch-side bottom edge is also often due to fastener failure. Commonly, the lower jamb has shifted or pulled loose from its nails. To reset the jamb, use a stiff putty knife to pry away the bottom section of casing and use 10d casing nails to re-nail the jamb. When no shims are present, install them as necessary to allow for a 1/8-inch gap between the closed door and the jamb. Door binds along entire edge When a door is binding along the entire length of the latch-side edge, try #2 and #3 above. If that doesn't solve the problem, a swollen door, often due to humidity, is the problem. Check to see if all the door edges are either painted or varnished. If not, moisture has probably entered and swollen the door. If sealing is the problem, wait for a dry spell to see if the door shrinks back to a good fit, then seal it with a good primer-paint or stain-varnish combination. For an immediate fix, remove the door from its hinges and use a belt sander, hand or power planer to sand down the latch side, removing enough material so that the door can shut smoothly again. Seal unfinished edges with paint or varnish and re-hang the door.

Products

Newsletters
Project Partners
Contractor Quarterly

SBS Headlines
SBS Purchases Polar Supply Company

SBS Purchases Arctic Builders Source

SBS Gift Cards make shopping for that handyman easy!

Door Dilemmas

It's a problem nearly every homeowner can relate to - sticky, creaky, nuisance doors. Sometimes the door won't shut. Other times, it's a major project to get the door to open (a problem that always seems worse when carrying three bags of groceries and a child into the house!). Door problems can be caused by a variety of factors including humidity, hardware failure, wear and tear or improper installation from the start. It's time to stop ignoring the problem, and to do something about it. Following are four of the most common door problems, and do-it-yourself solutions for fixing them:

Door doesn't latch

When a door doesn't latch, the problem can be either that the door or frame has shifted, misaligning the strike plate and strike, or bolt. Start by figuring out where the problem is by putting lipstick on the protruding bolt, then shutting the door. Wherever you see lipstick, that's the problem area. If the misalignment is less than 1/8-inch, take out the strike plate, clamp the plate into a vise and use a flat metal file of approximately the same width as the strike opening to file the side that needs to be enlarged. When you return the strike plate to its position, you may have to remove some wood behind it to allow the bolt to penetrate the jamb freely. If the misalignment is more than 1/8-inch, move the strike plate in the jamb instead of filing it.

Door binds on outside top edge

If you have a sticky door, chances are it sticks along the latch side near the top. Look for wear in that place, then check for loose screws in the top hinge plate. Try tightening the screws for a short-term fix, but they may become loose again because the original hole is often stripped. A long-term fix is to replace the loose screws with larger ones. Use a No. 8, three-inch screw and put it into the trimmer stud closest to the stop. When applying the new screw, brace yourself against the latch-side jamb and push hard to avoid stripping the screwhead.

Door binds along bottom edge

A door rubbing on the latch-side bottom edge is also often due to fastener failure. Commonly, the lower jamb has shifted or pulled loose from its nails. To reset the jamb, use a stiff putty knife to pry away the bottom section of casing and use 10d casing nails to re-nail the jamb. When no shims are present, install them as necessary to allow for a 1/8-inch gap between the closed door and the jamb.

Door binds along entire edge

When a door is binding along the entire length of the latch-side edge, try #2 and #3 above. If that doesn't solve the problem, a swollen door, often due to humidity, is the problem. Check to see if all the door edges are either painted or varnished. If not, moisture has probably entered and swollen the door. If sealing is the problem, wait for a dry spell to see if the door shrinks back to a good fit, then seal it with a good primer-paint or stain-varnish combination. For an immediate fix, remove the door from its hinges and use a belt sander, hand or power planer to sand down the latch side, removing enough material so that the door can shut smoothly again. Seal unfinished edges with paint or varnish and re-hang the door.