Doors that stick are a pain–you have to yank on it with all your might to get it to open, then it only opens halfway and it never seems to latch. Regardless of how or where the door is sticking, the reasons are usually the same: something has changed with the door or its frame.
Whether it’s your front door or a wooden interior door, all doors eventually need some type of maintenance, and the first clue it’s time is when the door sticks. So, how can we prevent this from happening, and if it’s already too late to prevent, how can it be fixed?
Prevent Humidity
Making sure you’re using a quality sealant is a great way to keep your wood door from swelling. Most of the time, swelling is the heart of the problem with a sticky door, and wood swells in high-humidity environments.
To be clear, your home doesn’t have to be in a high-humidity environment for you to have problems. You could live in the Nevada desert, but if your bathroom and kitchen aren’t properly ventilated, all that indoor humidity can linger for a long time. Using a proper sealant like polyurethane will help keep moisture from leaching into the wood and causing it to swell and stick.
Maintain a Stable Climate
While you can’t do much about the outside temperature, making sure your home isn’t subject to extreme indoor temperature swings can help reduce natural condensation from forming. A great way to maintain an even temperature in your home is to buy a programmable thermostat that will keep the temperature within a range of ten degrees Fahrenheit.
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My Door Already Sticks–What Now?
Oftentimes, a sticky door can be solved by tightening or loosening the hinges. A few turns of the screws on the top or the bottom can realign a door and help it swing freely. Be careful to only adjust the hinges on the frame, however, and not on the door itself.
Do not over-tighten or loosen hinges to the point where they slide or rattle. This can cause severe damage as the screws move, damaging the wood and making the holes larger.
If you’ve already tried the hinges and still have a problem, make sure the door latch isn’t the issue and needs to be adjusted. The next trick is to try sanding down the door on the spot where it sticks.
This can easily be done with some heavy grit sandpaper from your local hardware store. Even sanding off a tenth of an inch can help a door swing freely. Just repaint and reseal the part of the door you sand, or moisture will quickly find its way inside.
Other Reasons Your Door May Stick
It’s possible that the frame of the door may have shifted or your home may have shifted on its foundation. Environments that undergo cycles of wet and dry seasons or extreme temperature shifts may cause a home to move on its foundation; they can even push the entire foundation in one direction or another due to soil movement. Check if your floor and door frames are level to see if that is causing the issue.
Final Thoughts
At 27EStore, our wooden doors are made of engineered wood covered in a real wood veneer. Our engineered wood is specifically designed to resist the harshest of environments, and will resist heat and humidity for years to come. Browse our full selection to find which interior door is best for you and your home!
