Door Maintenance
How to Keep Your Interior and Exterior Doors
Looking Great and Working Properly
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Periodically every door needs a
little TLC for it to continue to function properly. Door maintenance is
essential for keeping them leak proof, preventing annoying squeaks, and
eliminating any unnecessary rubbing that could eventually lead to sticking and
jamming problems. In many cases simply regularly cleaning the door and
lubricating the door hardware is all that is required for door maintenance. In
other cases the door may need to be re-aligned. If re-alignment is necessary
simply tightening up the hinge screws may be all that is required.
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In other cases, particularly if the
home has settled, the entire door frame may need to be realigned and adjusted.
To lubricate the door hardware the best solution is to remove the door from its
hinges. After removing the door the hinge plates and bolts can easily be cleaned
and lubricated. Inspect the hinges in the process of cleaning them. If the
hinges and/or hinge bolts have actually corroded due to moisture issues replace
them.
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Also, as part of the door maintenance
inspect the weatherstripping around the door frame and replace it if it is worn
out and permanently compressed. In addition, if the door has glass panes that
are held in place by glazing inspect the glazing carefully to see if it needs to
be replaced. Glazing can dry out and crack which can lead to lose glass panes,
and air and water infiltration.
If the door is constructed out of aluminum inspect it for pitting and power coat
chalking. If you rub your fingers on the aluminum door and a chalky film is
observed on your fingers then apply a vinyl restoration solution on the door
after cleaning it. Also consider repainting the door. |
Lastly, carefully inspect the door
frame as part of your door maintenance and inspections. If a door frame is
rotting replace it, or at least the rotting section. Also figure out what is
causing the door frame rot and eliminate the cause. Often it is water that is
splashing up from the ground and continuously keeping the bottom of the door
frame wet. The installation of gutters may be the possible solution in this type
of situation.
For information on Installing Interior Door Trim,
see the
Installing Interior Door Trim Ebook
from HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Installing Interior Door Trim Ebook provides
easy to understand, detailed step-by-step instructions, on how to install interior door
trim around an interior or exterior door. Pictures are included for every
key step in the process!
How to Finance your Home Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required. Related Articles on Interior Doors
Exterior Doors from Amazon.com
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