A sticking door is a common problem
and usually with just a little effort you can easily fix it. Unfortunately for
many of us we just seem to live with it, as the problem is more often an
annoyance than anything else. If, however, you want to fix your sticking door,
purchase a simple hand planer and a Philips screw driver and follow the
directions below.
Due to the fact that most doors are
made out of wood, they have the tendency to absorb moisture. As a result, during
hot and humid summer days they can swell causing the door to stick.
If you live with a sticking door long
enough, you’ve probably also noticed that the door sticks less during cold and
dry winter months, and more during the summer months.
Doors can also begin to stick due
to the house settling. Likewise door hinges can also loosen up over time, so
make sure you first try tightening the hinge screws with a screwdriver to
see if you can quickly eliminate the sticking door. If the door still sticks
after checking the hinge screws, the next step is to actually plane the
sticking door.
Instructions on Planing a
Sticking Door
The first step in planing a
sticking door is to see where it is actually sticking.
Check along the top, bottom
and sides of the door and lightly mark the locations on the door edges
with a pencil.
Depending upon where the door
is sticking, you may be able to plane the door while it is still on its
hinges. However, for an overall better job it is best to just remove the
door from its hinges.
Once you have identified the
high spots on your door stiles (outside door edges) use the hand planer to
shave them off.
Photo by Mark Donovan
Be careful, however, to not take too
much off at once and always take long smooth strokes with the planer. Also, make
sure to plane in the direction of the wood grain. In addition, always plane from
the edges towards the center. This way you can prevent from chipping the door
edges.
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If you determine that you need to
plane along the door hinge stile (inside door edge), first remove the hinge
leafs and then plane the door stile. Note that you may need to deepen the hinge
mortises, depending upon how much you need to shave off of the door stile. Use a
sharp chisel to deepen the hinge mortises if necessary.
Again, do not plane too much off of
the door at any one time. It is best to shave a little off and then check the
door to see if you have eliminated the sticking problem, versus taking too much
off at once.
Hand Planers from Amazon.com
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