How To Fix Swollen Wooden Door

Doors can start sticking for various reasons and it s always a hassle.

How to fix swollen wooden door. Step 1 close shave photo by craig raine. Because doors fit to specific frame sizes any type of warping or swelling can make the door difficult if not unable to open. Trying to force them open can damage their frames and lead to costly repairs. Moisture in the air is absorbed by the wood in some doors.

The key to fixing a sticking door is to determine what is causing the issue and then you can decide if you can fix the problem with a simple trick. Some doors stick even in dry winter weather of course so a balky door can be a year round problem. Tom s rule of thumb for keeping a door from sticking in the jamb is that the reveal the space between the door and jamb should be 1 8 to 3 16 inch wide or about the thickness of a nickel. Reach out to us at rwc windows doors more for an assessment of a swollen door or for help with finding a replacement.

Plus there could be underlying issues why the door is swelling that need attention. The first impulse of many do it yourselfers is to shave wood off the door edge with a. The wood surrounding windows and doors often swells during wet or cold weather which makes them difficult to open. Even though having a swollen door can seem like a simple problem it is not always an easy problem to fix.

So instead of hauling out the crowbar give these steps to fix stuck windows and doors a try. Assuming your door is made from wood the best plan of action is to remove the door from the hinges and sand it down to bare wood if possible give the door some time to dry out possibly in the sun or in your garage with a fan moving air across it to remove any moisture that is. Knowing how to fix swollen doors will save more your money because you won t need to call a professional. Humid summer weather sometimes brings an irritating byproduct sticking doors.

Try these tips and tricks to fix a door that just is not budging as easily as it should. Over time wooden doors warp and swell. You can fix a swollen wooden door but the method depends on how severely the door has been warped and the location of the warped spot. The wood can swell in the hot and humid summer air the hinges can become loose with usage and your house can even shift and settle over time causing changes in the frame.

Sticking wooden doors should be simple and quick to repair.