Fix that annoying sticking door once and for all
Most of us tend to take our home’s doors for granted, even though we use them countless times a day. When a door starts sticking or you redo your floors and the doors no longer have the clearance they need, it quickly becomes an annoyance that you need to deal with. Learning how to plane a door will give you a quick and easy way to fix some common door problems and make sure your doors fit properly, and can open and close without issue. Let us walk you through how to plane doors in a few simple steps.
Removing a door from its frame can often be a two-person job. Enlist some help to make sure you don’t get hurt or damage the door while removing or rehanging it. You’ll want to set up your sawhorses ahead of time so you have somewhere to put the door once it’s removed.
Begin by determining what needs to be planed. There are a few ways to accomplish this, and you may need to use more than one to pinpoint the problem spot:
Open and close the door several times to find where it’s making contact with the jamb. If you have a door that won’t close, start to close it carefully and note where it first touches the jamb.
Measure the gap between the door and the frame on all sides. There should be about 1/8 of an inch clearance all around the door.
Run a piece of thin cardboard or thick paper between the closed door and the jamb to find the starting and ending point of the area of contact.
Once you’ve found what needs to be planed, mark both the front and back of the door with the starting and ending points, and use a ruler to draw a connecting line both front to back and the length of the surface to be planed. Use the pencil to shade the entire area you’ll be planing off; this makes it easy to see what’s already been planed.
Next, remove the door by either taking out the removable hinge pins with a pair of pliers or by unscrewing the hinges from the door. Set the door on the sawhorses and secure it with clamps so it won’t move as you’re planing. Position the door so that the side that needs to be planed is easy for you to access.
Check your plane to be sure it’s adjusted to plane off very thin layers of wood. You can test your plane by running it across some scrap wood. If the wood it removes is too thick, adjust the plane so that the blade is protruding less. Plane the door by using gentle pressure and gliding the plane smoothly across the wood. Work in the direction of the grain from the outside edges in, and be careful not to push down too hard and to keep the plane level, otherwise you can take off too much of the surface. Remember—once the wood has been removed, you can’t put it back!
Once you’ve planed the surface, rehang the door and open and close it several times to be sure you’ve made the right adjustments. This may seem like an unnecessary step, but it’s better to check the fit before you refinish the wood. Sanding and painting or staining is much easier with the door off the hinges, so once you’ve confirmed a proper fit, remove the door again.
Lightly sand the exposed wood, first with coarse sandpaper to remove any grooves from the plane and then with fine sandpaper to smooth the finish. Try not to remove anything more than a very small amount from the very top surface as you’re sanding so you can keep the perfect fit you’ve just made. Brush away any sawdust.
Prime and repaint or restain the planed surface using a foam applicator. You may want to repaint or restain the entire edge for a more consistent finish. Let the paint or stain dry fully before rehanging the door.
Once the surface is dry, rehang the door by replacing the hinge pins or screwing the door back on the hinges. Enjoy your newly unstuck door!
Small adjustments to the fit of a door can be a simple job for homeowners who know how to shave down a door. For more involved fixes, you may want to enlist the help of a local door repair service. Ensuring that the job is done right can save you the cost of having a new door installed, or the aggravation of a door that just doesn’t fit well.
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Profect painting & exteriorsIf you want to pay the most exorbitant prices possible for your job, this is the company for you. “By the job” pricing is a rip-off, at least how these people use it. Every job is plugged into a category and prices are set by category. You might have a job that takes half an hour or one that...
Benjamin Franklin PlumbingJason has helped me with multiple household projects, with the most recent being new door installation. He has always showed up on time and organized and has done an incredible job! Jason is very professional and he's now my go-to for anything around my house that needs to be fixed or...
Huff Garage Rescue, LLCCompany came to look at my garage door that was off track. They also said I needed a brace on the other garage door. They put the door back on track, and I paid to install the brace. The technician told me I needed a new garage door opener, and it would cost $1000. Red flags went off in...
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Window Depot USA of Central OhioThey do not have the necessary expertise to pack a POD to protect your valuables. BUYER BEWARE. As part of this recent move, their crew packed a large glass table topper for transport across country in a POD. The fact that they were packing a POD and that it was traveling long distance was...
Adam's Moving & Delivery ServiceCalled ahead and worked quickly to install keyless locks on vintage wooden doors.
Expert Lock and Key, LLCScott did not get appropriate access to the property prior to the scheduled inspection which required us to come back later in the day to complete it. He also, unprofessionally, knocked on a neighbor?s door in his attempts to reach someone with access. His overall report was fine though the...
Security First Home InspectionsThis company is a scam. Do not work with them. I had an appointment with this company at a condo that I rent out. The appointment was at 10 am and they did not show up. I waited for over an hour, and called their office 7 times with no answer. I left 5 voice messages and they still never...
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