Why doors stop working
| What you notice | Usual cause | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Rubs at the top corner on the latch side | Top hinge screws have loosened and the door has sagged | Long screws through the hinge into the wall framing to pull it back |
| Sticks in summer, fine in winter | Humidity swells the wood, especially unsealed top and bottom edges | Plane the tight spot, then seal every edge so it stops absorbing moisture |
| Won't latch | Strike plate no longer lines up with the latch | Adjust or move the strike, or correct the sag causing it |
| Drafty exterior door | Worn weatherstripping or door sweep, or an out-of-square frame | New weatherstripping and sweep, threshold adjustment, re-squaring if needed |
| Soft wood at the bottom of the frame | Water getting in at the threshold and wicking into the jamb | Cut out and replace the rotted jamb sections, then fix the flashing that let water in |
| Gaps that grow, cracks above the door | The house settling or a framing problem | Diagnose first; sometimes it's a door fix, sometimes a structural one |
Repair or replace?
A solid door in a sound frame is almost always worth repairing. Replacement makes sense when the door is cracked, delaminated or rotted through, when an exterior door can't be sealed against drafts, or when you want a different style, glass or a better lock.
Door installation
- Interior doors, slab or prehung
- Front and back entry doors
- Patio and sliding doors
- Storm doors
- Pocket and barn doors
- Locksets, deadbolts and smart locks
For exterior doors, the install matters as much as the door. We flash the sill pan so water that gets under the threshold drains out, not into the floor, and insulate and seal around the frame before trimming.
Matching old interior doors? Older Madison homes often have solid five-panel or other period doors. We can usually re-hang and repair the originals, or find a close match, rather than mixing in hollow-core doors.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my door stick only in the summer?
Wood absorbs moisture in humid weather and swells. Doors with unpainted top or bottom edges absorb the most. Planing the tight spot and then sealing all six sides of the door usually stops the seasonal sticking.
Can you fix a door that won't latch?
Usually, yes. Either the strike plate has drifted out of line with the latch or the door has sagged on its hinges. We fix the sag first, then adjust the strike.
Do you repair garage doors?
We repair the framing, trim and jambs around garage doors and the service door into the garage. Springs, openers and the overhead door itself are a job for a garage door specialist.