Simple Door Repairs

Have you ever noticed just how often it seems like the doors in your home have some kind of a problem? Whether the problem is a squeak that won't go away, or door that won't open the right way, or even a loose hinge, door problems can really make your home a little less enjoyable. Instead of replacing the door, or hiring a handyman to do the work for you, why not learn how to do a some simple door repairs? Not only is it easy, it will also help you to take a little more pride in your home as well.

• Tightening hinges. One of the more common problems that you can face with an interior door is a sagging due to loose hinge screws. Typically, this problem is the result of the screws working their way out of their holes for whatever reason. There are a couple of ways that you can fix this problem, and all of them are relatively easy. First remove the screws from the holes, and use them as a guide for some new screws. Choose screws that are the same diameter of the old screws, but that are longer. The longer length screws will allow you to tighten the wood again by biting into some "new" wood. Conversely, you can also replace the screws are slightly wider in diameter, but which will still fit through the holes in the hinges. Finally, the most drastic method would be to drill out the holes to a diameter of 1/4 inch, and then fill the hole with a 1/4 inch glue covered dowel. Once the glue has dried, replace the door and drive the screws into the dowel filled holes.
• Unbinding a door. When repairing a binding door, you need to first check to see where the door is getting stuck. If you find that the door is sticking along the length then you will need to double check to ensure that the hinges aren't loose. If they are repair according to the information above. However, if the door is binding along the top or the bottom then you may want to try removing some wood. The easiest way to do this is by simply marking where the door is binding, and then sand that part of the door down. Repeat as necessary until the door opens and closes freely.
• Stopping squeaks. Often a squeaky door is due to the hinges being tight, and not being able to move easily. You can fix this by simply removing the door hinge pins enough so that you can work some lubricant (WD-40 or a light oil) into the barrel portion of the hinge. Usually all you will need to remove the hinge pin is about 1/4 inch. There may be a chance that there is still a problem with squeaking, and if so you will need to actually remove the pin completely and check for any rust. If you find some either clean the rust completely or replace the pin. Once the pin has been cleaned, be sure that you replace it only after you have lightly oiled it.