Wooden door sticking and hard to close — how do I fix it?
One of my internal wooden doors has started sticking — it rubs the frame near the top and I have to push it to close. It was fine before. How do I fix a sticking door without wrecking it?
4 answers
Three usual causes — check in this order:
- Loose/worn hinges. Over time the top hinge screws loosen and the door drops, so it rubs the frame (often the top corner on the latch side). Tighten every hinge screw first — if a screw just spins, the hole's stripped; pack it with matchsticks/filler or use a longer screw. This alone fixes a lot.
- Swelling from humidity. UAE humidity swells timber, especially unsealed edges. If it only sticks in humid spells, that's the cause.
- Paint build-up on the edges from repaints, thickening the door.
To fix the rub: rub chalk or pencil on the frame edge, close the door, and see where it transfers — that's the high spot. Lightly sand or plane just that spot, then seal the bare edge so it doesn't absorb moisture. Take off as little as possible, and only rehang or replace if the door is warped or water-damaged.
Mine was just loose top-hinge screws — tightened them and the drop/rub disappeared. Didn't need to plane anything.
Worth flagging for anyone landing here: easing a *sticking* door is usually just an adjustment — but if you're actually choosing new internal doors rather than fixing an old one, the material matters a lot in our humidity. There's a thread on solid wood vs veneer vs hollow-core doors and which holds up in Dubai homes. A door that keeps sticking or warping is sometimes a sign the wrong type went in to begin with — an engineered veneer core stays far more stable than cheap solid or flimsy hollow-core.
Worth adding for anyone whose door sticks: before you plane the edge, check the HINGES. A door that catches at the top corner has almost always dropped because the hinge screws have worked loose or the hinges are worn/undersized — not because the door swelled. Re-fixing with longer screws into solid frame, or upgrading to stronger hinges, usually cures the stick without touching the door. There's a fuller thread on sorting tired door hardware — sticking doors, squeaky hinges, loose handles. Plane the door only as a last resort — once you've removed timber you can't put it back.
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