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Practical home maintenance advice from Lewes Home Works

You push the bedroom door closed. It sticks. You give it another push. Now it closes, but only if you lift the handle slightly.

Sound familiar?

A door that doesn't close properly is one of those small household annoyances that's easy to ignore—until you're dealing with it every day.

The good news is that many door problems can be repaired without replacing the entire door.

Here are five common causes and what homeowners should know about them.

1. Loose Door Hinges

Over time, the screws holding a door's hinges can loosen. This allows the door to sag slightly, causing it to rub against the frame or miss the latch opening.

What you might notice:

The door rubs near the top or bottom.
The gap around the door looks uneven.
Lifting the handle helps the door close.

What you can check: Look for loose or missing hinge screws. Carefully tightening a loose screw may solve the problem.

If a screw spins without tightening, the wood may be stripped and need repair.

2. A Misaligned Strike Plate

The strike plate is the metal piece on the door frame that receives the latch.

When the latch and strike plate don't line up, the door may close but refuse to stay latched.

What you might notice:

The door closes but pops back open.
You have to push or lift the door to latch it.
The latch hits the edge of the strike plate.

Sometimes a minor adjustment is enough. Other situations require correcting the door's alignment first.

3. Seasonal Humidity Changes

Here in coastal Delaware, humidity can affect wooden doors and frames.

Wood naturally expands and contracts as moisture levels change. A door that worked perfectly during the winter may begin sticking during humid summer weather.

What you might notice:

The problem comes and goes with the seasons.
The door rubs along one edge.
Paint wears away where the door contacts the frame.

Before trimming or sanding a door, it's important to determine whether humidity is the actual cause. Removing too much material can create a larger gap when conditions change.

4. A Door Frame That's Out of Alignment

Homes naturally experience small amounts of movement over time.

Sometimes the issue isn't the door itself. The frame may have shifted slightly, creating uneven gaps or causing the latch to miss its opening.

What you might notice:

Uneven spacing around the door.
Rubbing in multiple locations.
A door that appears crooked even when the hinges are tight.

Correcting this may involve adjusting hinges, checking the frame, or making other careful repairs.

If the problem is sudden, severe, or accompanied by new wall cracks, a more thorough evaluation may be appropriate.

5. Paint Buildup or Previous Repairs

Sometimes the problem is surprisingly simple.

Multiple layers of paint, poorly installed hardware, or an earlier repair can prevent a door from closing smoothly.

What you might notice:

The door sticks near a freshly painted area.
The latch became unreliable after hardware was replaced.
The problem started immediately after another repair.

Identifying exactly where the door makes contact is the first step toward choosing the right correction.

Should You Fix It Yourself?

Some door problems are simple enough for homeowners to address.

Checking for loose screws, identifying rubbing points, and looking for obvious hardware problems are reasonable starting points.

But if the door needs repeated adjustments, has stripped screw holes, or doesn't sit properly in its frame, professional repair may save time and prevent unnecessary damage.

The goal isn't just to make the door close today. It's to make sure it continues working properly.

Need Help With a Sticking Door?

At Lewes Home Works, we help homeowners in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach tackle the smaller repairs that make everyday life easier.

Whether it's a troublesome interior door, loose hardware, or several little repairs you've been putting off, we're happy to take a look.

We're locally owned, licensed and insured, and committed to responsive communication and straightforward pricing.

Small jobs. Done right.

Visit www.leweshomeworks.com and click Send Your List to tell us what needs attention.

A little list. A lot off your mind.

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