How to Fix a Door That Won’t Close (Sticking, Misaligned, or Warped)

A door that won’t close properly is one of those things that’s both completely insignificant and somewhat annoying at the same time. It’s not a problem. Everything’s perfectly fine. It’s just that every time you use that door, several times a day, it’s going to remind you that it’s not working properly.
The door to my bedroom in my childhood home stuck during the summer. You had to push it shut with your shoulder to get it to close. And once it was closed, it opened on its own in dry weather. My dad just lived with it. I decided to take a look at it myself, and it only took 20 minutes of sanding to fix it.
There are four possible causes of door troubles: swollen wood, loose hinges, misaligned strike plates, and warped doors. The first three are simple repairs. The fourth one’s a bit more complicated but still well within the capability of a beginner.
This is a how-to article on how to figure out what’s wrong with your door and fix it.

Why Doors Stop Closing Properly

A door is a piece of wood that fits precisely in a door frame, and both the door and the door frame are in a constant state of adjustment in response to changes in temperature and humidity, settlement of the house, and wear and tear. Any of these conditions can cause a door to be out of alignment in its frame.

The key to the solution is in understanding the problem. Sanding a door that is actually sagging out of alignment in its frame because of a loose hinge is a waste of time and can make the situation worse. Understanding the problem correctly from the very beginning is the most critical part.

🔑 Key Insight: Seasonal door problems, or doors that stick in the summer and work fine in the winter, are caused by wood expanding in humid weather. Wood expands up to 1/4 inch in width in high humidity conditions. This is a normal wood behavior and not a defect in the door.

What You’ll Need

⦁ Screwdriver (Phillips and flathead) – for tightening hinge screws
⦁ Longer screws (3-inch wood screws) – for fixing stripped hinge holes. $3-5 from Home Depot
⦁ Wood toothpicks and wood glue – for filling stripped screw holes. $2-3
⦁ Sandpaper (80-grit and 120-grit) – for sanding swollen door edges
⦁ Hand plane – for removing more material from a swollen door
⦁ Pencil or chalk – for marking exactly where the door is sticking
⦁ Chisel and hammer – for adjusting the strike plate mortise
⦁ Carton cardboard – for shimming sagging hinges
⦁ Paint or sealer – for sealing the sanded edge after fixing to prevent future swelling

💡 Pro Tip: Before going out and spending money on tools, try the simplest fix first: tightening your door hinges. It takes 2 minutes and a screwdriver you likely already own, and it solves a surprising number of door issues entirely on its own.

Step 1: Diagnose the Problem

Open and close the door slowly while watching and feeling exactly where it binds, rubs, or fails to latch. The location tells you the cause.

Where is the door sticking or rubbing?

⦁ Sticks in top corner on latch side – almost always a loose top hinge. The door sags away from top hinge side, and top corner will always swing toward frame on opposite side.
⦁ Sticks along entire latch edge – swollen wood from humidity, or door has moved in its frame.
⦁ Rubs along entire bottom edge – house has settled and door frame is no longer square, or door has swollen on the bottom.
⦁ Latch does not reach strike plate – strike plate is not aligned. Latch bolt is hitting wrong spot.
⦁ Door bounces open, will not stay closed – latch bolt is hitting above or below strike plate hole.

The lipstick test for strike plate misalignment

You put a little lipstick, lip balm, or chalk on the latch bolt. Push the door shut as far as it will close. Now, you open the door and look at the mark left on the strike plate. This will tell you exactly where the latch bolt is striking and entering the hole. This will give you precise information regarding the strike plate.

The Hinge Gap Test

You look at the space between all four sides of the door, or as close as it will get. There should be an equal space all the way around the door, 1/8 inch all the way around. If the space varies, then you will know which way the door has moved. If the space is wide at the top on the hinge side and small at the bottom, then you know the top hinge is loose and the door sags.

Fix 1: Tighten Loose Hinge Screws

This is always the first thing to try. It is free, takes 2 minutes, and solves a large percentage of sticking door problems. Hinges have screws that over time come loose due to the constant stress of opening and closing the door. Even a little loose, the door sags and sticks.

1. Open the door fully so you can access all the screws in the hinges.
2. Tighten all screws in all hinges. Turn them clockwise. If a screw does not tighten, it is in a “stripped” hole and requires the toothpick fix below.
3. Test the door. Close it and see if the problem is solved.

Fixing Stripped Hinge Screw Holes

A stripped screw hole is one where the screw only rotates without biting into the wood. It is common when the screw has been driven home many times. The fibers are compressed.

1. Remove the screw
2. Dip 2-3 wooden toothpicks in wood glue. Then push them into the hole. Break them off flush with the surface.
3. Wait 1 hour for the glue to dry
4. Drive the original screw back into the hole. It now has new wood to grip into. It is solid.

💡 Pro Tip: For the top hinge, which sees the most stress, replace the short hinge screws with 3-inch wood screws that go all the way through the door frame and into the framing members behind the door frame. This one modification makes the hinge much stronger and prevents future door sag. Cost: $3. Time: 5 minutes.

Fix 2: Adjust or Reposition the Strike Plate

If the latch bolt is striking the strike plate in the wrong position, i.e., above, below, or off to one side of the hole, it is possible that the strike plate needs to be moved to correspond to the position in which the latch bolt is striking it.

Minor Misalignment — File the Strike Plate

If the lipstick test indicates that the latch is only slightly out of alignment, i.e., less than 1/8 inch, it is possible to solve the problem by filing the strike plate hole slightly in the direction in which it needs to move. A metal file can be used for this purpose.

Larger Misalignment — Move the Strike Plate

1. Unscrew the strike plate from the door frame
2. Mark the new position – use the lipstick mark on the strike plate as a reference. You can move it up, down, or sideways to match where the latch locks into place.
3. Chisel the mortise – the strike plate goes into a recessed area (mortise) in the door frame. Use a chisel and hammer to extend it in the direction that you are moving the strike plate.
4. Fill the old screw holes – use the toothpick method in Fix 1 to fill in the old screw holes to ensure that your new screws have fresh wood to hold into.
5. Screw in the strike plate in its new position – test your door to ensure that it works properly.

💡 Pro Tip: After moving your strike plate, you’ll notice that it outlines where the old mortise used to be in your door frame. Fill it in with a wood filler, smooth it out, and paint it to match your door. This should take 10 minutes to do.

Fix 3: Sand or Plane a Swollen Door

However, if the sticking is caused by humidity in the air, which is common during summer, then it might be necessary to remove some of the material on the edges of the door that sticks. This should be done in a way that creates enough space to allow the door to shut even when it is in its swollen state.

Identify the Sticking Area

Shut your door as far as it can go, and look for shiny spots on the edges of your door where it has been sticking to the frame. This is where you should remove some of your door’s material. You can also use a piece of paper to insert into the space around the edges of your door; it won’t pass where it sticks to the frame.

Sanding (Minor Sticking)

If there is just a little sticking, then using 80-grit sandpaper and a sanding block will allow for easy removal of the problem area. Just go back and forth on the problem area using firm strokes.

Planing (Significant Sticking)

If there is significant sticking, then using a hand plane will allow for easy removal of the problem area. Be sure to set the plane for a very thin cut. Plane the door, going from one end towards the middle, and then from the other end toward the middle. Be sure not to plane against the grain, as that will create a mess!

⚠️ Important: In nearly all cases, the door will need to come off the hinges in order to properly sand or plane the latch edge or bottom of the door. Remove the door by tapping the hinge pins out from underneath with a screwdriver and a hammer. It is not efficient or effective to try and sand a door while it is on the hinges.

Paint or treat the bare wood immediately after sanding or planing, as bare wood will re-swell much faster than paint-treated wood. This step seems to be the one most people forget, and thus the problem reappears the next summer.

Fix 4: Shim a Sagging Hinge

If the sag is not corrected adequately by tightening the screws or if the hinge is installed too deep in the mortise, shimming the hinge is the answer to correcting the door alignment without removing the door or cutting anything.

1. Remove the hinge leaf from the door frame side only. This is done by unscrewing the screws that hold the frame side of the hinge leaf. Leave the door side of the hinge alone.
2. Cut a cardboard shim. Cut a piece of cereal box cardboard to exactly the same size and shape as the hinge leaf. If you want a little extra lift, use two pieces.
3. Place the shim in the mortise. Place the cardboard in the mortise where the hinge leaf is. Punch holes in the cardboard for the screws.
4. Replace the hinge leaf over the shim and screw it back in. The shim causes the hinge leaf to extend slightly outward, which causes the door to swing upward on that side.
5. Test the door and make adjustments as necessary.

🔑 Key Insight: Adjusting the shim on the bottom hinge causes the latch side of the door to go upward. Adjusting the shim on the top hinge causes it to go downward. It is a precise mechanism, and you can add or subtract shim layers as necessary until it is perfectly square in its frame.

Fix 5: Fix a Warped Door

The hardest of the door repair jobs is the warped door. A warped door is a door whose warp has been so severe that the door no longer closes flat against the door frame. A slightly warped door may be fixed without replacing the door. However, a severely warped door has to be replaced.

Minor Warp — Add or Adjust Weatherstripping

If the door has a minor warp of less than 1/4 inch, you may fix the problem by adding a piece of weatherstripping to the door stop. Weatherstripping compresses to fit the space created by the door warp. This allows the door to close and lock. Use a piece of foam or rubber with adhesive attached. Remove the adhesive backing from the weatherstripping and press it into the door stop at the location of the door warp.

Moderate Warp – Reversing the Warp using Clamps

For a moderately warped door, it is recommended that you remove the door and place it on a flat surface, ensuring that the bowed part is facing downwards. You then place several weights on top of the door, such as books, water containers, and concrete blocks. Leave it for 2-3 days. At times, the door will become straight.

Severe Warp – Replacing the Door

For a severely warped door, it is not worth trying to reverse it, as it will continue to cause more problems. Interior doors are not very expensive, and a standard hollow core interior door will cost between $40 and $80 from Home Depot. If the door is moist, then it is recommended that you replace it.

💡 Pro Tip: Warping is almost always caused by a moisture imbalance, where one side of the door has more moisture and has expanded more than the other side of the door. Always paint and seal both sides of a door equally, including both the top and bottom edges of the door. If you don’t paint and seal the bottom edge of a door, it will soak up moisture from the floor and cause warping.

Door Problem Quick Reference Table

Problem	Cause	How to Identify	Fix	Difficulty
Sticks at top latch corner	Loose top hinge / sag	Wide gap bottom hinge side	Tighten/shim top hinge	Very Easy
Sticks all along latch edge	Swollen wood (humidity)	Worse in summer	Sand or plane edge	Easy
Latch won't catch	Strike plate misalignment	Lipstick test on latch bolt	File or move strike plate	Easy
Rubs on frame all over	Loose/sagging hinges	Uneven gap around door	Tighten screws + shim	Very Easy
Won't close at all	Severe warp or settlement	Door visibly bowed or twisted	Weatherstrip or replace	Medium

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Sanding Before Checking the Hinges

The most common mistake is going ahead and sanding the door when it sticks, without checking if the hinges are loose. Sanding removes wood; if you’ve removed too much and the problem was indeed a loose hinge, you’ve created a gap that lets in drafts, and you’ll still need to adjust the hinge.

Removing Too Much Material When Sanding

It may take a while to remove a little at a time, but trust me, removing too much at once is permanent. Sand, test, sand, test. You’re looking for about 1/16 inch of clearance—enough so that the door swings freely without sticking. Any more than that and you’ll have a drafty gap around the door in the winter.

Not Sealing the Sanded Edge

Sanding bare wood means that it dries quickly. If you do not seal the sanded edge right away, it dries quickly, and you will be doing this repair job again next summer. It needs to be primed and painted the same day you sand it.

Moving the Strike Plate Without Filling the Old Mortise

After you move the strike plate, you will see the outline of the old mortise on the door frame. It is not necessary. It is only cosmetic. It does not affect anything. It only looks sloppy and unprofessional. It only takes 15 minutes of your time and some wood filler to make it look like it was never touched.

Ignoring a Door Problem That Appeared Suddenly

Doors that have always worked fine and now are not closing right can be a sign of some serious things going on in your house, especially if several doors in your house are not closing right. If several doors in your house are not closing right, and you see new cracks in your ceilings and walls, plus your doors, then it is time to have a structural analysis done on your house.

When to Call a Professional

The majority of door issues are safely handled by a beginner. There are a few door issues that may require professional assistance:
⦁ Multiple doors in the home suddenly cease to close. This could be a sign of movement in the home’s foundation or significant settling of the structure. This issue requires professional evaluation before any repairs are made.
⦁ Large cracks in walls or ceilings near the door. This could be a sign of movement in the home’s foundation or significant settling of the structure.
⦁ The door frame appears to be racked or twisted. If the door frame rather than the door is the source of the issue, then the repair is a carpentry issue and not for a beginner.
⦁ Exterior doors that do not align properly at the top or bottom of the door frame. This can be a significant issue with exterior doors, affecting the security of the home.

⚠️ Important: If you’ve noticed that a door that was once closing properly no longer does, and at the same time you’ve seen cracks forming in the walls or on the ceiling near that door, such as diagonal cracks from the corners of doors and windows, do not assume that the issue is related solely to the door.

Conclusion

An improperly closing door is almost always an easy problem to fix once you know what you’re actually fixing. And the key to fixing it is the diagnosis process – five minutes of observation time tells you exactly which of the five solutions you need.
First, try the easiest fix: tighten the screws holding the door hinge. This will fix the majority of improperly closing door issues. If this does not fix it, then try the lipstick test for the latch and the gap test for the frame. In every case, the fix is then obvious.
The only rule you need to avoid fixing the same problem twice: sand the wood and then seal it. Unsealed wood swells back out. Sealed wood does not. Taking an extra 20 minutes to prime and paint the wood is the difference between a permanent fix and a seasonal maintenance problem.