How Do I Fix a Sticking or Dropped Door?

A sticking or dropped door is one of the most common carpentry complaints in New Zealand homes — and it can range from a minor seasonal annoyance to a sign of something more serious. The good news is that many door problems are straightforward to diagnose and fix yourself with basic tools. Here's how to work through it step by step.

Why Do Doors Stick or Drop?

Before reaching for the plane or the screwdriver, it pays to understand what's causing the problem. Common culprits include:

• Loose or worn hinges — the most frequent cause of a dropped door
• Timber swelling — NZ's humid summers and wet winters cause timber to expand and contract seasonally
• House movement or settlement — especially in older villas and bungalows, or homes on sloped sections
• Paint build-up — repeated coats over the years can reduce clearance
• Warped door leaf — the door itself has twisted or bowed

Identifying the root cause first will save you time and stop you removing too much material unnecessarily.

Step 1 — Diagnose Where It's Catching

Open and close the door slowly and watch carefully. Use a piece of cardboard or a thin shim to find exactly where the door is binding against the frame. Common spots:

• Top corner on the latch side — usually a dropped or loose hinge
• Along the bottom edge — often swelling or settlement
• Along the latch edge — paint build-up or frame movement

Check whether the problem is worse in summer or after rain — if so, timber swelling is likely and the door may free up on its own in drier weather. BRANZ has useful guidance on how NZ's climate affects timber building materials.

Step 2 — Tighten or Repack the Hinges

Loose hinges are the number-one cause of a dropped door. Start here before doing anything else.

1. Open the door and check every hinge screw. If screws spin without gripping, the holes are stripped.
2. To fix stripped screw holes: remove the hinge, pack the holes with wooden toothpicks or a matchstick dipped in PVA glue, let it cure, then refit the hinge with the original screws.
3. Alternatively, use longer screws (e.g. 65–75 mm) that reach through the jamb into the structural framing behind — this gives a much stronger fix.
4. Recheck the door swing. Often this alone solves a dropped door.

Step 3 — Adjust or Reposition a Hinge

If tightening doesn't fully fix the drop, you may need to reposition a hinge slightly. A door that drops on the latch side often benefits from packing out the bottom hinge with a thin cardboard shim behind the hinge leaf, which pivots the latch side back up.

• Mark the new hinge position in pencil before chiselling
• Use a sharp chisel to deepen or extend the hinge recess (mortise) as needed
• Work carefully — removing too much timber weakens the jamb

Step 4 — Plane or Sand the Sticking Edge

If the door still sticks after hinge work, you'll need to remove a small amount of material from the binding edge.

What you'll need

• Hand plane or electric planer
• Sandpaper (80–120 grit)
• Pencil or chalk to mark the high spots
• Sawhorses or a helper to hold the door

How to do it

1. Remove the door by tapping out the hinge pins (for butt hinges) or unscrewing the hinges.
2. Mark the sticking area clearly with a pencil.
3. Plane or sand in the direction of the grain, taking light passes. Check frequently — it's easy to remove too much.
4. Aim for a clearance of around 2–3 mm on the sides and top, and enough at the bottom to clear the floor covering.
5. Seal the planed edge immediately with primer or paint to prevent moisture re-entry. Bare timber absorbs moisture quickly in NZ conditions, which can cause the problem to return. Resene and Dulux both offer suitable timber primers.

Step 5 — Check for Structural Movement

If multiple doors in your home are sticking, or if you notice cracking around door frames, this may indicate foundation settlement or structural movement rather than a simple door issue. Look for:

• Diagonal cracking from door or window corners
• Doors that have changed significantly over a short period
• Gaps opening up between the wall and ceiling or floor

This goes beyond a DIY door fix. The MBIE Building Performance website has information on when building defects require professional assessment.

Comparison: Common Causes and Fixes

When to Call a Professional

While most sticking doors are a satisfying DIY fix, there are times to bring in a qualified carpenter:

• Structural movement is suspected — a carpenter or builder can assess whether a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) is needed
• The door frame itself is rotten, cracked, or badly out of square
• You have a fire door — these have specific clearance requirements under the NZ Building Code and must perform correctly
• The door is part of a weathertight or external assembly and you're unsure about sealing it correctly
• You simply don't have the tools or confidence to remove and plane a door safely

A skilled carpenter can diagnose and fix most door problems in under an hour. You can find qualified local carpenters on tradedirectory.co.nz.

Sources & Further Reading

• BRANZ — Timber and building materials in NZ
• MBIE Building Performance — NZ Building Code guidance
• Licensed Building Practitioners — find or verify an LBP
• Resene — timber primers and paints
• Bunnings NZ — tools and hardware
• Mitre 10 NZ — tools and timber supplies