Having a warped door or a warped door frame can cause a lot of different problems in your home. Cracks, improper seals or excessive heat and moisture can cause your door or grams to warp. Warped entryways allows air to escape or enter your home, as well as bugs and rodents. Knowing there is a way to make a door close better can save you time, money and the inconvenience of installing a new door or frame. With these tips and a little bit of hard work, your door or door frame can be fixed in no time.
Tools You’ll Need to Make a Door Close Better
- Two Sawhorse
- Screwdriver
- Paintbrush
- Sandpaper
- Heavy towels or a large blanket
- Varnish
- 50-lb sandbag or object of equal weight
A Warped Door May Be Stopping it From Closing
If a warped door is what’s causing the entryway to not be properly shut, reparing a warped door is simple! First, be sure to set up both of your sawhorses four to five feet apart in a covered, well-lit area. Use your screwdriver and remove the door from the hinges and lay it across the sawhorses. Making sure you’ve placed the door down with the bowed side facing up, use your sandpaper and sand the top and bottom of your door. After you’ve properly taken the door off the hinges and sanded the correct portions of the door, check to see how bad your warped door really is. After assessing the level of damage to your door, you can start attempting to flatten your warped door. If you have a slight warp, take your large sandbag, or object of similar weight, and lay it across the warped area for 24 hours or until the warp is gone. For a badly warped door, wet your heavy towels or large blanket and lay them across the warped area of the door only. Each day, rewet your towels or large blanket and add five to 10 pounds of weight onto the warped area until your door is straight again. Whatever method you choose, make sure your door is completely dry and apply a coat or two of varnish onto the whole door to ensure it does not warp again.
Repairing a Warped Door Frame Will Make Doors Close Better
If your door isn’t properly closing due to a warped door frame, there are a few things you can do to repair a warped door frame First, look at the door to see if your door is rubbing on the frame, use your mallet to hammer the door frame tighter. If you see shims between the door frame and the wall, remove them or pull them out slightly so the door frame can be tightened. If that still is allowing to have your door close properly, you will want to remove the trim around your door frame. Use your putty knife and loosen the molding or trim around the frame of your door. Avoid cracking or splitting the molding when removing these pieces, being extra careful could even save you time from repainting the trim after you have fixed your door.
When you remove the frame, pull out the finishing nails with the backend of the hammer. After the frame is off and you notice that door frame is tight against the wall frame and more space is needed, use a plane to take wood evenly off the frame where the door is rubbing. To make up for the thickness of a new coat of paint, take off slightly extra than you normally would. If a tighter door frame is desired, use wedge-shaped shims and tap them into the frame on either side to correct the warping. After your shims are in place, use a handsaw and trim the portion of the shim that extends past the wall before you start to replace your molding. After everything is properly trimmed and in place, replace your molding. Use finishing nails to keep the door frame fastened to the trim.Order Parts to Make a Door Close Better
A door that doesn’t properly open or close can be extremely frustrating and have way too much damage to repair. Just because your door or door frame is becoming a problem in your home, you don’t need to go out and buy a new door! DIY Door Store has all the parts to make a door close better in any home! We have parts from Trapp Doors, Fox, Masonite and even more at just a fraction of the price! For more information about how to make a door close better, call DIY Door Store at (888) 998 - 3667.