The damp weather is here in Swindon, and right on cue the doors have started to complain. One sticks at the top. One rubs on the carpet. One shuts but won't latch unless you give it a shoulder.

The good news is that most sticking doors don't need planing at all.

Here's the order I work in, from the easiest fix to the last resort.

Step 1: Tighten the hinge screws

This is the first check, and it often solves the whole problem.

  1. Open the door and hold the handle. Lift it gently. If the door moves up and down, or the hinges shift, the screws have worked loose.
  2. Tighten every hinge screw on both the door and the frame, using a screwdriver that fits the head properly.
  3. Look for a screw that just spins. The hole has worn out. A longer screw that reaches into the solid timber behind the frame usually pulls the top hinge in and lifts the door back up.

A door that has dropped at the latch side usually needs the top hinge pulled in tight. Close it and test it before you do anything else.

Step 2: Find exactly where it rubs

Don't guess. Close the door slowly and look for where it catches. A few ways to find it:

  • Look for shiny, worn paint on the door edge or the frame.
  • Slide a sheet of paper round the gap with the door shut. Where it jams, that's the tight spot.
  • Rub a bit of chalk on the door edge, close it, and see where the chalk transfers.

In other words, mark the problem before you fix it. Planing the wrong edge just gives you a draughty door that still sticks.

Step 3: Check the latch and the keep

If the door closes but won't click shut, the problem is often the metal plate on the frame (the keep), not the door.

  1. Look at the latch tongue when you close the door slowly. Is it hitting above, below or to the side of the hole in the keep?
  2. If it's only slightly out, you can often file the opening in the keep a little larger.
  3. If it's well out, unscrew the keep and move it so it lines up with the latch. Fill the old screw holes so the new ones bite into solid wood.
  4. Oil the latch if it's stiff. A dry latch can feel just like a sticking door.

Step 4: Plane the door (last resort)

Timber doors swell in damp weather and shrink back in summer. So only plane when the hinges and latch are sorted and it still rubs, and take off as little as you can.

  1. Mark the tight area in pencil with the door closed.
  2. Take the door off its hinges if it rubs at the top or bottom, and lay it flat across trestles or a solid work surface. Doors are heavier than they look. I won't lift anything over 15kg on my own, and it's a sensible rule for anyone.
  3. Plane towards the corners, not off them, so you don't split the end grain.
  4. Test it often. Rehang, check, and take more off only if you need to.
  5. Seal the bare edge. Prime and paint, or varnish, any bare wood you've planed. An unsealed edge soaks up moisture and swells again, and you're back where you started by Christmas.

Fire doors: leave them alone

If it's a fire door (often marked with a label or a coloured plug on the hinge edge, and common in flats and three-storey houses), don't plane it or move its hardware. Gaps, seals and closers on fire doors have to stay within set limits. Speak to your landlord, building manager or a fire door specialist.

uPVC and composite doors adjust differently

Plastic and composite doors don't swell like timber, so never plane them. When they drop or stop locking smoothly, it's usually the hinge adjustment or the keeps on the frame. Many have adjustable hinges and keeps that can be moved with the right key. If the multipoint lock itself is failing, that's a job for a door or lock specialist.

Want it sorted for you?

Easing a sticking door or realigning a keep is the sort of small job that fits neatly into a booked session alongside the rest of your list. I'm a one-man service, insured and DBS checked, and rated 4.9 on Google. Sessions are booked in 3-hour slots across Swindon, or full days covering about 30 minutes around Swindon, and I'll do my best to get your list done in the time booked. I don't do electrics or gas.

See my carpentry and small fittings, book a session, or message me free on WhatsApp on 07729 689420.

For a lighter take on the same problem, read my blog post: Door sticking and won't close?