A door that sticks or won't latch in a Duluth or Superior house usually has one of four problems: humid-weather swelling, loose top hinge screws letting it sag, a strike plate out of line with the latch, or a jamb that shifted as the house settled. Check them in that order; the first three are often an afternoon's fix.
Read the door before you touch a tool
Close the door and study the gap between it and the frame. It should be an even, narrow line down the latch side and across the top. A gap that pinches at the top corner of the latch side and opens up at the top of the hinge side means the door is sagging on its hinges. A gap that's even but the door still rubs usually means the door has grown, or the whole frame has leaned.
Then look for evidence. Shiny or scuffed paint on the door edge or the jamb shows exactly where it rubs. Scratches above or below the hole in the strike plate show which way the latch misses. For a deadbolt, Schlage suggests rubbing chalk or lipstick on the bolt, then locking and unlocking it, so the mark on the strike shows where it drags (Schlage).
| What you see | Likely cause | First fix to try |
|---|---|---|
| Rubs at the top of the latch side; gap widens at the top of the hinge side | Top hinge screws loose or stripped, so the door sags | Tighten or replace the top hinge screws with long screws into the stud |
| Sticks in July, closes fine in January | Wood swelling with summer humidity | Check the edges are sealed; plane only if it sticks through a full humid season |
| Closes but won't latch; shiny scuffs above or below the strike hole | Latch and strike out of line by a small amount | File the strike opening or move the strike |
| Deadbolt is hard to turn or won't throw fully | Bolt rubbing the strike, or a shallow bolt pocket | Chalk test, then open the pocket to a full inch |
| Springs back open when pushed shut | Weatherstripping too thick, or hinge side binding | Adjust or replace the weatherstrip; check hinge mortise depth |
| Uneven gap all around, cracks at the plaster corners | The jamb or the framing has shifted | Re-shim the jamb; if it keeps moving, look at the structure |
Seasonal swelling and frames that move
Wood takes on moisture in humid weather and gives it up in dry heated air, and a door swells and shrinks with it. Simpson Door, for one, tells installers to condition a door to local humidity before hanging it, to allow about 3/16 inch for swelling when it's hung in dry conditions, and to coat all six sides, top and bottom edges included, with every coat of finish (Simpson Door). An unpainted top or bottom edge is a common reason an older door drinks up summer humidity and starts rubbing. A mirror on the floor shows the bottom edge.
In the Twin Ports the frame can move too. The Wisconsin DNR describes deep, poorly drained red clays in and around Superior (Wisconsin DNR), and wet clay heaves when it freezes. A door that binds every winter and loosens up after the thaw is often a frame riding up and down with the ground under a porch or a shallow footing, not a bad door.
Our guide to frost heave on decks, fences and steps explains that movement. On Duluth's hillside, old houses in neighborhoods like West Duluth have had a century to settle, and a door hung square in 1925 may no longer sit in a square opening.
The DIY checklist
Work down this list in order and test the door after each step.
- Tighten every hinge screw. Open the door and snug the screws on both leaves of each hinge. If one spins without biting, the hole is stripped.
- Put long screws in the top hinge. Replace one or two jamb-side screws in the top hinge with screws long enough to reach the framing behind the jamb. Therma-Tru's installation instructions call for 2½-inch screws through the top hinge into the stud to anchor the frame and prevent sagging (Therma-Tru instructions). Don't overdrive them.
- Check the weatherstripping. On an exterior door, weatherstrip that's too thick can push the door back so the latch never seats. Schlage lists it as a cause of bolts that won't enter the frame (Schlage).
- Adjust the strike. If the latch misses by an eighth of an inch or less, file the strike opening toward the scuff marks. The deadbolt pocket behind its strike should be 1 inch deep, and a chisel can open a shallow one (Schlage).
- Seal before you sand. If a swollen edge rubs, sand it lightly and then paint or seal the bare wood the same day, or it will swell again.
Stop if the fix means cutting the door or the gaps are uneven all around.
What a carpenter does beyond the checklist
When tightening and filing don't hold, the problem is usually in the frame. A carpenter pulls the casing on the hinge side, checks the jamb for plumb in both directions with a long level, and re-shims it behind each hinge, the same steps a door maker's instructions use for a new install (Therma-Tru instructions).
Other fixes on the list: deepening or shimming a hinge mortise; moving a strike and gluing a wood patch into the old mortise so new screws bite; planing a door that has truly outgrown its opening, then sealing the cut; and clearing a latch clogged with old paint. Planing has a limit, and Simpson tells installers not to take more than 1/2 inch off the top or 1½ inches off the bottom of its doors (Simpson Door).
Plaster cracks running up from the corners of a door, a sloping floor at the threshold, or a door that goes out again weeks after re-shimming point to framing that is still moving. Shimming a door won't fix a sagging beam or a settling footing, and we'll say so. Hinge, strike and jamb adjustments need no permit.
When a new prehung door is the better fix
A prehung door comes already hung in a new frame, so the opening gets a square, plumb unit. It is the better answer when:
- the jamb is split at the hinge or strike, or rotted at the bottom of an exterior frame;
- the door itself is warped; Simpson's warranty treats warp over 1/4 inch in the plane of the door as a defect on standard-size doors (Simpson Door), a useful yardstick for an old door too;
- it has been planed so many times the gaps are wide once it dries out in winter;
- a hollow-core door has split or delaminated, or an exterior door leaks air even after new weatherstripping.
Our planning range is $180–$350 to install a prehung interior door and $350–$800 for an exterior door, plus the door itself; changing the lock or deadbolt on an existing door runs $95–$220 per door. In Duluth, door replacement has its own residential permit type (City of Duluth). Superior's no-permit list covers interior doors without a required fire rating, but not exterior doors (City of Superior). Before quoting, we confirm what your address needs and who the office requires to pull the permit. Sliding doors are their own case; see sliding patio door repair or replacement.
Why does my door stick in summer and close fine in winter?
Because the door, and sometimes the frame, takes on moisture in humid summer air and swells, then shrinks again once the heat is on. The usual culprit is an unfinished top or bottom edge that lets moisture in. Seal any bare edges first and wait a season.
If it still rubs at the height of summer, plane or sand just the rubbing spot and seal it the same day, so the door doesn't gap in January.
Should I plane a sticking door?
Only after you've ruled out the hinges. A sagging door rubs at the top of the latch side, and planing that corner just leaves a big gap once the hinge screws are tightened. Fix the hinges first, then plane only where the door still rubs, take off as little as possible, and seal the bare wood right away.
Take the door off its hinges for anything more than a light pass along the latch edge.
How do I know if a door is warped?
Close the door and look at where it meets the stop on the latch side. If the top or bottom corner stands off the stop while the middle touches, or it rocks when you press one corner, the slab is bowed or twisted. For a closer check, lay a long straightedge or taut string along the face.
Simpson's warranty uses 1/4 inch of warp as its limit on standard doors, and a door past that usually needs replacing.
Can a door that won't latch be fixed without replacing the lock?
Usually, yes. A latch that misses the strike is almost always an alignment problem in the hinges, the strike or the jamb, not a failed lock, so tightening hinge screws or filing or moving the strike solves it.
Replace the lockset when the latch sticks inside the door, the knob or lever is loose even with tight screws, or the key binds. We can handle both at the same visit.
Send a photo of the closed door showing the gap, a close-up of the strike and a note on when it started. Request a quote or call or text (715) 919-7956; see our door and window service for the rest of the work around an opening. Every job gets a flat written quote you approve before work starts.
Next steps. If you want help with this, start with the door and window repair page or How Much Does Door Lock or Deadbolt Replacement Cost in Duluth, MN? or How Much Does Window Replacement Cost in Duluth, MN? Based in Duluth, serving Superior.
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