How to Fix a Door That Rubs at the Top in 10 Steps (with Pictures)

A rubbing doorway is one thing that quite a lot every single house owner will have to deal with at some level in their existence. If the body by itself begins to come apart and the door will not match in the opening, it may possibly be time to contact a contractor to have a seem.

Nevertheless, most homeowners can deal with this 1 if it is just rubbing. With a basic Do it yourself talent amount, familiarity with a handful of distinct resources, and this action-by-step manual, you’ll be all set to tackle this 1 yourself.

Before you start, here’s a list of tools and supplies to make sure you have:
  • Safety: Gloves, safety glasses, ear protection, mask
  • Tools: Knife, screwdrivers, drill, wood glue, orbital sander or belt sander, 60 or 80 grit paper, carpenter’s pencil
  • Supplies: New hinges (some scenarios), 3-inch screws, cardboard, paint or stain, toothpicks or golf tee, green painter’s tape

How to Fix a Door That Rubs at the Top?

Solution 1: Loose or Bent Hinges

The ideal-situation scenario with a door that is rubbing in the top corner is that there are some screws unfastened in the hinges or the hinges need to be shimmed out a little little bit. Troubleshoot with these measures just before leaping to slicing or sanding the doorway.

Having a tiny desk near by with your instruments on it will be helpful after you begin getting hinges on and off since you will usually have to use a single hand to constant the doorway and the other to do the function if you do not have a helper.

How to Fix a Door That Rubs at the Top in 10 Steps (with Pictures)
Image Credit: Winkul, Pixabay

1. Tighten Loose Screws

Sometimes, all it normally takes to repair a door that rubs is tightening the screws in the hinges. Above time these screws can appear loose and when they loosen, the door no more time sits in the body properly. This will frequently cause the doorway to rub in the best corner.

It’s recommended that you use a screwdriver for this process to prevent above-tightening if you are unfamiliar with how hard you can tighten just before stripping the screws.

If the screws are even now unfastened soon after being tightened, they are very likely stripped from over-tightening or getting compelled out. Remove the doorway by unscrewing the hinges from the doorframe, and whether the stripped screws are on the doorway or hinge, follow these steps:

  • Remove hinge (if stripped screws are on the door)
  • Fill the stripped hole with a generous amount of wood glue
  • Pack hole with toothpicks or insert a golf tee as far as it will go
  • Once the glue dries, use a knife to cut the toothpicks or tee flush (safety glove use recommended)
  • Repeat for all stripped holes

Once you have filled the holes in this way, reattach any hinges you taken out and cling the door yet again. Tighten the screws to see if it fixes the sag.

Notice: Don’t overtighten these screws due to the fact they strip simply.


2. Replace the Screw with a Longer One

Above time, the door’s bodyweight can lead to the body to bulge. This, in turn, will result in the door to rub. If you notice the frame in which the hinges are is uneven or flexing, this might be your issue.

Tiny ¾ to one-inch screws are commonly employed to cling doorways. These are fantastic for model new, new wood, but more than time, they do not keep. A swift resolve for the bulging portion of your body (generally in the leading hinge) is to remove the very prime screw in the hinge and exchange it with a 3-inch wood screw. You will want to use a drill for this as you will be biting into new studs over and above the frame.

By performing this, you will suck the body straight and potentially end the rubbing doorway.

How to Fix a Door That Rubs at the Top in 10 Steps (with Pictures)
Image Credit: Skyliz, Shutterstock

3. Switch Sagging or Bent Hinge

One more frequent problem with doorway hinges is that they warp or twist in excess of lengthy durations. This is most widespread in the prime hinge with a heavier doorway. If the bend is not too poor, merely swap the best and base hinges.

On a door with three hinges:
  • Open the door, so you have easy access to screws
  • Put something wide and steady under the outside of the door to prevent it from falling when you take the top hinge off
  • Remove top and bottom hinge and switch them

If your door only has two hinges, you will have to take away the doorway like you did to fill holes. Swap the hinges all around and rehang the door and check for rubbing on the body.


4. Shim Hinges for Door Adjustment

Doors occur with minor parts of shim paper from the manufacturer. These are used by the installer in which required and then extras are thrown out. They can very easily be homemade by reducing rectangles items of cardboard the identical size as the hinge.

For a doorway that is rubbing in the prime corner, you are going to want to shim out the base hinge. When shimming, you’ll typically require to do it on the doorway body aspect of the hinge.

Place 1 shim in at a time and examination the door before putting in another shim. If the hinge is coming out previous the indent where it is intended to sit, it will get unfastened in excess of time, so shimming won’t function.

Observe: Flatten the cardboard as a lot as you can just before employing it as a shim.

Solution 2: Sand the Door

If you attempted the steps previously mentioned and your doorway is even now rubbing, then it is time to get down to enterprise. The best answer is to sand the doorway exactly where it is rubbing.

Before starting this portion of the information, you will want to make sure you have sawhorses or a table set up to set the doorway on. Also, you will be chopping or sanding in this component of the information, so if you need to have to protected an spot outside the house to perform safely, do that now.

1. Mark the Door Where It Rubs

With the door hanging in a natural way, close it. Mark the spot alongside the edge of the doorway where it rubs with a pencil. Make confident you prolong outwards from the stage it rubs by a few of inches so you can make an even slope.

Keep in head that you do not want to get more than 1/8 of an inch off at a time.

How to Fix a Door That Rubs at the Top in 10 Steps (with Pictures)
Image Credit: Dmitry Kalinovsky, Shutterstock

2. Remove the Door

After you are satisfied with exactly where you’ve marked it, remove the doorway and lay it on the sawhorses with the facet you are sanding facing outward.


3. Sand the Door to Line

As you sand, there’ll be a great deal of dust on the surface, even if you have a dust collector. To make your life significantly simpler, use some inexperienced painter’s tape the place your line is. This will also give you a straight line to adhere to to feather out the sanding to make gradual.

Right after you have the tape on, sand till you begin to scuff the tape.

Here are a few tips for sanding:
  • Keep even pressure on the sander (too much pressure in one area can create low spots)
  • Keep the sander flat against the edge of the door
  • Always make sure the sander is moving
  • Use an aggressive paper like 60 or 80 grit

Be aware: Eye and ear safety and a mask are suggested when sanding


4. Test Door, Sand More if Necessary

Once you’ve sanded to your line, thoroughly clean the doorway off and rehang it. Open up and near it to see if you took enough off.

If not, re-mark and sand the door, but if it is excellent, then this could be your previous stage. Nonetheless, it is ideal practice to refinish the doorway.


5. Paint or Stain Sanded Edge

Portray or staining makes the doorway look greater if you sanded the leading exterior corner. And it will reseal it so that moisture can't damage the door.

Take the door down a single far more time and lay it on the sawhorses. If the doorway is organic wood, stain it with 1 or two coats and mix it as very best as you can to match.

If it is painted, you can get paint to be a near match from your local building heart. Paint one or two coats and permit to dry.


6. Rehang Door

Ultimately, rehang the doorway. Make positive all the screws in the hinges are limited. Give the door one more test to make confident it nonetheless latches appropriately. Occasionally soon after using hinges on and off, they will require altering.

Conclusion

Assuming you have read through this guidebook totally prior to beginning the job, you may possibly be able to rule out one particular or a lot more of the actions explained. Like any home Do-it-yourself venture, make certain you are acquainted with the equipment you are using and stick to all basic safety greatest practices. Content DIYing!


Showcased Graphic Credit rating: FotoDuets, Shutterstock

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