Sarah Jessica Smith
The doors inside and outside the house might not impress you much, as you often forget to clean them even during spring cleaning. However, once something is wrong with them, you realize what a huge part of your daily life they play. Loose hinges, whole in the door, and faulty locks are just some of the problems that might occur prompting you to launch a DIY “rescue mission” of your door. Here are a few tips that will help you fix your door without overspending or losing too much time.
Weatherstripping on the front door
Have you ever stopped to think about how much of a beating your front door takes each season? Not only do they get pounded by strong winds and rain but during summer, strong sunlight makes their paint chip away. Weatherstripping on the doors is, therefore, essential for its longevity. If you notice that the rubber gasket at the bottom of the door is worn out, replace it with a new one.
A problem with a drifting door frame
A door that is slow to close probably has a drifting problem. Regardless of whether the door frame is made from wood or metal, it is going to twist and turn over the years. It gets heated and cooled season after season so the material starts to permanently change shape. This happens both to exterior door frames, as well as the interior, as they are exposed to the heating inside the house.
Apart from replacing the frame altogether, which should be done only in the most extreme of cases, the best solution to this problem has to do with fixing the hinges. Take the door off and knock the hinges several times with a hammer until their angle is adjusted to the new position of the door frame. This principle is known as structure relocation and it is how skyscrapers are built to withstand devastating earthquakes.
Those pesky hinges that squeak
Speaking of the door hinges, a more common problem is the squeaking noise they produce. Eliminating this sound is DIY door repair 1-on-1. There are several types of door hinges ranging from butt to lift-off ones that you find in most houses. One thing they have in common is the material they are made from, metal but this is where the problem lies.
Namely, as metal rubs against metal every time the door swings open or shut, the factory grease is worn-out and the hinges start producing the pesky sound we mention before. The fastest way to oil the hinges is to carefully take the door down and oil the hinges on both sides using an industrial greaser or a lubricant made especially for this purpose.
There is an eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to greasing the hinges. Namely, instead of oil, you buy at a hardware store, you can use olive oil which you already have at home. The application procedure is the same: dip a cotton swab inside the oil and directly lubricate the hinges using a small amount of the oil. Other alternative greasers include petroleum jelly, soap bars, and paraffin candles.
A small screw but big trouble
Every once and a while, we are shocked to read that a door came loose and fell onto a person or even worse, a child. Well, doors don’t just slip off the hinges on their own. In most cases, the hinges get torn off with the door because the screws holding them in place become loose. This happens because the wood around them, either in the door or the frame, deteriorates to the point hast it can no longer bear the load of the door transferred through the screws.
When selecting door hinges, always choose the ones that have at least three holes for screws on each side. The more crews there are holding the door, the safer will the whole structure be. If you notice that the screws on one door are loose, grab a screwdriver and go around the house tightening all of the screws, including the kitchen cabinet doors.
A gaping hole
Depending on the quality of your door, you might be faced with different types of mechanical damage. Perhaps a burglar damaged the door during a home invasion or you were quick to enter a room and pushed the front door too hard to create a gaping hole inside it. If wood glue followed by a paint job doesn’t do the trick, then you can try filling out the inside of the door with plaster.
As you have seen from our examples, there are surprisingly many things that can go wrong with a simple door. However, proper maintenance ensures that your door last decades without he need to be replaced or repainted.
