How to Fix a Door That Sticks in Winter

A door that binds in January and swings fine in August has not warped. It has swollen, and the fix is at the hinges and the strike, not at the plane. Planing a door in winter is the mistake that leaves you with a draft in summer.

Quick answer

Find exactly where it rubs using a strip of paper, then tighten the hinge screws with longer screws that reach the framing, shim a hinge to pull the door away from the rub, or move the strike plate. Take wood off only if it still binds in dry weather, and never as the first move.

Our own work in Los Angeles. Not a photograph of the steps below.

Step by step

1
Find where it actually rubs
Close the door on a strip of paper and pull. Where the paper comes out freely there is a gap; where it grips or tears, that is the contact point. Work around the whole opening, top, latch side, bottom, and mark the tight spots in pencil. Doing this properly takes two minutes and saves you from fixing the wrong edge, which is the usual reason a door gets planed twice.
2
Tighten the hinge screws first
A door that drops and catches at the top far corner is almost always hinge screws pulling out of the jamb, not swelling at all. Open the door, take the weight off it with a shim or a stack of magazines underneath, and try each screw in the top hinge. If any turns without biting, replace it with a 3 inch screw of the same head so it passes through the jamb and lands in the framing behind. That single change fixes more sticking doors than every other step here combined.
3
Shim a hinge to move the door
If the door rubs on the latch side, a thin shim behind the hinge leaf nearest the hinges pushes the door away from that edge. Cut a piece of card the size of the hinge leaf, loosen that leaf, slide the card behind it, and screw it back. If it rubs on the hinge side instead, shim the other hinge. Add one layer at a time and test between each. Two layers of card is usually the limit before it starts to look wrong.
4
Move the strike plate
When the door closes but needs a shoulder, the latch is fighting the strike rather than the frame fighting the door. Unscrew the strike plate, and either file the opening a little in the direction the latch wants, or move the plate two or three millimetres and chisel the mortise to match. Fill the old screw holes with a glued wooden matchstick before driving the new screws, otherwise they find the old hole and pull back.
5
Plane only as the last resort, and not in winter
Wood that swells with damp shrinks again when the weather dries. Take material off in February and by August the gap is wide, the door rattles and the draft is back, and wood does not go back on. If nothing above has worked and the door still binds in dry weather, plane the hinge side rather than the latch side, take off very little, and repaint the bare edge the same day so it stops drinking moisture.

What can go wrong (and how to fix it)

The ways this job usually goes sideways, and what each one is telling you.

The gap is wide at the top and tight at the bottom

That is the opening out of square, not the door. Houses settle, and in an older Los Angeles house the header can drop enough to rack the frame. Adjusting the door chases a problem that is in the building, so get the frame looked at before taking anything off the slab.

It only sticks after rain and frees up in a week

That is straightforward swelling and the door is telling you where water gets in. Sealing the top and bottom edges, which most doors never had, slows how fast it takes on moisture. Bare end grain on the bottom edge is the usual culprit.

The latch no longer reaches the strike at all

Check whether someone has planed this door before. Once too much is gone the latch cannot catch framing and no adjustment brings it back, which means a new slab. It is worth knowing that before spending an afternoon on it.

Short on time, or want it guaranteed?

Our insured pros handle door repair & installation from $120, same-week, with an upfront flat price and a satisfaction guarantee.

Book a pro See what door repair & installation includes

Door Repair & Installation we have done in Los Angeles

Real Door Repair & Installation jobs by Construction Hub. Our own photos, not stock, and not staged for this guide.

More DIY guides

How to Tell Your Gutters Are Clogged Without Climbing Up

A door that only sticks in winter is a damp problem, and an overflowing gutter is the most common source of the damp.

How to Mount a TV on the Wall

Mounting a TV yourself is doable on a drywall wall with studs.

All how-to guides

Every guide we have written, and the point in each job where it is worth handing over.

Follow Construction Hub on Facebook (opens in a new tab)

How to Fix a Door That Sticks in Winter: FAQ

Why does my door only stick in winter?

Wood takes on moisture from damp air and grows slightly across the grain. A few weeks of rain is enough to use up the clearance the door had all summer. The same door in a dry August has a visible gap on the same edge.

Should I just plane it and be done?

Not in the wet months. You would be sizing the door to its largest state, and when it dries out you own a loose door and a draft. Adjust the hinges and the strike first; those are reversible and a plane is not.

How do I know it is the hinges and not swelling?

Hinge trouble shows as a rub at the top of the latch side and a door that catches the same way all year. Swelling shows as a rub that comes and goes with the weather. Grip the door by its edge and lift; movement at the hinges means screws, not moisture.

Does this work on a sliding patio door too?

No, that is a different problem. A slider that grinds is usually flat rollers plus grit packed into the track after the Santa Ana winds, and it gets fixed by cleaning the track and replacing the rollers.

Keep a copy

Twenty things to check around an LA house each season, on one page you can print or keep on your phone.

The PDF opens as soon as you send. We'll only use your email for the next season's list.