Is your door sticking?

If your door is sticking, this does not necessarily mean that you need a new door. It is likely that your door and/or lock needs adjusting and the mechanism may need to be serviced.

Common Causes of Sticking Doors:

Dropped or Misaligned Hinges Over time, door hinges can work loose or the door can drop, causing it to catch on the frame or threshold. This is especially common with heavy uPVC and composite doors.

Swollen Wood Wooden doors naturally absorb moisture during wet weather, causing them to expand and stick in the frame. This often gets worse in winter or after heavy rain.

Worn or Damaged Mechanisms uPVC doors use multipoint locking mechanisms that can wear out or become misaligned, making the door difficult to close or causing it to stick when locking.

Settlement As buildings settle over time, door frames can shift slightly out of square, causing doors that once closed perfectly to start catching.

Weatherstripping Issues Damaged, worn, or improperly fitted weatherstripping can cause resistance when closing, making the door feel like it’s sticking.

Paint Build-up Multiple layers of paint on wooden doors and frames can gradually reduce clearance, causing sticking points.

If the door is sticking so badly that the door will not lock, you may need a replacement lock but you will usually still not need a new door.

The best thing to do is to call a local locksmith before the problem worsens, to prevent being locked out. We can give quotes over the phone and never start any work until you are happy with what we are doing and with the price.

When to Call a Professional:

While some minor sticking can be fixed with simple adjustments, you should call a locksmith if:

• The door won’t lock properly or feels insecure
• The mechanism is stiff, jammed, or making unusual noises
• The door has visibly dropped or the gap is uneven
• You can see daylight through the frame when the door is closed
• DIY adjustments haven’t solved the problem
• You’re worried about being locked out

We can diagnose the exact cause quickly and provide an honest assessment – whether that’s a simple adjustment, a replacement mechanism, or full realignment. Please see our door realignment page for more information, or give us a call and we can advise you over the phone.