Windows and doors that moved easily a few months ago can grind to a halt in summer.
It’s the humidity. Moisture soaks into unprotected wood, causing expansion and too tight a fit. Naturally, stain or paint that prevents the problem wears away first where you need it most–along the edges where doors and windows slide and swing.
Cutting down a balky door would help. But creating a roomy fit now can leave large gaps when the wood loses moisture and shrinks in winter. The best solution is often a compromise.
One or more of these options can create a workable fit year- round.
– Pinpointing trouble spots. Raw or rough wood along contact areas is an obvious sign of trouble.
But when sticking points aren’t so clear, find them by dusting the edge of a door with colored chalk–the kind carpenter’s use in chalk boxes to snap straight lines. When you close the door the chalk on the door edge will leave telltale traces on the tight spots along the jamb that need sanding.
– Checking hinges and locks. Wrestling with balky doors sometimes loosens the hinges or locks, which causes even more sticking. So before you start sanding or planing, make sure the hinges, locks and keepers are secure. If a hinge screw spins in place without tightening, remove it and drive a longer screw.
(Make sure the new screw head seats flush with the hinge.) If all else fails, fill the hole with a piece of wooden dowel or even a few wooden matchsticks so the screw threads will engage and tighten down the hardware.
– Making minor adjustments. If a door, window or drawer rubs just a little, the fit is probably within the limits of seasonal movement. In that case, stay away from major surgery like cutting a 1/4-inch off the door edge and try some light sanding instead. If there’s one obstructing bump of wood a sharp block plane will remove it.
Be wary of grinding down wood with a rasp. It roughens the surface so much that the wood absorbs even more moisture than it used to.
– Slicing through painted windows. To rescue windows that have been painted closed, use a utility knife to slice through seams where the sash rides next to the trim. On double-hungs, also check along the edges where the sash meet.
If the window still won’t budge, paint may have seeped around the edges of the sash.
Scraping and sanding the track where the unit slides will improve the fit–if you can get the sash moving. If not, the cumbersome solution is to carefully pry off the stop and remove the sash so you can work on the edges and the tracks.
– Adjusting weatherstripping. If there is room for weatherstripping, you’ll probably find that adhesive foam strips and most other add-ons work well until you open and close the door or window a few tines. They tend to tear and break away.
On units with metal V-strip weatherstripping you can adjust the fit by prying open the V a bit or by compressing it.
On problem doors, particularly those that are used a lot, consider upgrading to interlocking metal weatherstripping. This intricate installation is generally left to specialty contractors–often at $150 and up per door.
In a nutshell, doors are cut back, grooves are routed in mating edges and segmented metal stripping is inserted and adjusted.
– Scraping sliders. If a wood sliding door (or any other type) is balky, first clear the tracks of debris and lightly oil the raised rib that the wheels slide along. Also refit or trim off any protruding chunks of weather-stripping. Then lower the wheel carriages to increase door clearance along the track. The carriages are tucked inside the base and have an adjusting screw you can reach with a screwdriver.
Before you make an adjustment, unload the door weight with a pry bar or wedge.
– Leaving room for sealer. To lock in the adjustments of sanding or planing you need to protect the raw edges with some kind of sealer. If not, the problem will reoccur quickly as the exposed wood soaks up moisture.
Paint, usually two coats, takes up the most room. You need to create a surprisingly loose fit to have the space for two coats of fresh paint on mating surfaces. Penetrating stain is often a better choice because most of it seeps into the wood grain instead of lying on the surface.
