Ask a Pro: How do I Repair a Door Myself?

Q:  Our front door drags the sill and is hard to open.  Can we fix this ourselves?

A:  In many cases you can fix this yourself.  Understand that your door is mounted to the door-jamb, and the jamb is installed in doorway opening.  In an attempt to address your issue, try the following:

Purchase 3”-4” wood screws with a head that’ll fit your hinges. Remove one screw from the top hinge on your door and replace it with a longer screw, going through the jamb and into the doorway framing behind the jamb.  Snug this new screw up and then slowly continue to tighten it while testing your door.  If this is able to pull your door hinge a bit tighter, your door will drag less.  Make small adjustments and test, repeat until corrected.  Do this on additional hinges as required.