# Door sticks or rubs the frame: how to fix it

Updated: 2026-10-24 · https://pros411.com/en/guides/handyman/door-sticks

## Short answer

If a door sticks or rubs the frame, look for the shiny, worn spot where it rubs. Usually it is the top corner on the latch side, from a loose top hinge. Tighten the hinge screws and swap one for a 3-inch screw that reaches the stud. Still rubbing? Sand that spot lightly and seal the bare wood. Plane the door only as a last resort.

## How to fix a door that sticks

![Cartoon door straining as its top corner rubs the frame, a glove pushing it](https://pros411.com/img/guias/door-sticks.webp)

1. **The door sticks at the top corner.** You have to push or lift it to close it. Most of the time the door sagged and its top corner, on the latch side, rubs the frame.
2. **Find where it rubs.** Look for shiny, worn paint on the door edge or the frame. The gaps tell you too: wide at the top hinge side, tight at the top corner.
3. **Long screw in the top hinge.** Tighten all the hinge screws. Then swap one screw on the frame side of the top hinge for a 3-inch screw. It reaches the stud and pulls the door up.
4. **Still rubs? Sand that spot and seal it.** Sand the rubbing spot lightly with a sanding block, then paint or seal the bare wood so it does not soak up moisture and swell again.
5. **It swings free.** Open and close it a few times. The gap should look even all around, about 1/8 inch.

## Why doors stick

- Loose hinge screws, especially on the top hinge: the door sags toward the latch side.
- Humidity: wood swells in a wet summer and shrinks in winter. A door that sticks only part of the year is usually this.
- Layers of paint on the door edge or the frame.
- The house settling. If the door sticks along with a new crack in the wall nearby, it could be the foundation.

## What not to do

- Do not plane the door in a humid summer: in winter you will have a big gap.
- Do not leave planed or sanded wood bare. Unsealed wood swells even more.
- Do not force a stuck exterior door with your shoulder: you can bend the hinges or split the frame.

## When to call a handyman

- Several doors started sticking at once, or there is a new crack in the wall near the frame.
- The door needs planing and you cannot take it off and seal it.
- The frame is out of square or the wood is soft or rotten.
- It is an exterior door that also lets in water when it rains.

Find handyman in your city: https://pros411.com/en/handyman

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is my door sticking all of a sudden?

Most often humidity: the wood swelled. If the weather is dry, the top hinge probably worked loose and the door sagged. Check the hinge screws first.

### How do I fix a door that sticks at the top?

Tighten the top hinge, then swap one of its screws on the frame side for a 3-inch screw that reaches the stud. That pulls the door back up and away from the frame.

### Should I plane a sticking door?

Only as a last resort. Try the hinges and light sanding first, and plane in dry weather. Seal the bare wood afterward or it will swell again.

### Can a sticking door mean a foundation problem?

It can, if several doors stick at once or new cracks show up in the walls around them. One door that sticks in summer is usually just humidity.

### How much gap should a door have around it?

About 1/8 inch along the top and both sides. An even gap means the door hangs straight.