Should I repair or replace an interior door?

Repair is usually the answer

Repair an interior door when the door itself is sound and the problem is one of the common ones: it sticks, it sags on loose hinges, the latch misses, a knob is loose or the paint is worn. Replace it when the door is warped past fixing, split, or damaged in a way that will show or fail again.

The cost of repair is usually lower, but not always. A door that needs carpentry plus refinishing can cost about the same as a new one hung in the same opening. Ask for a written price for both before you decide.

Problems that are normal and fixable

Wooden doors are subject to expansion and contraction with changes in heat and humidity, and the result can be warping and sticking.^[1] The same guide calls this normal and says it may correct itself as conditions change, so allow your home to go through at least one dry and damp season before you make other permanent changes.^[1] A door that merely sticks in August is not a reason to replace it.

These problems also point to repair:

• A loose or sagging door. Hinge screws that have worked loose can be tightened, and where existing screws were ripped out of the door or doorjamb, new screws that are longer and larger in diameter should be used when replacing the damaged hardware.^[2]
• A door that rubs. Most sticking doors can be fixed by the careful removal of small amounts of wood.^[1]
• Shrinking panels. The shrinkage of insert panels in doors, showing raw wood edges, is not uncommon due to temperature and humidity changes, and can be corrected by repainting or re-staining after the movement has stabilized.^[1]
• Small cracks. Small cracks may also develop during a dry season and may disappear during wet winter months. If they do not, they can be easily filled with wood putty, caulking compound or filler.^[1]
• A loose knob. Tighten any screws on the doorknob that are loose.^[1]

Signs that replacement makes sense

Replace the door when repair would cost more in time and money than a new one, or would not last:

• It is bowed or twisted so that it cannot lie flat against the stop, and has not eased after a full dry and damp season.
• It is split, delaminated or cracked through, or the hollow-core skin has been punched or torn at the edge where hinges and latch sit.
• The edge has been planed or trimmed more than once, leaving little wood to work with.
• It has to match something else. If you are replacing several doors for a consistent look, replacing the odd one out is cheaper than fixing it to match.
• The frame is the problem. A new door will not hang properly in a jamb that is out of square, and the frame may need work first.

Pay attention to the opening. A prehung door, which comes with its own frame, costs more than a slab but avoids matching old hinge mortises. A slab only works if the old hinge and latch positions line up.

Safety and paint in older houses

If the door is in a house built before 1978, the old paint may contain lead. Any renovation, repair, or painting (RRP) project in a pre-1978 home that has lead-based paint can easily create dangerous lead dust.^[3] That matters for stripping, sanding and planing, but not for hanging a new door in a clean opening. If you pay someone, anyone paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices.^[4]

How to hire for it

For a small door job, a handyman or carpenter is the usual choice. DPOR's consumer guide says that if the work you are considering is valued at $1,000 or more, a valid Virginia Contractor's License is required for the license category in which the contractor is to work.^[5] Replacing several doors can add up to that figure.

Ask for the price in writing, with the work, the door and the finishing listed. Virginia law requires all licensed contractors to provide a written contract for residential work.^[5] The guide's rule of thumb is an initial deposit of no more than 10% of the total price or $1,000, whichever is less.^[5]

Stop and call a pro if

• The frame, floor or wall around the door is moving. A door that keeps sticking after repair can mean the house is settling or a framing problem, not a door problem.
• The jamb is cracked, rotted or soft. Screws will not hold in it, and a new door will not fix it.
• You need to cut into the wall or frame to fit a different size of door. That is carpentry beyond a repair.
• The door is a fire-rated or garage-entry door. Do not swap it for a lighter door without checking what the opening requires.
• The job reaches $1,000 or more. That is where a Virginia contractor's licence applies.^[5]

Getting help in Virginia

For the repair itself, see how to fix a door that sticks, and for what a pro charges, how much it costs to fix an interior door in Virginia. More answers are on the Home Repair answers page, and local pros are under Doors and Windows on Loclis.

When you are ready, describe the door and local pros will quote repair or replacement.