Door Repair in Vancouver
A door that worked all summer and jams every November is not broken — it is responding to the weather. Understanding which problems are seasonal and which are structural decides whether the fix is a ten-minute adjustment or a rehang.
Doors that stick in wet weather
Wood absorbs moisture from the air and expands. In a climate as wet as this one, an exterior door or a door in a poorly ventilated bathroom can gain enough width through autumn to bind in a frame it cleared in August, then free itself again in spring.
The temptation is to plane the sticking edge in winter, which leaves a visible gap for the rest of the year. Where the problem is genuinely seasonal we would rather adjust the hinges or the stop, and if planing really is needed we take material from where it will be least obvious once the door shrinks back.
Hinge sag and realignment
The most common cause of a door catching on the frame is not the door at all — it is the top hinge pulling out of the jamb. Years of weight on short screws slowly enlarges the holes, the top of the door drops toward the latch side, and it starts to bind at the top corner.
The fix is usually to replace the top hinge screws with longer ones that reach past the jamb into the framing behind. It sounds trivial and it corrects a surprising proportion of doors that people assume need replacing.
Latch and strike plate adjustment
If a door closes but does not latch, or needs a shove, the latch and the strike plate are no longer meeting. This usually follows settlement, new flooring, or the hinge sag above. Often it is corrected by moving the strike plate a few millimetres, occasionally by filing the opening slightly.
Where the misalignment is larger, moving the plate leaves the old screw holes exposed. We plug and redrill them so the new position has solid material to bite into rather than screwing into a hole that is already stripped.
Replacing hardware and weatherstripping
Handles, latches and deadbolts wear out and are usually a direct swap, provided the new hardware matches the existing backset and bore. Sending a photo and a measurement before you buy avoids the common problem of hardware that does not fit the existing holes.
On exterior doors, perished weatherstripping is worth attending to for reasons beyond draughts — it is a straightforward, low-cost change that reduces heat loss and stops wind-driven rain tracking in around the frame, which matters here more than in most climates.
What this costs
$290 minimum callout · $145/hr · $540 half day
Charged by time, not by task. Most lists of small jobs land between the two-hour minimum and a full day.
Materials are always separate from labour and passed on at cost. Quotes are free and written, and the full rate card is published rather than given out on request.
Common questions
Why does my door only stick in winter?
Wood expands as it takes up moisture from damp air. The door is not damaged. Planing it in winter usually leaves a visible gap by summer, so hinge or stop adjustment is generally the better fix.
Can a sagging door be fixed without replacing it?
Almost always. The usual cause is the top hinge working loose in the jamb, corrected by fixing through into the framing behind rather than replacing the door.
Do you handle sliding and closet doors?
Yes — sliding, bifold and pocket doors are common callouts. Most problems are rollers, tracks or alignment rather than the door itself, though pocket doors sometimes need part of the casing removed to reach the mechanism.