How to Fix a Sagging Door 11 Ways

Your door’s fate sometimes hinges on a few screws. These screws, while seemingly insignificant, are what help your hinges keep your door in place. So if they’re loose, your hinges can’t function properly. To remedy this, use a screwdriver or drill to tighten all the screws on the door and jamb.

If your screws are tightened, and there are no changes to your door’s condition, another problem could be with the size of your hinge screws. Some doors are installed with 1-inch screws, which don’t dig into the frame and stud enough to provide your door with the support it needs. You’ll need to replace them with 3-inch screws. Remove all the screws in your hinges and replace the center screw with a 3-inch screw, and place 2-inch screws in the top and bottom screw holes.

When there’s too much weight on your door, it can strain your hinges, which can loosen and strip the screw holes. New longer screws won’t fix this problem—you’ll need to fill them in. First, see if the screw holes are stripped on the jamb or door. If they are, remove the hinge screws from the door jamb using a cordless drill or screwdriver.

Use a dowel and conduct a dry fit test, pushing it slightly in to ensure it’s the right size. Then take it out and apply carpenter’s glue on the dowel and inside the screw hole. Place the dowel back into the hole flush against your jamb or door. Allow the glue to dry for the recommended time. Once dry, drill pilot holes into the dowel and put the hinges and screws back in place.

Another method to deal with a misaligned door is adding shims behind your hinges. Look at your door to see what hinge is causing it to sag, and remove its screws using a screwdriver or drill. Cut a thin piece of cardboard or plastic, like a playing card, to fit the area (typically the vertical space closest to or furthest from the hinge’s barrel where the hinge pins are). Then, add shims, as many as needed, and place them between your hinge and door jamb. Replace your screws and tighten them on the opposite side you put your shims first. 

While placing something behind your shims might fix your problem, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, spacers can be what’s causing your door to sag. If you have spacers behind your hinges, remove them and see if that helps realign your door.

Paint behind your hinges can prevent them from being flush in their mortise. To remove this paint and help realign your door, take the screws out of your hinges. Clean any paint on the hinges using a heat gun and putty knife, or use a wood chisel for paint on the mortise. You can also remove your hinges, soak or boil them in water to loosen up stubborn paint, and then use a wire brush to scrape away any lingering paint.

Hinges at the end of their life span are likely damaged and won’t work as efficiently, in which case, it’s time to replace your door hinges. If you can’t find the same ones you currently have, you’ll need to replace all of them to ensure that the weight of your door is evenly distributed between them.

If replacing the hinge screws doesn’t work, another option is to pull the jamb on the latch side to the framing. You’ll do this using a countersink drill bit to drill a pilot hole in the area that’s causing your door to sag. Make sure you’re using the right bit for your 3-inch screw. Then drill your screw into the hole and cover it with wood filler.

If you’ve tried all the other methods and your door is still sagging, you might need to plane your door. Mark the area where your door is sagging and causing an improper fit. Use a door planer to shave down your door in the areas you marked until you can close it easily. After you’ve sanded it, use paint or varnish to cover the exposed wood grain. However, it’s worth noting that you can only plane a solid wood door. Hollow-core doors are mostly hollow with honeycomb cardboard inside, so you can do more harm than good to plane it.

Besides planing your door, you can also sand your door jamb. While sanding won’t stop your door from sagging, this method will make opening and closing it easier. Use a sander to sand the part of your door jamb where your door is sagging. Then paint or varnish it when you’re finished.

The door’s strike plate could be the cause of a sagging door. If it’s not aligned with the door latch, the door doesn’t properly close, which could cause it to sag. It’s a simple check—just close the door and see if the latch and strike plate align.

If you need to realign the strike plate, loosen the screws slightly and adjust it so it lines up with the latch. When you’re sure it’s in the right position, retighten the screws and try closing the door again to see if it fixes the problem.