What’s Causing This?

Swollen or warped timber is the most frequent reason a wooden door stops closing. Timber absorbs moisture — especially in winter or after a wet summer — and expands enough to bind against the frame. This is particularly common with external doors and those in bathrooms or kitchens. See how to tackle it in the Plane a Sticking Door guide.

Loose, worn, or damaged hinges allow the door to drop or twist in the frame. When a hinge pulls away from the timber or loses its screws, the door hangs at the wrong angle and catches on the frame or threshold. You can find a step-by-step walkthrough in the Replace a Door Hinge guide.

Misaligned latch or strike plate means the latch bolt doesn’t line up with the hole in the strike plate. The door appears to close but won’t click shut, or requires a firm push to engage. This can follow hinge movement, timber swelling, or the house settling slightly.

Building settlement or subsidence can cause the door frame itself to rack out of square. If you notice new cracks appearing around the door frame as well as closing problems, settlement may be responsible. Wide or diagonal cracks warrant further investigation — see Why Do Walls Crack for guidance on what’s serious.

uPVC door mechanism failure is a separate category. If your uPVC door won’t close or latch, the multipoint locking mechanism or hinges are more likely at fault than the door material itself. The Adjust a uPVC Door guide covers the adjustment process.

How to Diagnose the Exact Cause

1. Open the door fully and inspect the hinges. Grab the door at the latch edge and try to lift and wobble it. Any movement here points to loose or worn hinges. Check all screws — stripped or missing screws are an immediate giveaway.
2. Close the door slowly and watch where it binds or catches. Note whether it catches at the top, bottom, latch side, or corner. Binding at the top-latch corner usually means a dropped hinge; binding along the full latch edge usually means swollen timber.
3. Check the frame with a spirit level. Hold the level against the hinge jamb vertically and then across the head of the frame. A frame more than 3–4 mm out of plumb or square suggests settlement movement rather than a simple timber issue.
4. Look at the latch and strike plate. Close the door gently without latching. If it rests in the frame without binding, the latch alignment is the only problem. Smear a little lipstick or chalk on the latch bolt and close the door — it will mark exactly where the bolt is hitting the plate.
5. Check for moisture damage. Run your hand around the door edges and frame. Soft, spongy timber or visible paint bubbling indicates moisture swelling. On external doors, also check the threshold and bottom rail for rot.
6. For uPVC doors, check the hinge adjustment screws. Most uPVC hinges have three-way adjustment using a hex key. Look for visible sag at the hinge side or a gap at the top of the door when closed — both point to hinge adjustment rather than mechanism failure.

How to Fix It

Swollen or warped timber: Allow the door to dry out first if possible. Plane the binding edge back to give a consistent 2 mm clearance around the frame, then seal the bare timber immediately to prevent re-absorption. Full instructions are in the Plane a Sticking Door guide. If the door has warped severely, re-hanging or replacement may be needed — see Hang a Door for that process.

Loose or damaged hinges: Tighten screws first. If the holes are stripped, remove the hinge, pack the holes with wooden matchsticks and wood glue, allow to cure, then refit. If the hinge itself is bent or corroded, replace it — see Replace a Door Hinge for a full walkthrough.

Misaligned latch or strike plate: Slight misalignment (under 3 mm) can be corrected by filing the strike plate aperture in the direction the latch is missing. Larger misalignment requires unscrewing the plate and repositioning it — chisel the recess to match, fill the old screw holes, and refit. The Fix a Door That Won’t Close guide covers this in detail.

Building settlement: Minor settlement that has stabilised can be managed by planing the door and adjusting the frame. Active or progressive settlement requires a structural engineer’s assessment before any remedial work — see the When to Call a Tradesman section below.

uPVC door adjustment: Use a hex key to adjust the hinge screws — typically a side screw moves the door left/right and a vertical screw raises or lowers it. The Adjust a uPVC Door guide gives precise adjustment steps. If the multipoint mechanism is faulty, see Fix a uPVC Door Latch.

When to Call a Tradesman

Call a qualified joiner or carpenter if the door frame itself is racked — no longer square — and planing or adjustment alone doesn’t resolve the problem. Re-framing a door opening is not a beginner task and, on a load-bearing wall, must comply with Building Regulations (Approved Document A).

Contact a structural engineer if you notice diagonal cracks spreading from the door frame corners, especially if the cracks are new, widening, or accompanied by sloping floors or sticking windows elsewhere in the house. These are potential signs of subsidence. The HSE and RICS both advise that suspected subsidence should be professionally assessed before any remedial work is carried out — attempting DIY repairs to a moving structure can mask the problem and make it worse.

If your door is a fire door — typically found between an integral garage and the house, in a flat’s front door, or in any property where fire separation is required — any adjustment or replacement must maintain the door’s fire rating. Alterations that compromise a fire door’s integrity may breach Building Regulations. If in doubt, consult a competent joiner familiar with fire door standards or your local authority building control.

How to Prevent It Happening Again

• Seal all door edges after planing or fitting. Bare timber on the top and bottom edges is the most common entry point for moisture. Apply two coats of paint or sealant to every exposed edge, not just the face sides.
• Check and tighten hinge screws annually. A quick check each autumn before the damp season catches loose screws before they cause the door to drop and the frame to wear.
• Improve ventilation in rooms with persistent moisture. Bathrooms and kitchens with inadequate extraction drive repeated swelling in nearby doors. Addressing the humidity source is more effective than repeated planing.
• Draught-proof doors correctly. Poor fitting draught seals can create resistance that strains hinges over time. A correctly fitted seal reduces draughts without making the door hard to close — see the Draught Proof a Door guide for the right approach.