Door Repair near you

The gap around a closed door tells you most of what is wrong. Shut it and look along the top and both stiles: where the gap closes to nothing the door is binding, and where it opens out something has moved. A door rubbing at the top corner on the handle side, with a widening gap at the bottom, has almost always dropped on its hinges.

A good repair starts with the least destructive fix and stops as soon as the door works. Removing timber is permanent, and a door eased during a damp spell can rattle and leak draughts once it dries out, so planing is a last resort rather than a first move.

On uPVC and composite doors the equivalent is adjustment rather than cutting. Most modern hinges adjust in two or three planes with an Allen key, and a door that has dropped a few millimetres can usually be lifted back so the multipoint bolts meet their keeps cleanly. Getting that right also takes the strain off the gearbox, which is what stops the lock failing next.

Repairing a door is normally just maintenance. Replacing one can be regulated, and in the UK the answer depends on the building and on which country you are in. GOV.UK lists replacing windows and doors among the work that might need building regulations approval in England and Wales, while its exempt list covers external doors where less than half of the door is glazed, and it says you do not need to get approval yourself if you use someone registered with a competent person scheme. Scotland runs a different system: the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 is the primary legislation, local authorities grant permission for work through building warrants and issue completion certificates. Northern Ireland has its own Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and its own planning statute, the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.

Heritage controls sit on top of that. If the building is listed you will need listed building consent for any significant works, internal or external, under a regime set by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, where section 7 restricts works affecting listed buildings, section 8 provides for consent and section 9 sets out the offences. In a conservation area, a national park or an area of outstanding natural beauty additional restrictions may apply, and a council may have made an Article 4 direction removing permitted development rights. In Scotland, listed building consent and conservation area consent are handled through your planning authority, and Historic Environment Scotland maintains the listed building record. The safe habit is to ask the local planning authority before changing the appearance of a door on a visible elevation.

Flats are the third case. A flat entrance door is often a fire door, and in England the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 place duties relating to fire doors in high-rise residential buildings. If your front door is a fire door, a repair that leaves it failing to close and latch on its own has removed the protection it was fitted to give, so it should be dealt with promptly and by someone who understands what the door is for.

Britain's problem is not a short humid season but a long damp one. Timber doors take up moisture through autumn and winter and give it back slowly, which is why a door eased in February can leave a visible gap by July. If a door only binds in the wet months, the right answer is usually hinge adjustment and a well-maintained finish rather than a plane.

Draughts show themselves in the first cold, windy spell. Before renewing a weatherseal, check the door actually sits square in its frame, because a dropped or bowed door leaves gaps no seal can bridge. Close the door onto a sheet of paper at several points around the frame: where it pulls out with no resistance, the seal is not making contact. Autumn is the sensible time for this work, and it is also the time to look at the bottom of timber frames and cills, since standing water through winter is what turns a small area of soft timber into a frame replacement.

Most doors are worth repairing, and on a period or listed property repair may be the only acceptable option. Replacement earns its place when the door itself has failed structurally rather than when its hardware has worn out.