Fix A Sticking Door With An Easy Shim Trick For Perfect Alignment

You recently moved into a new-to-you house and you're slowly working through all its little quirks. One that has you reaching for the wood plane or electric sander is a sticky, wonky door. How to fix an annoying sticky door fast? You could plane the top, restoring the gap and reducing the door frame rubbing. But what, then, should you do about the gap at the bottom of the door? Actually, there's a better option that involves nothing more than good observation skills, a screwdriver, and a little patience — and leaves that door intact. We're talking here about a cheap, small plastic or metal fixture called a shim. Pop one (or more) behind the hinges of your door and it'll be back in alignment in no time flat.

Shims are exceedingly thin, making them easy to slide into place without, in some cases, even having to take the hinge off. They work with standard wooden household doors and commercial steel, fiberglass, or aluminum doors. Plus, you can double or triple-fold them before inserting them to create more width if needed. Nifty! An out-of-alignment door has a few causes, from loose screws to changes in weather across the seasons. It could even be a sign there's a problem with your home's foundation. Shims work best to fix the uneven gaps between the door frame and the door and the striker-strike plate mismatch that these issues cause. Though they're technically easy to insert, understanding which type of shim is best for your door, under which of the three door hinges to place a shim, and how many shims to insert is a decidedly trickier prospect.

Before you head to the hardware store to buy shims, measure your door hinges to check whether they're 3.5 or 4 inches long. You'll need to buy shims that match these dimensions. Look for the plastic shims with cut-outs that fit neatly around the screws that hold your hinges in place in the door frame. A 10-pack of KS Hardware 4-inch door hinge shims in black PVC is about $15 on Amazon. Menards sells 3.5-inch ACP interior door hinge shims for close to $3 for a pack of 10. Note that experts don't recommend cardboard or paper shims because they break down too quickly.

Take a close look at the door and note where the gaps are — or aren't. Their location determines where the shims go. For example, if you find your door is tilting to the right, with larger gaps at the bottom left and top right, you'll need to place at least one shim in the bottom hinge to push your door up and to the left. Scrape any paint from using a multi-tool, and loosen the screws on the door frame (not the door) hinge enough to slip the shim underneath. Re-tighten the screws and stand back to eyeball the gaps, checking to see if they look more even. If you were trying to fix a door that won't stay open, test that it now does. For striker issues, listen for that satisfying click. If you still see gaps or your other tests fail, you might need to add more shims to one or more hinges.