Do You Have Sticky Wooden Doors or Windows?

   If your doors are sticky, it is usually fairly simple to remedy. The first thing to look at is the door in comparison to the door opening. Get the idea that you could move the door in any way inside the opening and from that get the idea as to whether the door needs to be trimmed or if it just needs to get adjusted in the opening. If it just needs to get adjusted in the opening then it can be adjusted by either shimming the hinges out a bit or by chiseling the wood under the hinges so that the door moves left or right in the opening. By using this method you can also move the top left and the bottom right or the top right and bottom left. Now, also by moving the hinges up or down, on the frame side, you can move the whole door up or down.

   Now, if it is necessary to trim the door, you can do that with a plane or most likely it will be an edge that you cannot get the plane to (Murphy’s Law) and therefore you need to take the door off. The best way to take the door off is to take out the hinge pins by using a screwdriver and a hammer. You need to put the screwdriver under the head of the pin and hit the back of the screwdriver with the hammer, remove the pins and lay the door on its edge to trim it. Put the door back on by putting in the top hinge pin first as that makes it easier to put in the remaining pin or pins.

   If your windows are sticky or stuck totally shut, do the following. The first thing to know is that if the window is a hinged window, use the same method that I told you for a door except that you need to take out the screws that hold on the hinge as the hinge pins cannot normally be removed in the case of hinged windows.

   If you have windows that slide up and down, there is a whole different way of handling them. First you need to look at the window inside and out and see if the windows are painted shut so that they do not move. The way to fix that is to get a sharp knife or a razor knife and cut the point where the window is painted to the frame. Now that that is done, it is as simple as tapping the window up and down gently with a block of wood or a rubber hammer but don’t hit it so hard that the glass breaks. If this does not take care of the problem, it may be necessary to take out the window stop that holds the window in its track. This stop forms one side of a track that the window travels in. Sometimes, over years of age, too much paint gets into the track or the wood just swells a bit and it is too tight in its track. In this case, it is necessary to take out the window and trim it to run smoother or to adjust the stop to allow for the swelling.

   When putting back on the stop, allow a little more slack so the window can slide easier. Nail the stop on with finishing nails.

   You may find, if you do need to remove the window, that the counterweights that make it easier to move the window may be broken. At this point, if it is necessary to remove the old counterweights, take them into a hardware store or a sash and door shop to get them replaced. Or you may want to call me at this point as I could do a whole other article on replacing counterweights.

   Got questions or need help? Call me at (818) 548-8760. - Randy