How to Fix a Warped Door? (Step-By-Step Tutorial)

Doors add beauty to a home, but like any other wooden object, these fixtures can become warped. This problem can prevent the door from closing and sealing properly.

The danger of having a warped door is that it becomes easy for intruders, burglars, and pest to gain easy access into your home. Knowing how to fix a warped door will save you a lot of worries. You can easily fix it yourself if you carefully follow the simple steps outlined in this article.

Tools and Materials for Fixing Warped Wooden Door

To fix a warped door, you need the right tools and materials. Some of the tools and materials required to straighten a warped door include:

• Paintbrush
• Wood varnish
• Sawhorses
• Sandpaper
• Screwdriver
• Heavy towels
• Measuring Tape
• 50-lb sandpaper

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Fix a Warped Door

If you are wondering how to straighten a warped door, you will find out soon that it is easy and fun. Here are the simple and easy steps to follow:

Step 1: Ge the Measurement of the Door

Use a measuring tape to get the door’s dimensions and know the extent of the damage. Usually, it is easy to spot a warped area on the door, but sometimes this can be much more severe. Carefully measure the length and width to ascertain the areas the bending occurred, and write down the figures and your observation.

Step 2: Take out the Door

Open the door as wide as it can go, and then use a screwdriver to take out the screws that hold the door to the hinges. The screws holding the door are the ones to remove. Once the screws are out, you can carefully pull out the door from the position.

Step 3: Cut with Saw

Check where the warping occurred and use a saw to cut off only the visibly warped areas. If the bottom is the part affected, saw it off a bit until the door fits into the frame.

If the door is short due to warping, look for a plank or lumber and measure how much of it you need. Cut it with a saw and add to the door and be sure it covers the space that was open previously.

Step 4: Apply Finishing

Sand down the wood you saw until they are smooth enough before caulking all the door frame edges. This approach will prevent the joint between the old and new wood from getting damp or coming tearing apart. Place the door in its position in the door frame and check if it fits well, and then allow the caulking to dry.

How to Fix a Warped Door with Heavy Object

When it comes to how to fix a warped door, there are many options to choose from. Placing a heavy object on the door will help a lot to fix soft or solid wood doors warping.

Step 1: Get Door off Hinges

Bring out your sawhorses and place them at five feet apart in a safe spot. Once you have gathered all the tools and materials needed, unscrew the door from its hinges on the door frame.

Place the door on the two sawhorses and make sure the bowed sides face up. After placing the door across the sawhorses, sand the door from top to bottom.

Step 2: Straighten Warped Door

Once the door you have sand it from top to bottom, the next thing is to examine the warp area. Find out the extent of warp to know the best method to use for fixing or flattening the door. If there is a slight bow, place a sandbag or any object with the same weight on the warped area.

Allow the sandbag to rest on it for 24 hours until you are sure the warp is no longer there. If the warping on the door is terrible, wet a thick towel in water and place it on the warped spot only. Wet the towel again and rest an object with 5 or 10 pounds of weight on it until it straightened out.

Step 3: Add Coating to Door

Any method you choose to straighten the door should be able to fix it. After applying your preferred method, allow the affected area to dry and then coat the whole door to prevent future warping.

Other Ways to Fix a Warped Door

Apart from the efficient methods mentioned above, there are other ways to fix a warped door. You can choose any to fix a misaligned door properly.

1. Use a Jointer

If you are looking for how to straighten a warped wooden door quickly, then consider this method.  Use a jointer to remove 1/16 of an inch of wood, and place the door on the jointer, making sure the crown is facing up.

Switch on the jointer and gently move the door across it but add a little pressure at the top. Keep doing it that way until the part under is flat, and then turn over to the other side and repeat the same process.

Using a jointer to straighten a wooden door is great, although it causes more damage or ruins the door finishes.

2. Adjust the Warped Door

If the door is warped, check to know whether you can correct it by adjusting the stop. Move the hinges a little or add an extra one so that the bend position on the door won’t prevent the door from closing. If there is a bow at the hinge section, add another hinge between the upper and lower one, then move the door until it aligns.

But if the bow is close to the door lock and you only shut the door by slamming it hard, then adjust the latch and recheck it. Reposition the stop in a way similar to fixing a window, and move the strike plate a little. If the top or bottom part of the door does not join the stop on the lock, readjust the stop and the strike plate.

Helpful Tips to Prevent Doors from Warping

• Avoid adjusting your doors during weather change to avoid warping. The difference in temperature often is a sign of possible warping on doors.

• Protect your door by using a sealant to keep moisture from affecting the door. Exterior doors are more prone to warping, but polyurethane sealant is especially suitable for sealing exterior doors and preventing damage from environmental factors.

• Ensure you put a cover on the doorway

• Polish the door regularly, at least two times a year

• When buying an exterior door, choose the one made from fiberglass instead of a wooden door.

• Use weather resistant doors
• Control the effect of moisture on your door with the use of a dehumidifier since water is a significant cause of warping

Wrap Up

It would be best if you protect your door from unfavorable weather conditions that cause warping. A warped door creates a crack or open space, making it easy for burglars and pests to gain easy access into your home. This article mentioned ways on how to unwarp a door.

Ensure to get the right tools and materials, measure the door, remove, and then straighten it with your chosen method. But the best thing is to protect the door from moisture so that you go through the stress to unwarp it.