Repairing a wooden door which has a split panel, wobbly hinges or a loose frame is never easy. The task is obviously going to be time consuming and exhaustive. But still it is a good choice to go for repairing instead of replacement of an entire door along with the frame. Repairing is also more favourable because it requires a very little technical knowhow and you can manage the entire task with a few basic toolsets. In the following sections of the post let us explore how to repair a wooden door that is little damaged or broken.
Splits appearing in the wood
These are situations when you will discover splits in a panel of your door. These splits usually have either of the reasons as the cause – the wood in that area of the door is overly drying out or slamming the door shut every time adds to its wear and tear. Your approach to repair these splits will vary based on the finish of the wood.
Repairing a crack or split on a painted wooden door
Repairing a painted door is usually easy and uncomplicated as all you have to do is just fill up the crack or split with the right kind of wood filler. Once the filler is in place you have to wait for it to become harden. Then sand it down and apply a patch of paint to it and the damaged area looks not only fine but also matches with the rest of the door surface. According to professionals who provide repairs to timber doors, in worst case scenario you may have to repaint the entire surface area of the door for the repairing work to match with the rest of the door.
Repairing a split or a crack on a varnished or natural wooden door
- Repairing a varnished or natural wooden door involves a completely different ball game. The task is neither very simple nor easy because the wood filler that you use will remain visible. The most effective measure for the range of doors is force the two halves of the panel together. For that you have to hammer a dowel into the edge of the door.
- You have to make sure there is no varnish or debris left in the crack. In other words you have to clean away any residue and do that carefully so that there is no striping away of the wood.
- You have to drill two or three holes each 8 mm in size into the edge of the door on the location of the cracked panel. Measure the width of the door stile carefully and mark the drill bit as well. You have to drill into the side of the door just as much as needed.
- Now you have to make use of a few dowels, each 8 mm in size. You have to cut these dowels little longer than the width of the stile. A trained professional who deals with wooden door repair in London explains these dowels apply the force on the crack to bring it back together.
- Squirt sufficient amount of any PVC wood glue into the split on the wooden panel. Do not miss out the holes you drilled.
- In the next step you have to insert the dowels and knock them into the holes you drilled till the point the dowels start pushing the panel back together.
- There should be some amount of glue in excess and you have to clean that off carefully. Wait for the glue to get dry and then trim the ends of the dowel that are sticking out. You need a hacksaw to accomplish this task easily. You need sanding down the areas to give a smooth finish. Some glue may seep out of the crack and you have to sand that too so that it disappears.
Loose hinges
How do you know if a door has loose hinges or joints? It is easy as in that case almost every time while closing or opening the door catches on the floor. Just tightening the screws in the hinges usually fix this problem, assures a wooden door specialist based in London. But what if the screws do not tighten? In that case you have to get rid of those and fill the holes by drilling out a loose hole. In order to drill out the loose hole you need a 8 mm drill bit and push glued dowels inside. Once the glue dries up, trim the dowel off to size and drill new holes to set the screws in.
Wooden door joints when become loose
In course of time the corner joints of wooden doors either become loose or split apart. How do you fix this issue? First you have to remove the door and lay it on a workbench flat. Now pull the joint apart and also make sure to clear away any residual glue, grime and dirt. As a quick fix solution you can again apply glue to the joint and clamp the two sections together till the glue dries up. However as a more long lasting solution you can just pin the two sections together with a dowel.
Use the drill bit to drill a hole of 8 mm in diameter and while doing this make sure to drill through the face of the door so that it passes through the middle of the joint. Squirt in sufficient quantity of any PVC wood glue using a piece of the 8 mm dowel.
Once the glue is in place you have to knock the dowel into place so that it protrudes a little on both sides of the door suggest professionals who provide the service of wood door restoration in London. Wait for the glue to get dry and then trim the ends of the dowel. Before hanging the door again you also have to sand and either have to apply a fresh coat of paint or varnish.
Loosened frame of a wooden door
When the frame of a door becomes loose it is more or less easy to fix. If the doorway is placed in a masonry wall you can use frame plugs or if it is in a stud partition wall you need long screws. When you are making use of frame plugs you need masonry drill bit which should match the size of the plugs.
Now you have to drill three holes through the frame centre – preferably one at the top, the centre and the bottom respectively. Now hammer both the crew and the plug into the hole till the head is flushed with the surface before tightening the screws. Professionally experts at the Glazing Works London suggest at this stage these can be painted over.
