Someone in your household has decided that life is too short to be stopped by a hinged block of wood and, as a result, has delivered terrible wrath upon your door. Whether you’re a frat boy doing damage control before your chapter’s president does his rounds or an irritated homeowner seeking to save money, you might be able to fix a kicked in door yourself – it just requires a bit of time and a few materials from your local hardware store. (If you’re the victim of a break-in, be sure to call the police before attempting to fix your door, as it might become evidence in a criminal investigation.)
Here are a few steps to restore your door to its former glory:
1) Obtain all the necessary materials. You will need a putty knife, diagonal pliers, a screwdriver, wood glue, clamps, chisel, 11/4-inch finish nails, a hammer, a set of nails, a putty crayon, and a stain marker. In some cases, you may also need replacement casing, and a miter saw…and it’s not a bad idea to get thick gloves for safety.
2) Determine specifically how your door has been damaged. Typically, a door is broken in by a kick landing just above the knob, which causes a split in the jamb (the part of the frame across the stop from the hinges) running up to the casing (the top part of the frame). Remove the casing with the putty knife and use the pliers to remove any remaining nails.
3) Carefully remove any parts of the wood that are chipped off using the putty knife. If the casing is damaged, it must be replaced.
4) Look at the strike plate, the long piece of metal nailed into the frame around the lock. If the crack runs behind it or the strike plate is damaged, remove it using the screwdriver.
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5) If the jamb has been displaced, push it back to its original position and clean out any debris using the putty knife. If the jamb cannot be pushed together tightly, it must be replaced. Put the glue on the putty knife and spread it on the inside of the crack, and then push the sides of the jamb together with clamps until they fit together tightly. Let the glue dry for an hour, and then remove the clamps.
6) Screw back on the striker plate, if necessary.
7) Nail the casing back onto the frame with the nail set and hammer. Putty any holes with a putty crayon of matching color, and use the stain marker to color over where the jamb was split, after removing excess glue.
Of course, if you’re short on time or the damage is too extensive, head over to TalkLocal – we’ll help you find the perfect contractor without the research-schedule-wait headache.
