How to Fix a Sagging Interior Door That Sticks or Drags

A door that sags, sticks, or refuses to latch is one of those problems that starts as a minor annoyance and compounds into a daily frustration. The good news: the fix is almost always mechanical and fixable without buying a new door.

A door that sags, sticks, or refuses to latch is one of those problems that starts as a minor annoyance and compounds into a daily frustration. The good news: the fix is almost always mechanical and fixable without buying a new door. Most sagging interior doors are cured with a few longer screws and 20 minutes of work.

This guide works through the fixes in order from simplest to most involved — start at the top and stop when the door works.

What You Need

• 3-inch wood screws for hinge repair — the most important fix for most sagging doors
• Hinge shims / card shims — for correcting hinges that are recessed too deep
• Hand plane or door planer — for removing material from a sticking door edge
• Strike plate replacement kit — if the latch needs a repositioned strike plate
• Drill and driver bits — for driving new screws
• Utility knife and chisel — for adjusting hinge mortises or strike plate pockets

Step 1: Diagnose the Problem

Before reaching for tools, spend two minutes diagnosing what’s happening. Close the door slowly and watch:

Where does it catch? A drag at the top latch corner is classic hinge sag — the door has dropped and the top corner now contacts the door stop or frame. A drag along the full latch edge suggests the frame is out of plumb. A drag at the bottom indicates the door has swollen with humidity.

Check the hinges. Swing the door to 90 degrees and examine each hinge. Push and pull the door at the latch side — any movement indicates loose hinge screws or a hinge pulling away from the jamb. Look for gaps between the hinge leaf and the jamb surface, or visible screw heads that have backed partway out.

Try the screws. Using a screwdriver (not a drill — you need feel), try tightening each hinge screw. If any turn without gripping, the screw hole is stripped and needs the long screw fix in Step 2.

Check if the latch catches the strike plate. Close the door and engage the latch. Does the latch bolt meet the strike plate opening or does it hit the face of the plate? A latch that hits the face of the plate rather than entering the opening means the door has dropped enough that the latch has moved below the strike plate hole.

Step 2: The Long Screw Fix (Most Effective Repair)

For most residential interior doors, the top hinge bears the majority of the door’s weight. When the top hinge screw holes strip out, the door sags. This is the most common cause and the long screw fix resolves it permanently.

Remove the top hinge leaf from the jamb only (leave it attached to the door). You don’t need to take the door off its hinges — just unscrew the hinge from the door frame side.

Examine the screw holes. The original screws were probably 3/4 inch to 1 inch long — barely reaching into the jamb wood. Stripped holes will be enlarged and won’t grip when you insert the old screws.

Install 3-inch screws. Select screws with the same head style as the originals (usually a flat-head or oval-head that countersinks into the hinge leaf hole). Drive a 3-inch #9 or #10 screw through each hinge hole in the jamb leaf. Drive slowly — the screw will pass through the jamb, through the trimmer stud, and bite into the king stud behind. You’ll feel it seat solidly in fresh wood.

Only one or two screws per hinge need to be the long 3-inch version. The short screws are adequate for pulling the hinge leaf flat against the jamb. The long screws carry the structural load.

Re-hang the hinge leaf on the jamb and test the door. Many doors that have sagged for years are fully corrected by this single repair.

Repeat for other hinges if needed. If the door still sags after fixing the top hinge, check the middle and bottom hinges as well. On a three-hinge door, the middle hinge also carries significant weight.

Step 3: Shim a Hinge That’s Recessed Too Deep (Binding on the Hinge Side)

While most sagging doors bind on the latch side, a door that binds along the hinge side has the opposite problem — the hinges are mortised too deep into the jamb, pulling that side of the door closer to the frame and creating a bind.

You can feel this: the door hinge edge presses tightly into the door stop while the latch side has a wide gap — or the door springs open when you release the knob, driven by hinge pressure.

Fix with hinge shims. Hinge shims are thin cardboard or plastic strips that fit behind the hinge leaf to move it outward (away from the mortise bottom). You can buy pre-cut hinge shims or cut your own from a business card or thin cardboard.

Open the door and unscrew the hinge leaf from the jamb. Slide one or two shims into the mortise. Re-mount the hinge. The added thickness behind the hinge moves the hinge leaf slightly outward, correcting the over-mortising. Test the door — if it still binds, add another shim layer; if it now binds on the latch side, you’ve over-shimmed.

Step 4: Plane the Door Edge

If the long screw fix and shim adjustments haven’t resolved the sticking, or if the door frame is genuinely out of square (confirmed with a level), you’ll need to remove material from the door edge where it contacts the frame.

Mark the contact point. Rub a candle or chalk along the door stop edge or door frame jamb where you think the door is catching. Close the door — the mark transfers to the door surface at the contact point. This shows exactly where to plane.

Remove the door. Support the door at the bottom. Tap the lower hinge pin upward with a screwdriver and hammer, then the middle, then the top. Have a helper hold the door — a 32-inch interior door weighs 25–40 pounds.

Plane the marked area. Use a block plane or a belt sander. Work with the grain (horizontal on the top and bottom edges, vertical on the sides). Take thin shavings and test fit frequently — once you’ve removed too much, the gap is permanent and will require filling and planing again.

For a door that’s catching at the top latch corner: plane from that corner toward the center of the top edge, tapering so the maximum removal is at the corner. This is the most common scenario for a sagging door.

Seal the planed edge. Raw wood on an unsealed door edge will absorb moisture and cause the door to swell again. Apply a coat of primer, paint, or finish to the planed area before hanging the door.

Re-hang the door. Set the bottom hinge pin first, then middle, then top. Tap each pin in fully with a hammer. Test operation.

Step 5: Adjust the Strike Plate

After fixing the door’s hang, the strike plate may need adjustment to properly capture the latch bolt. This is especially true if the door has sagged significantly and the latch has been scraping the wrong area of the plate for a long time.

Minor adjustment (less than 1/8 inch): Remove the strike plate and use a small metal file to enlarge the strike plate opening in the direction the latch needs to move. For a door that was sagging, the latch was hitting too low on the plate — file the bottom of the opening slightly to let the latch pass through. Test the fit, file more if needed, and reinstall the plate.

Major adjustment (more than 1/8 inch): The strike plate needs to be repositioned. Mark the correct position by closing the door and pressing the latch against the jamb — it will leave a mark showing where the latch now sits.

Remove the strike plate. Fill the old screw holes with toothpicks and wood glue. Chisel a shallow mortise at the new position if the plate will be recessed (most interior strike plates are). Drill pilot holes for the new screw position. Mount the strike plate. Test the latch engagement before setting screws fully.

Latch bolt that’s too tight in the strike plate opening. If the latch engages but requires force to close, the latch bolt is rubbing the strike plate opening edges. Apply lipstick to the latch bolt face, close and open the door, then examine the strike plate — the transfer shows exactly which part of the opening is causing friction. File that spot.

When to Call a Carpenter or Contractor

Call a professional if:

• Multiple doors in your home are sticking — this indicates structural settling that affects the whole house, not individual door problems
• The door frame itself is visibly out of plumb by more than 1 inch — shimming and planing can compensate for moderate frame movement but not major structural shifts
• The door or frame shows signs of water damage — swollen wood, rot, or mold require more extensive repair before door adjustment makes sense

Related Reading

• How to Fix a Door That Won’t Close
• How to Fix a Door That Won’t Latch
• How to Fix a Squeaky Door Hinge