Door Repair & Adjustment in San Francisco, CA
Doors are one of the clearest signs of how a San Francisco house is aging. Victorian and Edwardian homes have tall, heavy, solid-wood doors hung on frames that have shifted over a century of settling and small earthquakes. Sunset and Richmond rowhouses face months of summer fog that swells wood doors and sashes, then dry fall weather that shrinks them again. Add rental turnover, condo entry doors with self-closers, garage side doors that take the wind, and pocket doors whose hardware wore out decades ago, and there's no shortage of doors that stick, drag, rattle or won't latch.
We start by finding out why the door is misbehaving. Often the fix is tightening loose hinge screws with longer ones that reach the framing, adjusting or shimming hinges, or moving a strike plate a few millimeters. When a door has swollen or the frame has moved, we plane or trim the edge and seal the fresh wood so it doesn't absorb moisture all over again. We replace worn weatherstripping, door sweeps and thresholds, fix or replace latches and locksets, and adjust closers so doors shut gently and fully. When we leave, the door should swing freely, close quietly and latch every time.
What this covers
- Sticking and rubbing door correction
- Hinge tightening, shimming and replacement
- Strike and latch adjustment
- Planing and trimming swollen doors
- Pocket door track and hanger repair
- Weatherstripping, sweeps and thresholds
- Lockset and deadbolt replacement
- Door closer adjustment
How a door repair & adjustment visit usually goes
Diagnose the Problem
We check how the door hangs, where it rubs, whether the hinges are loose and whether the frame has moved, so we know whether to adjust, trim or replace parts.
Adjust and Reinforce
We tighten or replace hinge screws with longer ones that reach the framing, shim hinges and adjust strikes to bring the door back into alignment.
Trim and Seal
If the door is swollen or the opening has shifted, we plane or trim the edge and seal the bare wood to limit future swelling in the fog.
Test and Finish
We test the latch, lock and closer, replace weatherstripping or sweeps as needed and make sure the door swings, closes and locks smoothly.
Condo and apartment buildings have their own door issues. Many unit entry doors in multi-unit buildings are fire-rated and fitted with self-closers, and those closers need regular adjustment so the door closes completely without slamming. We can adjust or replace closers and latches, but we don't modify fire-rated doors or frames in ways that would affect their rating, and we'll check with your building manager if a repair could affect common-area doors. In older flats, back doors to stairwells and light wells often warp from exposure and need weatherstripping and adjustment to keep drafts and fog out. For garage side doors that face the ocean wind, we use rust-resistant hinges and hardware so they don't seize after a few seasons of salty air.
What shapes the price in San Francisco
Door repair cost depends on what's causing the problem and how much work it takes to correct it. Tightening hinges and adjusting a strike is quick, while planing a heavy solid-wood door, repairing a pocket door track or fixing a frame that has shifted takes longer. Replacement parts such as locksets, hinges, weatherstripping or closers add materials. Original Victorian hardware can take extra time to repair or match. Bundling several doors or other small jobs into one visit is usually the most efficient approach.
Neighbors often ask
Why does my door stick in summer but not in winter?
On the west side of the city, summer is when the fog sits over the neighborhood and the air stays damp for weeks, so wood swells. In the fall, when the sun comes out and humidity drops, the door shrinks again. We adjust the door so it works through those swings and seal any bare edges after trimming, which reduces how much moisture the wood picks up next season.
My door won't latch anymore — is the house sinking?
Usually it's normal movement, not a structural emergency. Old houses settle, framing dries and shrinks, and small quakes nudge things out of alignment. Most latching problems can be fixed by adjusting hinges, moving the strike or shimming the frame. If we see large gaps, cracked framing or doors that are badly out of square throughout the house, we'll recommend having a structural professional take a look.
Can you fix a Victorian pocket door?
Often, yes. Pocket doors usually stop working because the overhead track or hangers have worn out, a wheel has come loose or the pocket has been pinched by settling. We find the cause, repair or replace the hardware where it's accessible and trim or adjust the door so it slides smoothly. Sometimes reaching the track means opening a small section of wall or trim, which we patch afterward.
Can you replace a door instead of repairing it?
Yes, when repair doesn't make sense. We can fit a new slab into an existing frame, matching hinge locations and boring for hardware. In older homes with non-standard sizes, we may recommend repairing the original door or ordering a custom slab. When the jamb itself is rotted or racked out of square, we replace the whole frame or set a prehung unit, and on fire-rated unit entry doors we install a matching rated assembly so the door keeps its rating.
Do you rekey or replace locks?
We replace locksets and deadbolts with new hardware that matches your door's bore and backset, and we can install keyed-alike sets so one key works on several doors. For master-key systems, high-security locks or building access control, your building's locksmith or access-control vendor is usually the right call.
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Door Repair & Adjustment is one of 14 jobs our San Francisco handyman crew handles, in San Francisco and in nearby communities:
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