Is there anything more frustrating than buying a stunning new door, hanging it, and then realising that the bottom of the door is sticking?

Or perhaps you’ve had a small issue with your door and it’s gradually got worse and worse and now it’s causing a problem?

Or you may have recently installed new carpets and it’s impacting the functionality of your door.

Thankfully, this isn’t necessarily a problem with the door itself, but there is a very simple solution. All you have to do is take the door out of its frame, plane the bottom and reinstall it.

We’ve got some simple step-by-step instructions for you to follow but first, we wanted to answer some questions we get asked regularly when it comes to door planing.

If you want to skip straight to the step-by-step instructions, click here.

What is a Door Plane?

A door plane is a handheld device that you move from one edge of the door to the middle, then repeat the same from the other edge of the door to the centre to shave the door down. This results in a slightly shorter door with an incredibly smooth surface. The more you plane, the shorter or thinner the door becomes.

When Would You Use a Planer?

You would use a planer if you needed to take an incredibly small amount off a door, so little that you wouldn’t be able to use a saw, for example.

An example might be if you have an older door frame that has warped over time, or the door itself may have warped, causing the whole door to jam. It may even only affect one side of the door, which leads to it sticking or catching on the floor as you try to open it.

It may not be much of a problem at first, but over time it will become irritating and could even damage your flooring.

Do You Plane the Top or Bottom of a Door?

The beauty of a door plane is that you can use it on any edge of the door including the sides, top and bottom surface of the door.

With that said, the instructions later on in this post are specifically for tackling the bottom edge to stop the door from sticking when opening, although the process is transferable.

How Much Can You Plane off a Door?

A door can be planed thanks to the lipping, which is a separate piece of wood that’s been attached to the actual door. Different doors come with different-sized lippings.

This is important because you can only plane or trim a certain amount off the lipping. If you take off too much, you damage the door to the point where you’d have to replace the entire thing.

Before you uninstall your door or pick up a hand plane, be sure to check how much you can remove while keeping the door intact. If you’re unsure, it’s worth contacting the manufacturer before you begin.

If you purchased the door from us, feel free to get in touch for advice. We will be happy to help where we can.

Can You Plane a Door with a Sander?

Using sandpaper is another option when trying to fix a sticking door. This approach is usually taken if you’re trying to shorten the door while it’s in situ, rather than taking it off its hinges to plane and then reinstall.

Can I Plane a Hollow Core Door?

Yes, you can. So long as you don’t remove more than the recommended amount from the lipping, you shouldn’t have a problem using a hand planer on a hollow core door.

How to Trim a Sticking Door

There are two methods to trimming a door that’s getting caught on the floor when being opened or closed: trimming a door that’s been taken down from the frame and trimming it in situ. We will run you through both.

How to Plane the Bottom of a Door (when Uninstalled)

If you’re using the planing method, you’ll need to take the door off the hinges. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Tools you’ll need

• painter’s tape
• 1x hammer
• 1x nail set
• 1x pencil

Step one: Make a note of where the door is catching on the floor, it may be helpful to use a pencil to mark the problem area.

Step two: Use the hammer and nail set to jimmy the hinge pins between the hinges up and away.

Step three: Take the door down (this may need two people), place it on a stable surface and apply painter’s tape to the bottom to help protect the paint or finish surrounding the door.

Step four: If the door is only catching on one part, use the block plane (some opt for an electric planer), start at the furthest point from the centre and apply steady but light pressure in a straight line towards the middle of the door where there’s a problem.

Step five: Rehang the door and try opening and closing it. If there’s still a problem, follow steps one to four again until it operates smoothly.

We appreciate that this may feel time-consuming and you may want to trim off a bigger chunk each time, but we recommend only taking off a little at a time. The last thing you want is to plane too much wood away and end up with a wonky door that simply creates another problem (one that’s much more difficult to resolve).

Step six: Once you’ve got a perfectly hung door, you may need to repaint or finish the parts you planed.

Step seven: When you’re satisfied with the results, reinstall the door in its frame.

How to Plane the Bottom of a Door (on the Hinges)

If you don’t have another set of hands to help, another option is to sand the wood door in situ. Here’s what you do:

Tools you’ll need

• 1x rough sandpaper

Step one: Find the problem area by opening and closing the door.

Step two: Place the sandpaper grain side up angled in the area the door sticks when opening and closing. Open and close the door so that the door sands itself.

Step three: Repeat this until the door opens and closes smoothly.

And that’s really all there is to it.

Whether you opt for a planing tool and take the door down or sanding the door as it hangs, we hope this helps to resolve your door sticking problem.

Vibrant Doors has been supplying high-quality, stunning exterior and interior doors in a wide range of styles. Browse our selection for excellent prices and swift delivery.