Door Repair in Boston, MA
Sticking doors, sagging hinges, and latches that won't catch, fixed at the cause so the door swings and closes like it should.
- Licensed & Insured
- Same-Day Available
- Satisfaction Guaranteed
Why You Need It
A door that sticks, drags, or will not latch is one of those things that nags at you every single day. In Boston it is usually the weather. Doors swell shut in a humid summer and the house shifts with the freeze and thaw, so hinges sag and frames go out of square. Give it long enough and every household develops its own private ritual for the one door that only closes if you lift the handle and lean into it just so — everyone in the house knows the move, nobody's ever questioned it, and guests just assume it's broken.
Pre-1950 homes in Melrose and around Boston are the most common offenders — a century of settling means the frame itself is rarely still square, so a door that was hung perfectly plumb decades ago has quietly drifted out of true.
Door repair project photo coming soon.
What It Includes
We find out why the door is acting up first, then fix the cause. That might mean planing the edge, resetting or replacing hinges, adjusting the strike plate, or re-squaring the frame. If the frame is beat up we patch the drywall around it in the same visit.
What's Included
- Sticking and dragging doors
- Doors that won't latch
- Sagging or worn hinges
- Re-squaring an out-of-square frame
- Drywall patching around the frame when needed
How Long It Takes
Most door fixes are quick, under an hour or two per door. If you have a list of them around the house we knock them all out in one trip.
On time, clean, and done right so the door swings and closes the way it should. Owner-operated, licensed, insured, satisfaction guaranteed. Part of our home repairs & odd jobs service across Boston and the North Shore.
Door Repair FAQs
Why does my door stick more in summer?
Humidity swells wood, and Boston's freeze-and-thaw cycle also shifts house framing over time, both of which throw a door frame out of square. Most doors that stick badly in July were already a little off in January — summer just finishes the job.
Do you replace hinges or just adjust them?
It depends on the cause. We reset or replace hinges depending on whether they're sagging, worn, or just need adjustment — a worn hinge pin gets swapped, a hinge that's simply loose in old, stripped screw holes gets re-set with longer screws or a filled and re-drilled hole.
Can you fix several doors in one visit?
Yes. If you have a list of doors acting up around the house, we knock them all out in one trip rather than billing you separately for each one.
What does door repair typically cost?
It's billed at our standard $100/hour with a one-hour minimum, no trip fee. Most single-door fixes — planing an edge, resetting a hinge, adjusting a strike plate — land inside that first hour. A frame that needs re-squaring or several doors on one visit takes longer, and we'll say so before we start.
Should I just try planing the door myself?
For a door that barely catches, sure, a little sanding on the high spot can hold you over. The trouble is most Boston doors that stick aren't actually swollen wood — they're an out-of-square frame, and planing the door to fit a crooked frame just moves the gap somewhere else. If you've already shaved it down twice and it's still fighting you, that's usually the frame talking.
Can you fix a door instead of replacing it?
Almost always, yes. Most sticking, sagging, or non-latching doors are a hinge, frame, or hardware problem, not a door problem, so replacing the whole door is rarely necessary. We'll tell you honestly on the rare occasion the door itself — not the frame — is actually the issue. See This Old House's door repair guide.