Doors are sticky and noisy when opened?

Question

For some reason, the doors in our house make a very loud "unsticking" sound when you open them.

It's almost as if the paint isn't cured, since the sound seems to come from the contact area around the frame, where the door touches the doorframe -- but this house has not been painted in 5 years.

This loud "unsticking" door opening noise doesn't seem like a big problem, and I suppose it isn't, but since I'm a night owl, so when I open doors it tends to wake my wife up. And that's not good for ye olde marital harmony.

What can I do to make the doors in our home open more quietly without this sticking sound?

Should I somehow lubricate the frame (I'm worried that it'll collect dust or other particles and look bad)? Maybe use sandpaper to rough the paint up so it's less likely to stick?

Answer 1

By what you're describing, I assume you have paint on the outer edges of the door and the inside of the door frame. Paint doesn't make a good lubricant. And the door may not have been fitted to have the clearance for a coat of paint, or three coats if its an older house. And then when its humid and the door expands a bit, the paint rubs catches against the paint on the other surface.

If that is true, you could sand down or strip the offending parts until they clear each other without touching (and possibly repaint with a single coat if you need to). I'd expect sanding only to "rough it up" to increase the friction, not make it better.

Answer 2

The problem is simply that the paint we use now (latex) sucks. The best way to fix it that I've found is to use some clear wax (paraffin wax); just rub it into the door jamb. It works.

Answer 3

I know what you mean ... Every time I open the interior doors I hear a "sticking" almost "cracking" sound. Not like it's "out of kilter" or too tight because the door swings open/closed freely. It sort of sounds like the paint is "sticking" or like when you try to pull cellophane tape off off of itself when it gets tangled.

It was driving me crazy so I put my ear up to the door and slowly opened/closed (REPEATEDLY) to determine exactly when/where the door was "cracking". I eventually discovered it was coming from the part of the door where the door meets the door jam. (For me, it was the right side of the door closest to the hinges). It looked like when the house was painted years ago, the paint wasn't fully dried and stuck together. When the door was closed the paint stuck together ...then when it was eventually opened, some of the paint from the jam got stuck onto the door creating a jagged buildup of paint on the door.

When looking closely you could see little "peaks and valleys" on the door that fit perfectly into the "valleys and peaks" on the door jam (like a puzzle) exposing the previous color of paint. Every time the door opened, the paint "puzzle pieces" made a "sticking" sound as they released.

I used a sanding block to take down the elevated areas of the paint on the door and jam. This fixed the "sticking" sound and since it's very cold and humid at this time of year, I'll hold off re-painting 'til the weather changes so the paint can FULLY dry before re-hanging the doors.

Answer 4

Is your sticking sound accompanied by what feels like a little drag on the door as it clears the jamb? If so, then the door is rubbing on the jamb. First check the tightness of your hinge screws, and if they're all reasonably tight and you're still getting the rubbing, you'll need to sand or plane down the offending edge(s) of the door and repaint.

If there's no extra drag, and just a little pop as the door first breaks away from the stop (the moulding it closes against when fully closed), then it's likely the paint is just a bit sticky. I'd try giving it a good cleaning with 409 or something. If that doesn't help, for a quick and easy fix you could try to isolate where it's sticking and strategically apply some scotch tape just to that area inside the stop moulding where the door touches. Shouldn't be too noticeable. If you want to fix it the harder but more correct way, you'd need to repaint.

Answer 5

I just got a new place with the same problem, and the inspector mentioned that wood can expand due to heat. The A/C hadn't been working, so the house had been hot in the summer months while it sat on the market. He said not to adjust the doors until after a month of running the A/C. He said if they didn't contract to normal size, I'd have to use a belt sander to shave the edge off.

Answer 6

If the painted surfaces are sticking to each other then a rough-up sanding may help. If they're rubbing then yhw42 may be right that friction could increase but since you'd be removing a little material it may decrease resulting in a wash.

Answer 7

Our door was making the same type of noises. What I found was when the hinge was turning, it actually rubbed against the frame of the door. We solved our problem by putting a 1/16" shim behind the door plates. This was enough to move the hinges away from the frame. Then the door ended up being a little too tight at the closer plates to the door knob, so I just had to sand out where the catch plate was and all problems solved. You need to sometimes make minor adjustments to solve these door issues.

Answer 8

I've had the same problem with doors popping when I open them. I got an idea of where the problematic area on the door jam is and got a Q-tip and some Vaseline and applied a small amount of Vaseline on the q-tip. I then applied it to the door jam where it sounds like the pops were coming from. After applied, open and close the door a few times and checked to see if it was applied in the proper area and the popping stopped.

Do not use WD40 on hinges as it can run into wood & stain it or drip on floor and cause damage to the flooring (tile or wood). Instead, with help have someone hold door up and take the pins out one at a time and apply a very small amount of grease on the pins. Be careful not to put too much on them and put the pin back in and move on to next pin. Wipe excess grease off of hinge or pin so it as well does not get everywhere.

Answer 9

Is there anything on door frame like draught excluder?

In the UK this is often foam or short bristle but can be "P" shaped rubber strips. It could be this that's sticking to the door, particularly if it's old and has got dirty.

If you remove this does the noise go away.

Another possibility is the hinge, but the noise you describe doesn't sound like the sort of noise a hinge would make. A drop or two of light oil will lubricate the hinge - something you might want to do anyway.

Answer 10

Mine was doing the same thing. I heard that putting a little Vaseline on the door stops it, so I tried it and guess what: no sticking sound. It does tend to wear off in time, but I just reapply it and no noise.