Do-it-yourself repair of a wooden interior door. How to repair interior paneling, frame, hinges and trim, restoration of an old wooden door. Eliminating sagging doors

A practical owner will never throw away an old interior door in favor of a new door, but not as high quality. Modern doors are made from different materials, most are dominated by composite materials. The cost of such a new door will be several times cheaper than a wooden one, which is why many people prefer new ones. But only a few people think about the fact that when they throw an old wooden door in the trash, they install a new one that will last literally for several years. So maybe you should still think about and repair the wooden door?

Before you start work, you must carefully inspect all the interior doors in the room. If the renovation is fresh, it’s time to put all the doors in order.

We carefully plan the order of work:

First you need to treat the door and remove the old coating. If you notice cracks and scratches on the door leaf, or the door itself looks askance, then you will have to remove the door from its hinges and eliminate all defects.
Removing the top coating. To complete this stage of work you will need special tools. But before you start, you need to remove the latch and handles. In general, it is advisable to update the fittings, because over the years of use they also fail, the surface gets scratched and darkens.
If the door has glass, then the insert must be carefully removed: unscrew the fasteners, remove the glazing beads. Place the glass in a safe place.
Now we begin to remove the top layer of coating. For these works, a hair dryer will be useful to warm up the surface. You will also need a narrow spatula to remove the top layer.
You need to work slowly, warming up a small area, removing the soft paint with a spatula. You can replace a hair dryer with another tool: if you have a grinder in your arsenal, then just insert a coarse-grained circle and you can process the surface much faster. Using a grinder, you can remove not only the old coating (paint or varnish), but also at the same time sand the surface, get rid of dents and small bumps.
After processing the top layer of the door leaf, you will see all the connecting elements - these are wooden tongues. If your plans include a thorough repair of interior doors with your own hands, then you need to disassemble the door. Wooden fastenings knocked out with a soft tool (rubber hammer), the door is disassembled into elements.
Now you can think about how to better clean the surface of the door. It is quite enough to simply walk over the door leaf with a fine-grained sandpaper attachment and thoroughly polish all the places.
When working, do not forget that step by step a thin layer of wood is removed, so if you sanded it with sandpaper with 100 grit, change the nozzle, then you need to sand it with sandpaper with 200 grit and so on, gradually reducing the grit.
The work is done, you can assemble it in reverse order door and connect all the parts. What the professionals advise: throw away the old glazing beads and install new ones, purchase new fittings and additionally glue each element at the fastening point with PVA glue.

A small clarification: if you did a good job, the door was renewed, and there is a lot of wood dust left (after sanding), then you need to carefully collect it and make your own putty. Wood dust must be placed in a small container, add a little PVA glue, dilute it to the consistency of thick sour cream or even a little thicker. This putty must be stored in a tightly closed container.

How to putty recesses and crevices:

preparing the door leaf: old paint or varnish is cleaned off, the surface is polished with emery cloth;
To fill the depressions and cracks, you need to apply a homemade paste to the damaged areas, rub in thoroughly, and leave for a day. When the restored areas are dry, clean them with fine-grained sandpaper.

Repair of interior doors in the bedroom. How to apply a new coating

Most of the work is behind us - now we can talk about how to properly apply a new coat of coating. This can be either regular paint or varnish. In the event that you like the doors to be painted, then the most the best option, is to purchase a can of white enamel without gloss, and for tinting, pay attention to the wide palette of shades of Belinka tinting paint.

Tip for choosing paint: choose a non-liquid one so that there are no problems with coloring. To work, you will need a regular brush, or you can use a roller. The paint must be mixed with tinting paint to achieve the desired shade.

Staining order:

Pour the diluted paint into a small jar and apply it with a brush.
We paint the door leaf in 2 layers: apply the first layer of paint along the fibers, wait for it to dry.
The second layer is also applied along the fibers. Sometimes one layer is enough. Look at the situation.
Experts advise: apply paint in several layers, allowing each layer to dry thoroughly. For this, at least 24 hours are allotted, then the surface is sanded with fine-grained sandpaper (2000 units), and the next layer of paint or varnish is applied again.
This way you can achieve perfect coverage. This is especially true if you plan to coat the door leaf with clear varnish.

There is another way to apply paint:

Preparing the surface, then applying paint in several layers with a break for each layer to dry (up to 24 hours).
The freshly painted surface is then sanded with fine-grit sandpaper to level the surface.
Next - tinting desired color. If you use special paint, you need to be as careful as possible in application, because the paint is very rare compared to regular paint. Therefore, the material must be applied in small batches to avoid drips.
The paint is applied with a brush in several layers (drying time is allowed for at least 6 hours). To obtain an even shade and a uniform layer, 2 applications are enough. This way you can achieve the desired shade and beautiful shine.

Now you know how to restore an interior door. All that remains is to perform all the steps in reverse order: put the door on the hinges, screw the fittings.

Preparing for the repair of interior doors in the house

Mechanical cleaning is good, but when you need to restore many doors, then it is best to use special means.

Chemical composition for restoration of a wooden door: ordinary remover. Sold in auto stores. Washing is the easiest and fastest way to get rid of the old layer of paint. In just a couple of hours you can get rid of the old coating without much labor. The remover is gel-like, after application to the surface it does not flow and is well absorbed.

Before starting work, it is necessary to calculate the repair of interior doors, taking into account the consumption of materials: purchasing sandpaper of different grain sizes, paint and varnish materials, brushes and spatulas, furniture fittings, glazing beads, furniture fastenings and hinges.

Repairing bathroom doors:

We remove the doors from their hinges to make it easier to work.
We use a special remover of old paint, apply it in one layer, and distribute it evenly. It is advisable to work with gloves in a well-ventilated area. You can make your own wash using caustic soda and flour (from oats) plus some water. The product should be thick enough, approximately toothpaste. You need to work with gloves!
To work, you will need a standard set of tools: a spatula, brushes, gloves, rags, safety glasses and a scarf.
We carry out the work in the following sequence: the door is removed from the hinges, the fittings are unscrewed, if there is a locking mechanism, then it is also necessary to unscrew it. For work it is better to allocate comfortable spot: the door is placed on stools, a table or other flat surface.
The product is applied with a brush and left for a while (read the instructions).
After the specified time, use a spatula to remove the swollen old paint. It should soften well. Take a narrow spatula with a sharp blade.
Sanding the surface: thoroughly, section by section. At the same time, noting for yourself damaged areas with cracks, depressions, dents and bulges. You need to get rid of all this. Fill cracks and depressions with putty, sand small imperfections with sandpaper.
The door leaf is coated with a wood primer to improve the adhesion of the new layer of paint and save material consumption. You can paint furniture either with a regular brush or with a roller. Choose acrylic paint, it dries quickly, is odorless, and inexpensive.
The paint is applied in several layers with breaks for each layer to dry. After the first layer has dried, take fine-grained sandpaper and polish the surface. Then you can apply the next layer.

Repair of interior doors. What to do, if…

...is the door skewed, does it creak when opening and closing?

Strengthen the hinges: unscrew the old screws, lubricate the grooves with glue, insert new fasteners.
If the sockets are loose and damaged, you will have to move the loops to another place: we recommend placing the loops a little higher or slightly lower than the place where they were originally attached. Fastenings for hinges are made manually.
Alignment of the frame will be required if the doors do not close. You will have to remove the door from its hinges, use a building level to determine the degree of distortion, and install spacers to put the frame in its original place. 2 holes are made in the wall (a recess of no more than 5 cm) on each side (top and bottom). Insert into the prepared holes fastener(pins made of metal or wood).
Simply tightening the screws or self-tapping screws on the hinges will help get rid of the squeak. It is also advisable to lubricate the hinges.

Repair of interior doors. Video:

How to repair?
Option 2: wallpapering
Method 4: Vinyl Stickers
Method 5: overhead facades
Method 6: Canvas Update
Decor accessories
Repair is easy

When repairing a solid wood door, it often requires restoration rather than replacement. This measure will allow you to save on updating the canvas and keep a quality product in its place. In addition, restoration wooden doors helps adapt them to different styles, which are periodically changed during the renovation of premises.

Restore or change?

When the question of replacing a door arises, few people think that it can be restored. In what cases is this really the best measure:

When repairing wooden doors is impractical and it is rational to choose reinstallation of the block:

The old door leaf and frame have become unusable: they have dried out, cracked, the integrity of the structure has been compromised;
The door is made of cheap materials: fiberboard, MDF, etc.

The decision to update the entrance or interior door should not cause concerns about the work; it can be done independently. Next we present detailed instructions, how to update doors, we will consider methods of restoring canvases and door frames.

What tool is useful for the job?

To update or restore an old wooden door, you need to prepare the door leaf for work. To do this you will need the following tools:

They will be useful for the restoration process itself.:

Spatulas for leveling depressions and irregularities on the surface of the canvas;
Wood putty, close to the natural color of the base;
Stain, varnish, paint depending on the chosen type of restoration;
Brushes, sponges and rollers for uniform application of coloring compounds on solid wood.

Preparing the canvas for updating

Before you begin repairing old wooden doors, you need to take a number of measures to prepare the door leaf and frame:

In cases where there are significant potholes on the door, you can place a piece of wood in them and rub it with a spatula. This method will save on materials - the cork will be securely fixed in a small amount of solution.

How to repair?

When the preparatory work is over and the plaster has dried, you can begin decorating the canvases. There are several ways to restore a wooden door:

Sanding with painting and varnishing;
Wallpapering;
Drawing from a stencil;
Vinyl stickers;
Overlay facades;
Canvas update.

All methods are used in modern restoration work. Each process requires an individual approach.

Option 1: sanding and painting

This is an ideal way to restore veneered surfaces. A correctly selected composition of the dye may not hide, but rather emphasize the wood pattern on the door. After all preparatory work The canvas is evenly painted in the desired color. For deep color saturation, place enamel in 2 - 3 rows. Veneering is difficult without special equipment, but updating the pattern and color is easier than ever. By painting you can also preserve the antique decor of the door.

Before coating with varnish, you should go over the surface with stain to prevent the development of fungi and mold.

Option 2: wallpapering

Repairing a door block with wallpaper is another interesting idea that completely combines all the objects and structures in the interior. You can update this method at least every year during repairs and outside of this event: it is easy to do and the cost of coverage is quite small.

How to update wooden doors with wallpaper:

It is necessary to apply one layer of primer to the prepared canvas and wait until it dries completely;
The wallpaper is pre-cut to the size of the door. This must be done carefully so that the cut out outline then coincides with the door. Ideally, make a paper overlay with allowance for folding.
Now apply glue to the wood and attach the paper sheet. If the wallpaper is non-woven, spread glue onto the roll and glue it to the base.. Smooth out well and remove excess glue. After drying, attach the fittings and hang the canvas.

Option 3: Stencil Drawing

Do-it-yourself restoration of wooden doors can be done using stencils. They are sold in finished form or made independently on a large sheet of paper or wallpaper.

To apply the finished drawing, follow the instructions:

The prepared base is coated with paint or varnish and allowed to dry;
A stencil is glued onto a dry surface;
Cover free space inside or outside;
Tear off the template and wait for the paint to dry.

Method 4: Vinyl Stickers

A modern option for interior decoration. Vinyl stickers are not afraid of moisture and water, the sun, they are easy to wash and clean if necessary. It is very simple to paste them over a door: apply the sticker and smooth it out. The advantage of modern interior stickers is their reusability and versatility. They are easily removed from the surface without leaving a mark; if desired, the location of the stickers can be changed. Suitable for decorating plastic balcony doors.

Method 5: overhead facades

Repair of interior wooden doors in the usual ways sometimes it may not give the expected effect and the process will require drastic measures. When you need not to restore, but to completely renew the facade of a door, overhead facades will come to the rescue. They are made from different materials; it is advisable to purchase an MDF overlay:

A door restored in this way radically changes its appearance.

Purchase a canvas of the appropriate size;
Place the overhead façade on the prepared base;
Attach it with self-tapping screws or PVA glue.

Method 6: Canvas Update

How to update an old interior door if you want to add or change the arrangement of glass in the leaves? To do this you will have to work:

Decor accessories

If the door is antique, it is probably equipped with fittings made in ancient times, which are a real crime to throw away. When handles and hinges wear out, it is better to restore them rather than throw them away.

To breathe life into the fittings, treat the products sandpaper from possible corrosion, cover with a layer of primer-enamel. It will not hide the ornament applied to the handles, but will only emphasize it favorably. After drying, the handles and loops can be attached back to the canvas and hung in the opening.

Repair is easy

We told you how to make a new one out of an old door without replacing its main parts. These processes may seem difficult, but in fact even an inexperienced master can cope with them. The main thing is to start. You can change the appearance of any door:

Input;
Interior;
Leading to the balcony.

You can come up with your own method of restoration: coating with acrylic paints, painting, etc. The main thing is to organize it correctly preparatory stage to create a working foundation, and then it will go like clockwork. The main thing is not to be afraid and start.

They strive to replace all old doors with new, more modern ones. However, repairing and restoring wooden doors may not be such a difficult process. Restoring wooden doors that have fallen into disrepair will be especially relevant if you are going to arrange your interior in a certain style. For example: Provence, Art Deco, Art Nouveau or simply “antique”. Therefore, do not rush to throw away old wooden doors that can be successfully repaired.

Restoration of wooden doors - Photo 1

Do-it-yourself restoration and repair of wooden doors. Video tutorial

When studying the reasons leading to the need to repair wooden doors, one should take into account the variety of their design options. IN modern apartments there are doors swing, sliding , folding and even more original in design.As a rule, troubleshooting here does not require special effort, you can get by with simple adjustments.

It is much more difficult to repair old wooden doors. Their malfunctions most often manifest themselves in the form of loosening of the door frame, resulting distortions, the appearance of cracks and cracks. Over time, it becomes difficult to close doors due to years of paint buildup.

In all these cases, you will be able to correct the defects yourself and update the appearance of your doors.

To work you will need:

drill with a corresponding set of drills;
hacksaw saw;
hammer, chisel, spatula;
nails, screws;
construction hair dryer for removing old paint;
sandpaper;
wood putty;
paint, varnish;
brushes or paint roller.

Strengthening the interior door frame

Strengthening the box interior door— Photo 2

To strengthen a loose door frame, you will need to drill holes with a drill not only in the wood, but also in the wall to a depth of at least 5 cm.

Door frame repair workflow:

Remove the door frames and then remove the wooden door from its hinges.
Align the door frame with a plumb line and secure it with wedges.
Drill in vertical racks boxes with holes of the required diameter and drive metal pins through them.
Fill large voids between the door frame and the wall cement mortar or construction polyurethane foam.
Reinstall the trim, fill the gaps with putty, and hang the door on its hinges.

How to remove a door from its hinges - Photo 3

Door hinge repair. What to do if the door is skewed

If the door hinge screws are no longer able to stay in the cracked old sockets, you will have to move the old door hinges to a new location. To do this, prepare appropriate recesses for them using a chisel.

Repairing hinges on a wooden door - Photo 4

You can eliminate a longitudinal crack in the door frame by screwing in sufficiently long and strong screws on both sides.

If sagging and warping of doors occurs due to wear and tear metal hinges, then additional washers will help you correct the situation. Select washers of suitable diameter and thickness and place them on the hinge axes, having previously lubricated them with machine lubricant. If necessary, you can make them yourself from wire bent into a ring.

The hinges of a wooden door are loose, how to fix it - Photo 5

Restoring the coating wooden door. Video lesson

You can buy a special decorative overlay for a wooden door and install it. A door with such an overlay will not be inferior in beauty to a new wooden door.

Or remove old layer paint and repaint.

Approximate order of your actions:

Remove the wooden door and lay it horizontally on solid foundation. It is advisable to work for outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.
Heat up old paint construction hairdryer (in small areas) and immediately remove the softened paint layer with a spatula. Give the hairdryer breaks every 15 minutes to prevent it from overheating.
After removing the base layer, begin removing any remaining paint from the surface of the door being repaired. You can grind by hand or use a mechanical method.
Fill surface defects using wood putty. After it dries, go over the surface with sandpaper. You need to act in the direction of the fibers, not allowing lateral movements.
It is more convenient to carry out the process of painting a wooden door in two stages. Apply a layer first matte enamel, and then tint the door in the color of your choice. After the first layer has dried, sand the surface so that there are no uneven spots left.
Tinting or varnishing will be determined by the intensity of color and gloss you intend to achieve in the end. Usually it is enough to apply 2 layers with a break of 6-10 hours for complete drying.
At the final stage of work on restoring a wooden door, install door handles and decorative fittings.

Painting a wooden door - Photo 6

To prevent you from having to deal with wooden door repairs too often, install a door stop. This simple and inconspicuous thing perfectly protects doors from damage, and will save your budget from unnecessary costs.

During operation, various microdamages appear on interior doors, which lead to malfunction of the structure and affect its external aesthetic appearance and functioning. To prevent complete destruction of the door frame or leaf and restore their original properties, interior doors are repaired.

Most defects can be eliminated yourself. The main thing in this problem is to understand the structure of the door, identify the cause of damage, cracks, scratches and remove them in time. Repair work can be carried out so that the process does not take much time and costs minimally.

This instruction will help you figure out how to independently repair interior doors if there are defects, cracks and scratches, and how they can be eliminated without the help of a specialist.

Most common reasons defects may appear as follows:

Sagging of the canvas.
The interior door in the apartment does not close or open properly.
Formation of gaps.

When is repair needed?

If damage is detected in a timely manner, minor repairs to wooden doors are performed.

Experts recommend after installation door block periodically conduct a thorough inspection of the structure for damage, clean the box and canvas from dirt and dust, adjust and lubricate the hinges and trims, and coat them with special anti-corrosion compounds. If you neglect preventive measures, it will be much more difficult to repair a wooden door, and you may have to completely replace it.

If there is no maintenance of the interior door, problems such as:

the sash sags and scratches the floor;
creak;
the canvas wobbles on its hinges;
the doors do not close well and fit tightly into the frame;
cracks in the door block due to excessive drying;
the veneer has come off;
paint comes off from the surface of the canvas.

The causes of such problems are improper operation of interior doors, low-quality cheap products and violation of production technology.

Required tools and materials

To repair a wooden door with your own hands, you need the following tools and consumables, such as:

roulette;
sharp knife;
Phillips or flathead screwdriver;
chisel;
simple hammer;
hammer with rubber gasket;
screwdriver;
plane;
drill;
fasteners;
screws;
dowels;
wooden wedges;
axe;
polyurethane foam;
rags for cleaning the canvas;
WD-40 spray to remove plaque.

How to remove and repair an interior door leaf?

Repair of wooden doors is carried out after removing them from the hinges on which they are held. To do this, visually inspect them and determine the type.

Loops are divided into 2 types:

one-piece or universal.

Removing the door from detachable hinges is carried out as follows:

Everything is taken off the loop decorative elements, caps and linings.
Loosen the adjusting bolts using a Phillips screwdriver.
Take out the pin that connects the 2 parts of the mechanism. If the rod enters tightly, you can use a hammer, but do not hit it too hard, otherwise you can damage the fastening loop.
Using a stop device, the web is lifted up so that one part of the loop comes out of the second.
Then you need to remove the door, moving it to the side.

During work, consider the following points:

the door should be open to the maximum;
The door leaf is heavy and needs to be held, so use outside help.

When removing a sheet of plastic or glass, do not use a sharp device as a stop, so as not to damage the sheet. A rubber gasket is inserted between the stop device and the door.

Removing the door leaf from one-piece hinges is carried out as follows:

Remove decorative elements from hinges.
Using a screwdriver or screwdriver, unscrew all the mounting bolts on either side.
Simply pull up the door and it will come off its hinges.

The difference between these hinges is that they cannot be disassembled for spare parts.

Sometimes after prolonged use the hinges do not come apart. Upon visual inspection, a coating in the form of rust is visible. In this case, you can use a special WD-40 aerosol, which is purchased in stores along with instructions for use. Use the instructions for the product and apply it to the rusted elements. Take a break from work for 6-12 hours, wipe the treated areas with a rag, remove any remaining spray and begin disassembling the loops.

If plaque appears, never hit the hinge with a hammer. Applying a lot of force to the mechanism can damage it.

Repairing the box

The most difficult damage is deformation of the box. If the defect is not eliminated, the door will move diagonally, will rub and lead to deformation of the counter, which can lead to repairs not only of the structure itself, but also of the wall.

To adjust the box after installation, you will need to perform the following operations:

Remove the fabric from the loops.
Determine where the displacement occurred. To do this, measure the diagonals and compare their sizes.
Remove all decorative elements.
Unscrew the fasteners and remove the box.
When removing the trims they open assembly seams, under end strip anchor bolts or self-tapping screws may be located in the opening.
Screw additional bolts into the door to secure it correctly.
Use a knife or other sharp tool to remove the old mounting foam, clean the mounting seams and insert spacers.
Check whether the box correction is correct.
Apply a layer of polyurethane foam.

If the box is fixed anchor bolts, then if you twist them tightly, you will have to cut them off with a grinder, and move the box and install it again.

When loosening screws or black wood screws, simply tighten them. If they become loose, you need to replace them with thicker and longer ones. You can hammer plugs or wooden wedges into the old holes and reinsert the screws.

When installing the box on brickwork drill holes in the slopes using a hammer drill and use fastening dowels.

The interior door does not close tightly or its movement is difficult. Let's consider what to do in such situations.

Because of high humidity The box swells over time. The door begins to rub against the floor or rests on parts of the door. To fix the problem, you need to put the expander in the box or use a plane to remove excess material from the strapping.

The second reason why the door does not close is the displacement of the lock tongue relative to the strike plate. That's why renovation work are performed as follows:

bore the plate to required sizes;
transfer to the frame;
Replace the lock if necessary.

When closing, doors may form gaps or cracks with the frame, which is due to a mismatch in the dimensions of the structural elements. To eliminate the opening, fill the rail, process it with a plane and adjust it to size.

Replacing hinges and trims

A common defect is misalignment at the joints of the hinges, which results in sagging of the door leaf. This drawback can be eliminated with your own hands. To eliminate sagging doors, it is necessary to adjust the position of the door leaf and tighten the elements. If the defect cannot be corrected, the hinges are replaced.

To replace the hinges, you need to follow these steps:

Open the door so that the hinges are completely visible.
Secure the canvas with wooden wedges.
Check that the hinge sizes match the old ones.
Adjust the correct placement of the loops with a tape measure. The hinges should be located at a distance of 17 cm from the top, 27 cm from the bottom of the door frame.
Start working from the top loop.
Remove the screws.
Check the condition of the fabric material after the loops. If the old hinges for a long time were used, the wood of the stand and the door under the hinge may not correspond to the material of manufacture and require repair. To do this, you need to clean it with sandpaper and paint it.
Secure the hinges with self-tapping screws or a screwdriver, insert the axle.
Perform the same steps with the bottom loop.
Remove the wedges.
Check the operation of the hinges when the door moves.

Often, repairing interior wooden doors involves not only replacing hinges, but also platbands.

Replacement of platbands occurs in the following cases:

with long-term use;
installation of more practical or modernized interior doors;
upon loss appearance;
cracking.

Platbands are changed as follows:

Remove old paint from the gap between the trim and the door frame using a sharp tool.
Dismantle the element and run sandpaper over the surface.
After removing the casing, there may be a gap between the door frame and the wall. It must be treated by tying the block with polyurethane foam.
Complete the markup. Place the element horizontally so that the top edge is 5 mm away from the outer part of the vertical casing, and the edge is inside 5 mm from the edge of the frame. Hold the product and make a mark 5 mm horizontally from internal corner boxes. Do the same with the other platband.
Cut the pieces at a 45° angle.
Secure them to the box.
The vertical casing is installed in this way.
Nails or self-tapping screws are driven in from the front side, and the caps are driven off with a punch.
Treat with putty, sand and apply a coat of paint.

Restoration of an old wooden door

Updating and repairing old wooden doors is as follows:

Remove the canvas and all elements: latches, locks, handles.
Treat the surface with sandpaper or a grinding machine.
They repair, remove defects, putty.
The surface is treated with a primer containing an antiseptic.
Then the door is covered with varnish, paint, stain, wallpaper or film.
Install door hardware.
They change the trim and select the color in advance.
The canvas is installed in the box.

Painting and decor

The final renovation of the interior fabric consists of painting and decorating.

Acrylic paint in cans or based on polyurethane acrylic or nitro enamel is better suited for the door block; it can also be treated with furniture varnish.

Specialists are modernizing interior designs applying different designs using special stencils. You can buy them at hardware stores or cut them yourself with scissors.

How to repair an interior door? This problem arises often. Experts say that already a year or two after their installation it is advisable to check whether scratches have appeared or whether the door knob whether you need to tighten the screws or just lubricate the hinges. The need for repairs does not always depend on the quality of the doors, we just use them all the time - therefore, it is useful for every owner to know how to make such repairs yourself.

The main defects of interior doors that require repair

The most common defect is sagging doors, which causes them to close poorly; various scratches and cracks also appear on the doors, or the veneer peels off; stains may appear or the color may fade. Over time, doors can dry out, which sometimes causes a gap to appear between the frame and the wall; in some cases, it will be necessary to replace the door leaf. If the door defects are not caused by serious damage, the problem of repairing them can, in principle, be solved by yourself.

Door repairs may be required at any time

Main possibilities for repairing interior doors

For minor repairs sometimes it is enough to just tighten the hinges on doors. Cracks and scratches can also be removed or simply varnished, repainted, covered with film, photo wallpaper, decorated with fabric, or you can, for example, embed colored or frosted glass. If there is a lot of damage, then you will need to replace the canvas - it is also quite possible to do this yourself. There are a great many ways to repair such doors with your own hands - you just need to be inventive.

Necessary tools and materials for repairs

In order to repair the doors yourself, you need the following minimum necessary tools: tape measure, sharp knife, screwdriver, chisel, hammer, screwdriver, preferably a building level, plane, drill. From Supplies, which may most often be needed for repairs, at a minimum you need screws, dowels, wooden wedges, and polyurethane foam.

Updating old interior doors

Exist various ways updating doors - in order to figure out how best to repair them, it is advisable, first of all, to evaluate how they fit into the interior of the apartment and, depending on this, decide whether to paint them or cover them with wallpaper, for example, “wood-like” or apply what It's a stencil design.

To carry out such work, first of all, you need to remove the canvas from the hinges, then remove the handles, latches and locks from it, and if there is glass in the structure, you need to remove it too.
Then using grinder(if it is not there, then use sandpaper) you need to thoroughly clean the surface of the door from the old coating.
After this, you need to repair all defects - cracks, crevices, holes, etc. This can be done using putty.
Treat the surface of the canvas with an antiseptic.
After this, it is advisable to cover the door with varnish, paint or stain, and glue self-adhesive film or wallpaper, for example, wood.
Then you need to install new fittings, locks and glass, and insert the canvas into the box.

Another way to update doors is to apply drawings on them using stencils, which can be purchased in specialized stores or cut out yourself with scissors. You can also order various stickers ready-made or according to your sketch in agencies involved in outdoor advertising. The main advantage of this method of decoration is the ability to update the door at any time.

A more complex way to update is to replace the door facade or install an overlay facade. Most often, they either cut holes in the canvas for glass, or seal it, or change the glass itself - all this is quite possible to do yourself. The overlay facade can be glued to the canvas using PVA or attached, for example, with self-tapping screws.

Sometimes it is enough to wash the door and apply polish

To renew MDF doors, sometimes it is enough to wash them and then apply polish, after which it is advisable to coat them with furniture varnish. In addition, you can attach the trim to them using PVA glue or screws.

Restoration and decoration of PVC-based interior doors

To restore and decorate doors with your own hands, you need to use a special primer for plastic to open the door covering, and then paint it with acrylic paint, which is sold in cans, paints based on polyurethane acrylic or nitro enamel. On such doors you can stick wallpaper, vinyl or non-woven, designs made on self-adhesive film using the interior printing technique, as well as monochromatic images that harmonize with the wallpaper with their color scheme.

Restoration of glass doors

Restoration glass doors most often carried out using decoration. There are two main methods: decorating with ordinary stained glass film or painting with stained glass paints. To paint, you need to come up with a design in advance or order it from a specialized studio, prepare a stencil, paints and a brush, and then apply the design to the glass. Here you need to take into account that for restoration it is necessary to purchase new glazing beads and attach them after decoration.

For the restoration of glass doors, decorating them is most often suitable.

Repairing peeling veneer

In order to repair a veneered door, you need not only to repair the peeling veneer, but also to check the entire panel for voids by tapping. For such repairs you will need: a good adhesive composition, tracing paper, and a heavy object for the press.

Place areas with peeling veneer well with glue, cover with tracing paper and press with a press.
If voids are found, they will need to be filled with an adhesive solution (using a syringe).
After 3–5 hours, sand the entire surface with medium-sized sandpaper.
Coat the surface with quick-drying furniture varnish.
If after the varnish has dried, the gluing areas are visible, then touch them up with gouache using a thin brush - here it is important to choose the right color.
If deep cracks still remain visible, prepare a mixture of high-quality furniture varnish with sawdust obtained from sanding the canvas, and fill the cracks with this mixture.
Dry these areas well and sand them.
Coat everything with furniture varnish at least twice.

Eliminating door squeaks

If the new doors begin to creak, then the reason for such a creak lies, most likely, in the loose fit of the hinges to the jamb. In this case, it is enough to tighten the screws well.

To eliminate the squeak of a door that is no longer new, you need to:

First, lift the door leaf so that the hinges open slightly.
Then, to fix the canvas, place a wedge under it.
After this, you can apply lubricant between the rubbing surfaces - if there is no technical lubricant (oil for sewing machines, oil for car engines, grease), you can use simple sunflower oil.
Then, in order to distribute the oil along the hinges, it is advisable to open and close the door several times.
If you don’t have oil on hand, you can remove the graphite rod from an ordinary soft pencil and insert this graphite into the hinge into the door raised with a wedge - when opening and closing the door, this graphite will be ground into powder and well distributed inside the hinge.

Eliminating sagging doors

To eliminate sagging door leaf you need to:

Check that the hinges are well secured.

If the hinges are loose and dangling, simply tighten them.

If the hinges are well strengthened, but the door leaf still sags, then you need to deepen the hinges, for this you need:

Remove the door from its hinges.
Use a chisel to make a hole in either the canvas or the box.
Screw the loop onto one screw, hang the canvas on the loops and check the fit.
If everything fits well, you can fasten the remaining screws.
If something doesn’t fit, you need to make a deeper groove in the canvas, check it again and then hang it again.

If the fastening points of the door hinges themselves are badly damaged, then you will need to remove the hinges and install them in another place - above or below the old fastening points.

If the door is far from new, sometimes, in order to better strengthen it, you can put a third hinge in the middle of the frame.

Sometimes just tightening the door hinges is enough

If the sagging is due to a violation geometric shape canvas, then you need to return it to him correct form, processing the door trim using a plane.

Elimination of defects in dried out old wooden doors

There are two main ways to repair doors with your own hands if they become dry:

Using metal corners - this is how old wooden doors are usually repaired, but these corners spoil the appearance.

Treatment adhesive composition, for this you need:

Remove the fabric from the loops.
Disassemble all joints of the canvas parts.
Clean the components, mask cracks and drying out, glue them with a special adhesive and secure with clamps.
After drying, assemble all the components and hang the door in the door frame.

Eliminating gaps between the door frame and the wall

In order to strengthen the door yourself and eliminate the gap between the door frame and the wall, you must:

Remove the door from its hinges.
Drill three holes in the walls of the box with a drill, placing them evenly along the entire length under dowels measuring 130–150 mm.
Secure the box with dowels.
If after this there are any gaps left, fill them with polyurethane foam, the excess of which will then need to be removed.
If the gaps were large, then the platbands will have to be changed.

To remove cracks, use foam

Replacing the door leaf

To replace the door leaf with your own hands without replacing the frame, you must:

Take off old door, for which you need to open it, place a nail puller or an ax under the canvas on the hinge side (to avoid damaging the floor, you can place some kind of pad under the tool on which the tool will rest), and hold the canvas so that it does not fall.
Then remove the parts of the loops that are located on door frame.
To install new hinges, it is most convenient to use the places from the old ones. If they need to be installed in a new place, use a chisel to make a corresponding depression.
Mark and drill holes for the screws, having previously measured the distances from the top and bottom of the box to the top and bottom hinges. In this case, it is important to check the horizontal installation of the hinges with a square or level.
Transfer the dimensions to the door leaf and screw the hinge mates to it if you are using “left” or “right” hinges. If you use universal hinges, then it is advisable to fix them on the door frame and attach the door leaf - inconsistencies will be immediately visible.
Then you need to secure the hinges with screws on the door frame and hang the door.
All you have to do is screw on the handles and you're done.

Video on how to restore a door:

Conclusion

How to repair a door in an apartment yourself is currently not a problem. Now you can buy various materials, paints, compositions and various decoration means for cosmetic repairs, and for more serious modernization. In any case, it will be cheaper than installing a new one modern door, which, unlike the old one, cannot always fit organically into the existing interior.