The tools you need will vary with repair required:
Screwdriver
Longer screws, as needed
Wood filler, dowel, or toothpicks, as needed
Wood glue, as needed
Hammer and wood chisel, as needed
Wood shims, as needed
A door that sticks may be due to several problems. Hot, humid summer days may swell the wood; you can minimize this seasonal headache by making sure all edges and door faces are sealed with varnish or paint.
Loose or bound hinges can also cause a door to stick. Below are ways to repair them so that the door operates smoothly.
1.
Tightening a Loose Hinge
When a hinge is loose, the door may lean closer to the jamb at the other side, which may cause the door to stick.
1) First, try simply tightening the screws on the loose hinge. This pulls the door edge closer to the frame on the hinge side. That widens the gap on the handle side, and your binding problem should disappear.
2) If the screws you try to tighten spin in their holes instead of digging in, try installing longer screws with thicker shanks. The idea is to use screws that bite into fresh wood and provide more holding power, with an inch or so more of thread. This is a good idea for the top hinge of a heavy door and will often solve your problem, even if the hinge is already tight. The longer screw actually draws the jamb closer to the studs, producing extra clearance on the handle side of the door.
3) A more time-consuming repair is to fix the hole itself to increase a screw's holding capacity. There are several DIY fixes, including using wood filler, or driving in a short length of dowel (Fig. 1). You can even dip slivers of wood or toothpicks in glue, and drive them into the hole in a tight pack. When the glue dries, the screw threads will have something to bite into.
2.
Adjusting Bound Hinges
When door hinges close but the door doesn't, even though the door is not rubbing against the frame, the hinges are binding. This problem can occur when hinges sit too deeply or not deeply enough in their mortises. The face of the hinge leaves should be flush with the surface of the door and jamb. Check to see if the hinge is properly aligned and that the screws are tight and don't protrude above the face of the hinge. If that does not work, remove the hinge. Deepen the mortise or add a cardboard shim as needed. (Fig. 2)
