Doors get used more than almost anything else in a house. A busy family home might open and close the laundry door, the garage access door and the front door dozens of times a day. Over the years, that use shows up as loose hinges, worn latches, stiff locks and doors that rub against the frame. Seasonal moisture in timber and minor movement in the house frame add to the problem.

We repair, adjust and install doors across Cranbourne and the surrounding suburbs. Most door problems can be fixed in well under an hour, and replacing or hanging a new door is a routine job that we handle regularly.

Common door problems we fix

• Doors that stick or rub against the frame or floor
• Doors that drift open or swing shut by themselves
• Latches that do not catch, so the door will not stay closed
• Loose, squeaky or sagging hinges
• Handles that are loose, broken or stiff
• Locks that are hard to turn or keys that jam
• Doors with holes, splits or damaged edges
• Sliding doors that are hard to move or jump off the track
• Cavity sliding doors that drag or will not close fully
• Screen doors and security doors that drop or rattle
• Wardrobe doors that have come off their tracks
• Missing or broken door stops leaving holes in walls

Why doors stop working properly

Understanding the cause matters because it decides the fix. The most common causes are:

Loose hinge screws

This is the number one culprit. Over time, hinge screws work loose, particularly the top hinge, which carries most of the weight. The door drops slightly on the latch side and starts rubbing at the top or the floor. Tightening the screws often fixes it. If the screw holes are stripped, we pack them with timber or fit longer screws that reach the frame stud behind.

Movement in the frame

Many homes in the newer estates of Cranbourne East, Clyde North and Cranbourne West sit on reactive clay soils. As the soil gets wetter in winter and dries out in summer, the slab and frame can move slightly. Doors that were perfect when the house was built may start to bind in one season and loosen in another. Adjusting the hinges and the strike plate usually solves this without taking timber off the door.

Swelling and moisture

Timber and composite doors can absorb moisture, particularly in laundries and bathrooms or on external doors without good weather protection. A swollen door can stick in winter and be fine in summer. Sealing all six faces of a door, including the top and bottom edges that are often missed, helps prevent this.

Worn hardware

Latches, locks and handles have springs and moving parts that wear out. A latch that does not spring back fully, or a handle that droops, usually needs replacing rather than adjusting.

Our approach to door repairs

We check before we cut. A lot of doors are planed unnecessarily when the real problem is a loose hinge or a strike plate that needs moving a few millimetres. Planing should be the last resort, and when it is needed, we seal the bare edge afterwards so the door does not absorb moisture.

A typical door repair looks like this:

1. Open and close the door several times to see where it binds or fails to latch.

2. Check the hinges for loose screws and wear.

3. Check the gap around the door, which should be roughly even on all sides.

4. Check the latch and strike plate alignment.

5. Make the smallest adjustment that fixes the problem.

6. Test again, and repeat if necessary.

Door installation and hanging

Hanging a new door is a precise job. The door needs to be trimmed to fit the opening, the hinge positions marked and cut, the handle and latch holes bored and the strike plate fitted to the frame. Done well, the door swings smoothly, closes with an even gap and latches cleanly. Done poorly, it sticks, gaps or drifts.

We hang:

• Internal hollow-core doors for bedrooms, bathrooms and laundries
• Solid-core doors for better sound control or fire separation where suitable
• External entry doors on existing frames
• Barn-style sliding doors on surface-mounted tracks
• Replacement wardrobe and robe doors
• Screen and security doors on existing frames

If you are replacing a door, it helps to know the size of the existing one and whether you want to reuse the hinges and handle. We can measure on the first visit, or you can measure height, width and thickness and include that in your quote request.

Handles, locks and hardware

Upgrading handles is one of the easiest ways to refresh a house. Many homes built in the 2000s and 2010s in Cranbourne North and Cranbourne West have original lever sets that are now loose or tarnished. Replacing them throughout a house in a single visit gives a consistent look and solves the wobble.

We install:

• Passage sets, privacy sets and dummy handles
• Entrance sets and deadbolts on existing doors
• Digital and keypad locks that do not need hard-wiring
• Door closers on gates, garages and commercial doors
• Door stops, wall bumpers and magnetic catches
• Kick plates and push plates

For anything that needs re-keying or master-keying a property, a locksmith is the right trade, and we will tell you if that is the case.

Sliding and cavity sliding doors

Sliding doors can become stiff when the track fills with dirt or the rollers wear. Cleaning the track, adjusting the roller height and replacing worn rollers usually brings them back to a smooth glide. Cavity sliders hidden inside walls are trickier because the track is inside the wall cavity. Many can be adjusted from the door edge, but some need the door removed and the hanger reset.

Glass sliding doors to patios and alfresco areas are common in newer homes around Clyde North and Botanic Ridge. We can adjust rollers and replace accessible parts. Where the glass or the frame itself is damaged, a glazier or the door manufacturer is the right contact.

Screen and security doors

Screen doors take a beating, especially at back doors where kids and pets go in and out all day. Common problems include torn mesh, loose closers, sagging frames and latches that no longer line up. We replace mesh, adjust or replace closers and re-align screen doors so they close cleanly. See also our window and fly screen repairs page.

Doors in rental properties

Damaged doors are among the most common items on end-of-lease and routine inspection reports. Holes punched through hollow-core doors, broken handles and missing door stops are typical. In many cases, replacing a damaged hollow-core door is faster and neater than patching, and we can paint the new door to match. Our end of lease and rental repairs page has more detail.

Doors on older homes

Older homes in Cranbourne, Lang Lang and Koo Wee Rup sometimes have solid timber doors that are worth keeping. These can usually be re-hung, re-latched and repaired with timber filler or a timber insert rather than replaced. Where a door has been painted many times, excess paint on the edges is often the reason it sticks, and careful removal can solve the problem without trimming the timber itself.

Fire doors, garage access doors and doors between house and garage

The door between an attached garage and the house deserves a special mention. In many homes it is a solid-core door, and it often has a self-closing device. These doors are heavy, and their hinges and closers wear faster than those on lighter internal doors. A garage access door that does not close fully lets fumes, dust and cold air into the house, so it is worth keeping in good order. We adjust and replace closers, tighten or replace hinges and refit seals around these doors.

Where a door forms part of a fire-rated separation, such as in some townhouse and unit developments, any replacement door and hardware must meet the original rating. In those cases we will check the label on the door edge and discuss whether a like-for-like replacement is available or whether the owners corporation or a specialist should be involved.

Draught seals and weather strips

External doors lose a surprising amount of heat in winter through gaps at the bottom and sides. Cranbourne is exposed to cold southerly and south-westerly winds coming up from Western Port, and draughty doors make a real difference to comfort. We fit:

• Door bottom seals and draught excluders, including automatic drop seals
• Weather strips around the frame
• Sill seals at the threshold for external doors
• Brush seals on sliding doors

These are small, affordable improvements that make rooms noticeably warmer and quieter. They also help keep out dust on windy days, which matters for properties near open paddocks around Clyde, Devon Meadows and Koo Wee Rup.

Getting the finish right

A door that works perfectly but looks patched is only half a job. After any repair that leaves bare timber, filler or new hardware visible, we finish it properly. That might mean sealing and priming a planed edge, filling old hinge recesses when hinges are relocated, or touching up paint around a new strike plate. If a door needs a full repaint, we can do that too, or leave it ready for your painter.

Where we work

We fix doors throughout Cranbourne, Cranbourne North, Cranbourne East, Clyde North, Botanic Ridge and the rest of our service areas.

Frequently asked questions