Local Door Repair in Malibu, CA
Door rubbing the frame or refusing to latch? First we find out why. Then we snug it up and get it swinging right.
A door that drags across the floor. A latch you have to lift and shove. Daylight showing around the front door. Calls for door repair in Malibu are usually one of those, and the fix is often smaller than people think.
Most sticking doors aren't warped. They've sagged on loose hinge screws, or the house has shifted a little and the strike plate no longer lines up. The real cause comes first: hinges, strike, frame or the slab itself. Then we fix that, instead of shaving a door that didn't need it.
Besides fixes, we hang new interior doors, swap knobs and deadbolts and replace worn weatherstripping and sweeps on exterior doors.
Signs You Need Door Repair in Malibu
Rubbing at the top corner
Usually the top hinge screws pulled loose. Longer screws into the framing often fix it in minutes.
Latch won't catch
The strike plate is off by a hair. Filing or moving it gets the latch clicking without a shove.
Drafts and light at the edges
Weatherstripping flattens and cracks. New strip and a door sweep keep wind and sand out.
Hole in a hollow-core door
A fist or doorknob through a hollow-core door means a new slab or a prehung unit.
Sticky deadbolt
The bolt misses the hole in the jamb, or the lock is corroded. Realigning it, or a new lock, sorts that out.
Closet doors off the track
Bifolds and sliders jump their tracks when pivots wear out. New pivots and guides usually sort it.
Door Repair for Homes and Rentals
Homes
Front doors, bedroom and bath doors, closets, pocket doors and the door from the garage. Most fixes only need common hardware, so they often wrap up in one visit.
Rentals & small business
Rental turnovers always seem to have a door that won't latch or a bifold lying on the closet floor. Landlords and small offices call us for small door jobs, like hardware swaps and adjusting a closer on a single entry. Storefront glass systems aren't ours.
Our Approach to Door Repair & Installation
Find the bind
We open and close it a few times, look at the gaps around the slab and check where it rubs. The gap tells the story.
Snug up the hinges
We tighten or replace hinge screws and drive a 3-inch screw through the top hinge into the stud behind the jamb. That pulls a sagging door back up.
Line up the strike
We move or file the strike plate and deepen the mortise if needed, so the latch and deadbolt land clean.
Plane only if needed
If it still rubs, we plane the edge, then seal the raw wood so it doesn't soak up moisture and swell again.
The Hard Ones: Racked Frames and Swollen Exterior Doors
When the whole frame has racked, every gap around the door looks different and nothing at the hinges or strike holds for long. That can be the house settling, a sagging header or rot at the bottom of the jamb. We'll pull the casing to look before we promise anything.
Exterior doors swell and shrink with the weather, especially wood doors that never got sealed on their top and bottom edges. We plane what's needed and seal every raw edge. A rotted bottom rail or jamb can sometimes be rebuilt with epoxy wood filler. Sometimes not.
Swapping an exterior door for a new prehung unit, especially if the opening size changes, gets into bigger territory. Some of those are ours and some go to a partner. More on that below.
Sticking, sagging and drafty doors fixed, plus new interior doors hung square and latching clean. Send a photo and the address, and you'll get a straight answer.
(333) 333‑3333What's Different About Door Repair in Malibu
Coastal doors live hard lives. Salt air pits hinges and lock parts, and plain steel hinges near the water rust out faster than inland ones. When we replace exterior hardware, we use stainless or solid brass. Wind is the other thing. The City lists a 94 mph design wind speed, so a door with a tired latch or flattened weatherstrip gets pushed around in a winter storm.
Then there's age. About 60% of Malibu homes were built before 1980. Older homes often have odd-sized openings, solid wood doors worth saving and hardware nobody makes anymore. We'd rather fix a good old door than swap in a hollow-core one.
Can You Fix a Sticking Door Yourself?
Often, yes. Tighten every hinge screw first. If one just spins, pull it and put in a 3-inch screw that bites into the framing. That alone fixes a lot of doors. For a stiff latch, use dry graphite or silicone spray, not oil, which collects grit.
Hanging a new door is where DIY gets frustrating. Getting a prehung unit plumb, square and evenly shimmed takes practice. And fitting a bare slab to an old opening means mortising hinges and boring the lockset. Doable, but slow the first time.
Doors We Handle and When We Refer a Partner
Under California's minor work rule, we take jobs where the total price for labor and materials is less than $1,000 and no building permit is needed. Repairs, hardware, weatherstripping and most interior door swaps fit.
New entry doors, French doors, patio door replacements and anything that changes an opening are bigger. They often cost more than the limit on their own and can need permits. We hand those to trusted licensed partners and stay your first call.
What to Expect
- How long does it take?
- A sticking door or bad latch is usually under an hour. Hanging a new prehung interior door runs a few hours including trim. Exterior weatherstripping goes fast.
- Will there be a mess?
- A little sawdust if we plane, and some dust if we pull casing. Afterward the vacuum comes out, and the old door and hardware leave with us.
- What does it cost?
- Cost guides put door repair at $132 to $372, averaging $239, with minor fixes as low as $50. An installed interior door averages $225 to $825. Door type, hardware and how far out of square the frame is move it.
- Do I need a permit?
- Not for repairs, hardware or hanging an interior door in the same opening. Cutting a new opening or resizing an exterior door involves framing and can need a permit, and that goes to a licensed partner.
- Do I need to be home?
- For exterior doors and locks, yes, so the house isn't left open. For interior jobs, let us in and go about your day.
Door Repair & Installation FAQ
Is door repair in Malibu worth it for an old wood door?
Usually, yes. Solid wood doors in older homes are often better built than what you'd buy today, and most of their problems are hinges, latches and weatherstripping. If the slab is solid and not badly split or rotted, fixing it costs less than replacing it and keeps the house's character. We'll tell you if it's past saving.
Why does my door stick only in winter?
Moisture. Wood swells when the air is damp and shrinks when it dries out, and a door with unsealed edges soaks it up fast. Planing it during the wet season and sealing all six sides usually ends the cycle. If it sticks all year, look at the hinges and the frame instead.
Can you change which way a door swings?
Yes, on most interior doors. It means moving the hinges and strike to the other side of the jamb, filling the old mortises and touching up the paint. Sometimes hanging a new prehung door the other way is simpler. We'll look at the frame and tell you which makes more sense.
Do you install locks and deadbolts?
Yes. Knobs, levers, deadbolts and smart locks on standard doors, installed or replaced. New bores get drilled when needed, and we line up the strike so the bolt throws all the way. We don't rekey locks, though. A locksmith is the right call for that part.
Can you hang a door I already bought?
Yes, if it fits the opening. Send us the size and whether it's a slab or prehung before you buy, if you can. Slabs need the hinges mortised and the lockset bored to match the old frame, so they take longer to hang than a prehung unit.
Need door repair in Malibu?
Text Zacharias a short video of the door opening and closing. He'll come take a look.