DIY repair of old doors

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of old doors from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Image - DIY repair of old doors

Repair is a waste of money and nerves. That is why, thinking about updating the interior, we are looking for ways to do it as conveniently as possible both for our state of mind and for our wallet.

Today we'll talk about how to repair an old interior or entrance wooden door with our own hands.

As long as the structure looks good, we don't even think about the need for special care. You should know that the highest quality and most expensive products need timely diagnostics, it is important to inspect their fabric, lubricate hinges, check locks and fittings, clean, wash, cover with special agents and compounds to protect wood from high temperature, humidity, external factors.

If you do not follow these simple rules, you can face many problems, including:

  • Scratches on the floor. They often occur in the event of a subsidence of the structure in the opening.
  • Squeak when opening and closing.
  • The canvas ceases to fit freely in its box.
  • Gaps appear.
  • The canvas itself is covered with cracks and scratches, takes on an unaesthetic appearance.

In addition, decoration is also necessary in those cases when the external appearance of the structure undergoes changes: the paint bursts, the veneer peels off in pieces, the coating swells.

In some cases, the box ceases to fit snugly against the walls of the opening and starts to dangle. There are several ways to solve this problem:

  • Get rid of old platbands.
  • Align the entire structure vertically.
  • Place the box in the correct position.
  • Make some shallow holes in the uprights.
Video (click to play).
  • Drive pins or pins into them.
  • Install new platbands.

If your door starts to make strange sounds when opening or closing, it touches the threshold or the floor, and cannot close completely at all, then do not rush to carry it to the trash heap. It is enough to fix the problem with the hinges, and everything will fall into place.

In some cases, they do not even have to be replaced with new ones, it is enough just to adjust.

First, check if the upper part is firmly fixed and lift the screws. If this method does not bring the desired result, then make a depression in the notch, but before that, put on the loop pin.

Before attaching washers, lubricate them with machine oil. If you are having difficulty tightening the screws then:

  • Change the used parts to ones that are longer.
  • Seal the holes underneath by inserting matches into the openings.
  • Remove the hinges, and carefully coat the holes from them with glue, do the same with new screws.
  • Fasten the hinges, just not in the place where they were previously. Step back from it a few centimeters to the left or right.

You can often notice that the cause of the breakdown is not at all the fastenings of the canvas, but more serious things. For example, if an object changes its geometry: it becomes larger or smaller, then it's all about the moisture balance.

If the structure is often painted, then over time an additional layer of materials will appear on it, which will increase its size.

How to deal with such problems? Here are some helpful guidelines:

  • First, cover the room tightly, and then check how large the gap has formed between the canvas and the box. If it's not there at all, or it's too narrow, then brush off a few words of the old paint.
  • If the door cannot enter the folds of the box, it is necessary to stand from the side of the vestibule, and then press it against the box, looking at the canvas.Thus, you will be able to get the necessary contour, and also when using a planer, you will be able to cut off all unnecessary.

Before proceeding to shrinking and planing the canvas, make sure that the box is upright and has the correct U-shape. Measure its diagonals and angles to be sure.

Sometimes products are made from not completely dried wood, in which case, over time, the canvas decreases in size and simply dangles inside the box.

You can solve this problem as follows:

  • Rearrange the hinges, for this you will need to move the canvas up so that the gap remains between the canvas and the threshold.
  • Screw the bar to the bottom end, and this bar must have the required thickness.

In order to tackle the elimination of the lower gap, it is necessary to perform a number of operations:

  • eliminate side gaps, while the bar is attached to the end;
  • putty the gaps between the strapping and the slats;
  • then you need to wait until the putty dries up, and you can start painting;

Sometimes it happens that the panels simply do not stand in their places, or, as they say, “walk”.

This happens when the structure dries up.

You can restore it using the following simple techniques:

  • We reinforce the installation with steel triangles. We attach them to the bars on both sides with screws.
  • We remove the canvas from the hinges, clean, disassemble. Next, we connect the bars to each other, while lubricating the thorns with wood glue.

There are several methods for removing scratches, and they depend on the size and depth of the damage.

In such cases, you can use the following instruction:

  • It is necessary to remove the door from its hinges and put it on the table.
  • It is necessary to remove the old coating, while it is recommended to use special compositions presented in the form of liquids.
  • The surface is sanded with fine sandpaper.

It also happens that scratches and cracks form, they must be repaired with wood putty, the main thing is that it has a suitable color.

After the mixture has hardened, you must again walk over the surface with a sandpaper. Next, you need to seal the through cracks with glue. Irregularities in this case are eliminated with putty.

After the structure is repaired, it is necessary to start priming the surface, and then cover it with paint or varnish. In order to paint a large area, it is recommended to use a roller or a small brush for small areas.

In order for such an installation to be resistant to atmospheric changes when going outside, it is necessary to apply 2-3 layers of varnish on it.

Sliding structures on wheels are a real miracle for those who truly value space. But, as is often the case, there are some problems.

They can become unusable for a number of reasons: problems with the guide rail and drive rollers, loosening of the mounting bar, etc.

There are two solutions here - securing the timber in the same way as the box itself was fixed, or the banal adjustment of the canvases. Fitting locknuts under the bolts sometimes helps.

Image - DIY repair of old doors

For veneered doors, two things are great: sanding and painting as a restoration method. If you choose the right paint, you can even favorably highlight the relief and woody pattern on the surface.

The process itself is quite simple - after preparing the material, the canvas is covered with paint in several layers for a greater effect and color saturation. Thus, we will preserve the pattern and decor that were originally, but at the same time we will help the ensemble to sparkle with new colors.

Quite recently, another way to embellish the interior decoration of the house has appeared - vinyl stickers. This wonderful invention by French artists from Lyon makes it easy and inexpensive to add vibrant colors to an interior.

These stickers are easy to clean and wash, but they will not corrode from water or humidity in the room, or from exposure to sunlight. Moreover, in the event that the sticker is no longer needed or you want to outweigh it, it can be done easily and simply, unlike other decorative elements.

Unfortunately, in some neglected cases, the repair of interior wooden doors using conventional methods does not lead to the desired result, and then overhead facades come into play. With their help, we do not just restore the old facade, we renew it.

Such elements make them from different kinds of materials, but it is more profitable to take one that is made from MDF.

  • Moisture resistant.
  • Keeps its shape well.
  • Easy to attach.
  • At the same time, it has a good margin of safety.
  • It is located in a pleasant price segment.

By using the overlay, we fundamentally change the look of the old structure.

The update can be done in three simple steps:

  • Buy the right size canvas.
  • Attach overhead facade.
  • Fasten the facade with self-tapping screws or PVA.

Image - DIY repair of old doors

All things tend to wear out, and interior partitions are no exception. But it is a big mistake to take old, conscientiously made unique details out into the street.

So, let's start the operation to save the handles and hinges. First you need to process them with sandpaper, and then cover the entire surface with ground enamel. Thus, we will not only update the appearance of our products, but also favorably emphasize the graceful drawing and ornament. It remains only to attach everything back and you're done!

We told you how to properly repair old entrance or interior doors, watch this video to consolidate your knowledge.

These processes may seem daunting, but in fact, even an inexperienced craftsman can handle them.

You can change the appearance of any door:

You can come up with your own method of restoration: covering with acrylic paints, painting, etc. The main thing is to properly organize the preparatory stage for creating a working base, and then it will go like clockwork.

The old door will spoil the entire interior of the room. And no one wants to make repairs without dismantling the old door.

After that, they need to be changed, but not everyone can afford to replace them with a new one, because high-quality ones are expensive. Therefore, many designs of old doors with their own hands are changed to new ones. Today we will figure out how to decorate old doors.

All work will be done in several stages. There is nothing difficult, but you need to do the job efficiently.

Everything will be done entirely by hand, so the price of the door will not be high. Before starting work, you should look at photos and videos, decide on a new design and select material.

To complete this work, you will need to prepare some materials and tools:

  • You will need a hacksaw, but only with a fine tooth;
  • Drill and set of drills;
  • A simple hair dryer will help to remove paint;
  • You will also need a metal brush and sandpaper with different grains;
  • Get a wood putty, or just do it yourself. To do this, small sawdust must be mixed with PVA glue;
  • Primer;
  • The paint that you picked up (see Paint for doors: choose and paint);
  • You will also need brushes. Small and large. It is best if you have a spray bottle.

Note: Surface preparation work can also be done outdoors. For painting, you will need a room.

Now let's figure out how to disassemble the old doors. Pasting of old doors (see Do-it-yourself decor of old doors according to all the rules) and their subsequent processing is done as follows.

  • First, remove the door from its hinges and place it conveniently;
  • We remove all the fittings and it will also be better that you remove only glass (if any), but also glazing beads;
  • Now we start to warm up the surface. We do this with a hairdryer. We warm until the paint begins to swell and flake;
  • We take a spatula and begin to remove it (see How to remove old paint from doors and cover with new material). All of it is not removed at once. We separate what we get and warm it up again. There are places with dents and there you have to do it with the angle of a spatula;
  • Now we take sandpaper and begin to level the surface. First, with a larger grain, and then wood with a fine grain;

Attention: Do not just do the processing by hand. It is necessary to press the sandpaper with an even bar. We should get a perfectly flat plane.

You can watch the entire preparation process in the video and photo:

  • Finishing the surface with fine-grain paper will still leave you with pits and dents. These disadvantages should be eliminated with wood putty. It is applied with a simple rubber trowel. Apply and wait for complete drying;
  • We take the skin and grind it again. If you cannot equalize at once, then you should do this work again;
  • Now we need to treat the surface with a primer.

Attention: It is imperative to cover with soil. Especially if you are going to cover the surface with varnish or paint. This will be the foundation. It's just that the dye can be absorbed into the surface and not evenly. And then you get a coverage with spots. The primer will strengthen the surface and create conditions for an even coating. Do the right thing right away, it will take longer and more costly to remodel.

Decorating an old door is quite an important point. Many millet dye it. The point is that the retail trade eats a lot of materials to do this job. Some people create simply masterpieces.

Several dyes are used. Make a different base. In general, there is simply no limit to imagination. To do this job, there are expert advice that is worth listening to.