Doors get used dozens of times a day, so they are one of the first parts of a house to show wear. Hinges loosen, frames shift, timber swells, latches stop catching and sliding doors start to grind. Most door faults are fixable in under an hour. A new internal door can usually be hung in a morning. Yet a door that does not work properly is a constant small irritation, and if it is an external door it is also a security risk and a source of winter draughts.

We repair, adjust and install doors in homes, rentals and businesses across Traralgon, Morwell, Moe, Newborough, Churchill and the surrounding district. That covers hinged internal and external doors, sliding glass doors, cavity sliders, screen and security doors, wardrobe doors, and the hardware that makes them work.

Sticking and dragging doors

A door that sticks or drags usually has one of three causes.

The door has dropped

Hinge screws loosen over time, especially the top hinge, which carries most of the weight. Once the top hinge pulls away, the door tips and its latch-side top corner rubs on the frame. We tighten the screws, and if the holes are stripped we fill them with timber dowels or use longer screws that bite into the stud behind the jamb. Often that alone fixes the problem without planing.

The timber has swollen

In damp winters, doors absorb moisture and swell, particularly if the top and bottom edges were never painted or sealed. That is common in older Moe and Morwell weatherboards and in laundries and bathrooms. If adjusting the hinges is not enough, we plane the binding edge, then seal the raw timber so it does not swell again.

The house has moved

On reactive clay soils, frames move a little with the seasons. Doors can stick in winter and gap in summer. Where movement is ongoing, we adjust to suit and leave enough clearance for the seasons. Serious, worsening movement should be checked by a building inspector.

Doors that will not latch

When a door swings shut but does not catch, the latch and the striker plate have drifted out of line. We adjust or move the striker, file it out, or replace a worn latch. Sometimes the fix is to pack the hinges so the door sits in the right position again. If a handle is loose or its spring has failed, we replace the handle set.

Hinges

We replace worn, squeaky or rusted hinges, swap standard hinges for heavy-duty ones on solid doors, and fit lift-off or rising butt hinges where needed. For external doors we use stainless or appropriately rated hinges so they do not rust in the weather.

Handles, locks and latches

• Internal lever and knob sets, passage and privacy
• Bathroom and bedroom privacy locks
• Entrance sets and deadlocks on front and back doors (key matching and master-keying are locksmith work)
• Cavity slider pulls and locks
• Door stops and door holders
• Barrel bolts and security chains

In Victorian rentals, the minimum standards require external entry doors to have a functioning deadlock (with some exceptions) and to be lockable from inside and outside. If you are a landlord or agent, we can fit deadlocks and check entrance locks as part of bringing a property up to standard. Restricted key systems and rekeying are best handled by a locksmith.

Sliding glass doors

Aluminium sliding doors are everywhere in the Valley’s brick veneer homes. Over time, the rollers wear out, the bottom track fills with dirt, and the door becomes heavy to push and may jump off the track. We:

• Lift the door out and clean the track
• Replace worn rollers with matching or compatible ones
• Adjust roller height so the door glides and locks properly
• Replace locks, handles and latches
• Fit new weather seals and pile strips to stop draughts and rattles

Badly damaged tracks, cracked glass and frame failures are glazier jobs, and we will tell you if that is what you need.

Cavity sliding doors

Cavity sliders save space, but when they fail the problem is hidden inside the wall. Common faults are rollers derailing from the top track, the door rubbing the cavity, and broken floor guides. Many can be fixed by removing the door, re-hanging it on its track and adjusting it. If the track itself has failed, the fix may involve opening the wall, which we can also patch afterwards.

New internal doors

We hang new internal doors in existing frames. That includes replacing a damaged hollow-core door, upgrading to solid-core for sound or fire separation, or replacing a whole set for a renovation. We:

• Measure the opening and help you choose the door
• Trim the door to fit, with even clearances top and sides and the right gap at the bottom for the floor covering
• Rebate and fit hinges, and cut in the latch
• Seal or prime raw edges
• Fit the handle and doorstop

Pre-hung door and frame units can also be installed in new openings as part of small renovation projects. Structural openings in load-bearing walls are builder work, not handyman work.

Barn doors and wardrobe doors

Barn-style sliding doors on exposed tracks are popular for pantries, ensuites and bedrooms. We fix the track securely to structure, hang the door and fit floor guides so it does not swing. We also adjust or replace wardrobe sliding doors that have come off their tracks, and replace worn guides and rollers.

Screen and security doors

We repair and adjust hinged screen doors: re-meshing, replacing closers, fixing latches and re-hanging them square. Sliding screen doors get new rollers and pile strips. For new security doors, a dedicated security door supplier usually measures and installs, but we can fit doors you have bought made to measure. See also window and flyscreen repairs.

Draught sealing

Many older Valley homes are draughty. Gaps under external doors let in cold air during foggy, frosty winter mornings, and let out the heat from wood heaters and split systems. Sealing doors is one of the quickest ways to make a home more comfortable. We fit:

• Door bottom seals and automatic drop-down seals
• Weatherstrip around door frames
• Threshold strips at external doors
• Seals on sliding door frames

Sustainability Victoria publishes guidance on draught-proofing homes, and doors are one of the first places they recommend checking.

Door closers for businesses

Shops, clinics and offices often have doors with overhead closers. When they slam or fail to close, they become a safety issue. We adjust closer speed and latching action and replace failed closers. Fire doors in commercial buildings are a special case. Fire door maintenance and certification needs accredited fire door inspectors, so we will refer those to the right people.

Areas we cover for door repairs

Door repairs and installation in Traralgon, Morwell, Moe, Newborough, Churchill, Yallourn North, Glengarry, Tyers, Traralgon South and Hazelwood North.

Getting a door job quoted quickly

Photos make door quotes much faster. Ideally send:

• A photo of the whole door, closed, showing where it binds or gaps
• A close-up of the hinges and the latch or striker
• For sliding doors, a photo of the bottom track and the handle
• For new doors, the opening size (height and width of the frame) and the door type you want

From that we can usually tell you what is wrong and bring the right parts on the first visit.

Doors in older homes

Original timber doors in post-war homes are often solid, well made and worth keeping. Many have been painted many times, so they bind in the frame and the hinges are clogged with paint. We strip paint from the hinge edges, free up the hinges, plane the edges just enough to give clearance, and refit the hardware. Where an original handle is still sound, we keep it. Where it is beyond repair, we fit a matching style. Old door frames sometimes have rotten bottoms on external doors, and we can splice in new timber rather than replacing the whole frame.

A door that works properly

When we finish a door job, the door should swing freely without rubbing, latch with a light push, and close evenly without slamming or bouncing. The clearances should be even all around. That small result makes a surprisingly big difference to how a home feels to live in.

External doors and the weather

Front and back doors face the full Latrobe Valley weather: winter rain driven by westerlies, frost, and hot afternoon sun in summer. Over the years that takes a toll. Paint fails at the bottom rail, the timber swells and splits, the threshold rots and water finds its way under the door into the hallway or laundry. Fixing an external door properly means more than freeing it up. We check the bottom of the door and frame for rot, fit a weather bar or a door bottom with a drip edge so rain runs away rather than under, reseal raw edges, and make sure the door closes firmly against its seals. Where an external door is too far gone, we can hang a new one in the existing frame, prime and seal all six faces, and transfer or upgrade the lock.

Childproofing and accessibility

Doors matter for young children and for people with limited mobility. For young families we fit finger guards on hinge sides, door holders that stop doors slamming in a draught, high bolts on doors to laundries and garages, and safety gates at the tops of stairs. For older residents or people with disability, we replace round knobs with lever handles that are easier to use with arthritic hands, remove or bevel raised thresholds that can be a trip hazard, and adjust door closers so doors are not too heavy to open. These small changes can make a big difference to everyday independence. For more, see grab rails and accessibility.

Frequently asked questions