Entry Door Repair in St. Louis, MO

Q: How long does a typical entry door repair take?

Most repairs weatherstripping replacement, strike plate adjustment, threshold repair, hinge tightening take 30 to 60 minutes. More involved work like brickmold replacement or rotted trim repair may take two to three hours. We always give you a time estimate before we start.

Q: What St. Louis neighborhoods do you serve for entry door repair?

Contact us to confirm service in your neighborhood.

Entry Door Repair in St. Louis

Front doors, side doors, back doors, and entry doors to the garage — fixed right. Licensed, insured, and phones answered 24/7.

Entry Door Repair in St. Louis

Most entry door problems in St. Louis — sticking in summer, drafts in winter, latches that miss, weatherstripping that’s worn out, or thresholds that have shifted — can be fixed without replacing the door. FIX St. Louis diagnoses the real cause and repairs it, typically in a single visit. We handle front doors, side doors, rear entry doors, and doors to the garage — with no minimum job size and a firm quote before any work begins.

314-434-4100

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Your Entry Door Does More Work Than Any Door in the House

It opens and closes multiple times every day. It takes the full force of St. Louis weather — humid summers that swell wood, cold winters that shrink it, and spring storms that push rain and wind against every seal and gap. It’s the first thing guests see and the first thing that affects your energy bill.

When an entry door starts to fail — sticking, drafting, not latching — most homeowners assume it needs replacing. In most cases, it doesn’t. The door itself is usually fine. It’s the hardware, the weatherstripping, the threshold, the hinges, or the frame that needs attention.

FIX St. Louis has been solving entry door problems for St. Louis homeowners for years. We carry the parts, we know the problems, and we give you a firm quote before we touch anything. See why St. Louis homeowners choose us — no surprises, no minimum job size.

Why Entry Doors Act Up: The St. Louis Seasonal Pattern

If your door is harder to open in July than it was in January, that’s not a coincidence. St. Louis weather puts entry doors through a specific cycle of stress:

Season	What Happens to Your Entry Door
Summer	Wood swells from humidity — doors stick, won’t close fully, or require a shoulder to latch. Gaps close up and weatherstripping gets pinched.
Fall	Frames begin to shift as temperatures drop. Locksets and latches may start missing their strike plates.
Winter	Cold causes wood to contract, creating gaps where drafts enter. Thresholds gap at the bottom. Weatherstripping becomes brittle and cracks.
Spring	Freeze/thaw cycles move frames. Brickmold and exterior trim can separate. Rotting begins if winter moisture got in.

Dr. Steve’s Pro Tip:

The most common entry door call we get in July is ‘my front door won’t shut without really pushing it.’ Nine times out of ten, it’s humidity swelling the door into the frame. The fix is a quick plane of the binding edge — not a new door. Wait until fall and that same door might start letting cold air in through a gap. Same door, opposite problem, same solution: the frame, not the door.

314-434-4100

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Phones Answered 24/7

314-254-8006

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Entry Door Problems We Fix in St. Louis

Here’s a complete look at what FIX St. Louis handles on entry doors. This isn’t a partial list — it’s everything. For the full picture of our door services, visit our Doors page.

Problem	What We Do
Door hard to open or close	Diagnose cause — frame settling, humidity swelling, hinge sag, or threshold interference — and fix the root issue, not just the symptom.
Door rubs against frame or floor	Plane, sand, or adjust hinges to restore proper clearance.
Won’t fully click shut / latch misses	Adjust or replace strike plate; correct hinge alignment.
Gaps where light or air comes through	Replace weatherstripping, door sweep, or threshold; adjust brickmold.
Weatherstripping worn or missing	Remove old stripping and install new compression or kerf-style seal.
Door sweep damaged or dragging	Replace sweep; adjust height for proper seal without drag.
Threshold cracked or uneven	Repair or replace threshold; re-seal as needed.
Inside casing trim loose or damaged	Re-secure, repair, or replace interior casing.
Outside brickmold damaged or rotted	Replace brickmold sections; caulk and prime for weather protection.
Decorative side lites (sidelights) damaged	Repair or replace side lite glass or framing.
Rotted entry trim, columns, or pediment	Remove rot, sister in new framing where needed, and restore trim.
Doorknob or lockset not working	Adjust, repair, or replace lockset hardware.
Doorbell not working	Diagnose and repair or replace wired or wireless doorbell.
Video doorbell camera needs replacement	Install or replace video doorbell unit.
Door needs full replacement	Source and install new entry door slab or full unit.

The Most Common Entry Door Problems — And What’s Actually Going On

The Door Sticks and Won’t Close Without Forcing

This is the most common call we get on entry doors, and it peaks every summer. Wood swells when humidity rises — and St. Louis summers are reliably humid. The binding is almost always at the top corner opposite the hinges, or along the latch side of the frame.

The fix depends on where and why it’s binding. Often it’s a simple plane of the edge. Sometimes it’s hinge adjustment. If the frame itself has shifted, we address that too. We look at the whole picture before we start cutting anything.

There’s a Draft, Light, or Cold Air Getting In

Gaps around an entry door are energy waste — and in a St. Louis winter, they’re noticeable fast. The seal system on an entry door has four distinct components, and each can fail independently:

– Weatherstripping on the sides and top — compresses against the door when closed; flattens and cracks over time
– Door sweep at the bottom — seals the gap between door bottom and floor; gets bent or worn
– Threshold beneath the door — the raised surface the sweep rests against; can shift, crack, or warp
– Brickmold outside — the exterior trim framing the door; gaps here let air and moisture in behind the frame

We replace whichever component is failing — and we check all four while we’re there, because if one is worn out, the others usually are too.

Dr. Steve’s Take:

A drafty entry door in St. Louis winter isn’t just uncomfortable — it’s measurable energy waste on every utility bill. Dr. Steve dedicated an entire column to this, walking through the four places a drafty entry door leaks and what the fix is for each. Weatherstripping and door sweeps are the most common culprits, and they’re among the least expensive repairs we make on entry doors.

From Dr. Steve’s Tips: Maybe That’s Why Your Home is as Drafty as a Flight on Alaska Airlines

The Latch Doesn’t Catch or the Door Won’t Stay Closed

This is almost always a strike plate alignment issue. The door has shifted — from seasonal movement, hinge wear, or frame settling — and the latch bolt is no longer meeting the strike plate cleanly. You can usually see a scratch mark on the strike plate showing where it’s hitting instead.

The fix is either adjusting the strike plate position or correcting the hinge alignment. Either way, it’s a quick repair that restores proper security to your entry door.

Rotted Trim, Brickmold, or Decorative Elements

Exterior trim on entry doors — brickmold, sidelights, columns, the pediment above the door — takes continuous weather exposure. When paint fails or caulk cracks, moisture gets in and rot follows. The good news: you almost never need a new door. You need the rotted trim replaced and the entry properly re-sealed.

FIX St. Louis replaces rotted brickmold sections, repairs and replaces decorative trim, and restores the entry to a weather-tight, presentable condition. If you’ve been ignoring trim that looks soft or sounds hollow, sooner is much better than later.

Dr. Steve’s Take:

St. Louis storms — and we get real ones — accelerate exterior wood deterioration faster than most homeowners realize. Dr. Steve covered exactly this in a column on weather resilience: the entry door’s brickmold and decorative trim are the first places to check after a wet spring or a bad storm season. Rot caught early is a straightforward repair. Rot ignored becomes a structural issue.

From Dr. Steve’s Tips: Can Your House Stare a Hurricane in the Eye?

Doorknob, Lockset, or Deadbolt Problems

Locksets wear out — the mechanism gets stiff, the key doesn’t turn cleanly, or the deadbolt doesn’t throw all the way. These aren’t just inconveniences. A lockset that’s failing is a security issue.

We adjust, repair, or replace entry door locksets and deadbolts. If you’re also replacing the door hardware for a refresh, we can handle that at the same time.

Doorbell or Video Camera Needs Repair or Replacement

Wired doorbells lose connections. Wireless doorbells lose pairing. Video doorbells get fried by lightning or simply reach end of life. We diagnose and fix wired doorbell issues and replace video doorbell units that have failed — so you’re not waiting on a separate electrician for a simple job.

314-434-4100

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Phones Answered 24/7

314-254-8006

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Keep Your Entry Door Working: A Simple Maintenance Schedule

Entry doors don’t need much attention — but they do need some. Here’s what Dr. Steve recommends to keep yours operating well through St. Louis seasons. For more home maintenance guidance, visit Dr. Steve’s Tips.

Frequency	What to Check
Monthly	Test that the door opens, closes, and latches smoothly. Check that the deadbolt throws fully without forcing.
Each Season	Run your hand along the door edges when it’s windy or very cold. Feel for drafts at the sweep, threshold, and weatherstripping sides.
Spring	Inspect brickmold and exterior trim for winter damage. Check caulk lines for cracking. Look for any soft spots suggesting rot.
Fall	Apply a light coat of lubricant to hinges and lockset. Check door sweep for wear. Replace weatherstripping if it’s cracked or flattened.
Annually	Have a professional eye on your entry door — especially if it’s older, if you’ve noticed changes in operation, or if your home has settled noticeably.

Dr. Steve’s Pro Tip:

Never use WD-40 on door hinges. It’s a solvent, not a lubricant — it strips grease, attracts dirt, and makes the squeak return faster. Use a dry silicone spray or a white lithium grease instead. One application lasts a full year and won’t stain the frame.

FAQs

Entry Door Repair in St. Louis

Why does my front door stick in summer but work fine in winter?

That’s humidity doing exactly what it does to wood in St. Louis. High summer humidity causes the door to expand, binding against the frame. In winter, the wood contracts and the door moves freely — sometimes too freely, leaving gaps. We can adjust the clearance or plane the binding edge so the door works properly in all seasons.

Can you fix an entry door without replacing it?

In the vast majority of cases, yes. Most entry door problems — sticking, drafting, not latching, worn weatherstripping, shifted thresholds — are repair issues, not replacement issues. The door slab itself rarely fails. It’s the components around it that wear out. We always start with a thorough look and a firm quote before recommending anything.

How do I know if my entry door needs weatherstripping replacement?

Close the door and run your hand around the edges on a cold or windy day. If you feel air movement anywhere along the frame, top, or threshold area, the seal is failing. You can also hold a piece of paper in the closed door — if it slides out easily, the compression seal is worn. Weatherstripping typically lasts 5 to 10 years in St. Louis conditions.

My entry door won’t latch unless I lift up on the handle. What’s wrong?

That’s a classic sign of hinge sag. Over time, hinges loosen or the door settles, causing the latch bolt to drop below the strike plate opening. Lifting the handle raises the bolt back into alignment. The fix is tightening or replacing the hinges, or adjusting the strike plate to match where the bolt is actually landing.

How long does a typical entry door repair take?

Most repairs — weatherstripping replacement, strike plate adjustment, threshold repair, hinge tightening — take 30 to 60 minutes. More involved work like brickmold replacement or rotted trim repair may take two to three hours. We always give you a time estimate before we start.

Is rotted brickmold or entry trim a serious problem?

It becomes one quickly if ignored. Rot spreads into the frame, and once the frame is compromised, you’re looking at a much larger job. Caught early, rotted brickmold or trim is a straightforward repair — we remove the affected section, sister in new material, and re-seal the entry. We’ve seen small rot spots turn into full door unit replacements because they were left too long. Early repair is always the better path.

Do you fix all types of entry doors — wood, fiberglass, steel?

Yes. The repair approach varies by material — wood doors plane differently than fiberglass, and steel doors have their own considerations for weatherstripping and threshold fit — but we work on all entry door materials. If you’re not sure what type yours is, we’ll identify it when we arrive.

What St. Louis neighborhoods do you serve for entry door repair?

~~Contact us~~ to confirm service in your neighborhood.

Ready to Fix Your Entry Door? We’re Ready to Help.

Whether your front door is fighting you every time you come home, letting cold air in all winter, or just looking rough around the edges — we’ll take a look, tell you exactly what’s going on, and fix it in one visit. Firm quote upfront. No minimum job size. Phones answered 24/7.

Contact FIX St. Louis — Door Hub Repair

Call 314-434-4100 — Phones answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

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FIX St. Louis • 50 River Bend Dr, St. Louis, MO 63017

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