My uncle told me to 'just tap it with a hammer' on a stuck cabinet door and now I'm fixing a split frame.

3 comments

3 Comments

Oh, that's rough advice. A gentle wiggle and checking the hinge screws usually works better. Hammers and wood don't often get along.

julia_miller241mo ago

Yeah, I saw a thing online where a carpenter said if a door sticks, you should check if it's the top or bottom corner catching first. Joseph_adams66 is right about the hinge screws, that's usually step one. They said to tighten them all, because sometimes just one loose screw lets the whole door sag. If that doesn't fix it, then you might have to sand or plane the edge, but a hammer should be the absolute last resort. You can really mess up the frame or split the wood if you just start whacking it.

the_margaret1mo agoProlific Poster

My uncle tried the hammer fix on a stuck closet door when I was a kid. He whacked it so hard the top hinge ripped right out of the frame. We had to use a bookcase to block the opening for a week. Joseph_adams66 is totally right about wiggles and screws being the first move. That memory of splintered wood is why I just call someone now.