Wood is the one door material that is genuinely worth repairing. A solid wood door can be planed, spliced, re-cored at the bottom rail and refinished more times than a steel or fibreglass door can be patched once — which matters in older Toronto neighbourhoods where the original door is part of the house. Door Repair Near Me repairs and restores wood doors across the GTA. Call (647) 955-5637.
Wood Door Problems We Repair
- Rot at the bottom rail and stiles — the classic exterior wood door failure
- Doors that swell and stick in humid weather
- Split or cracked panels and rails
- Warped and twisted doors that no longer sit flat against the stop
- Worn or torn-out hinge mortises where screws no longer hold
- Damaged lock and latch areas after a forced entry
- Failed finish — peeling, checking and greyed timber
- Rotted jambs around a sound door — see door frame repair
Why Wood Doors Fail at the Bottom
Almost every rotted exterior wood door in Ontario fails in the same place and for the same reason. The bottom rail is end grain sitting closest to the sill, where snow, splash-back and meltwater collect. End grain absorbs water many times faster than face grain, and the finish there is the first to wear because it takes the sweep and the boots. Once the finish breaks, the rail wicks water upward all winter.
The practical implication is that a wood door rots from the inside out. By the time paint bubbles at the bottom, the timber behind it is usually soft well above the visible damage — which is why filling and repainting fails so quickly.
How We Repair Rather Than Replace
- Sound the door first. We probe to find the actual extent of soft timber, which is nearly always beyond what shows.
- Cut back to solid wood. All compromised timber is removed — repairs made over soft wood fail within a season.
- Splice in matched timber. A new bottom rail section or stile piece is scarfed in with matching species and grain direction, glued and clamped, rather than packed with filler.
- Reinforce the hardware areas. Worn hinge mortises get plugged with hardwood and re-cut; torn latch areas are backed solidly.
- Seal the end grain. The bottom edge is sealed properly — the step most often skipped, and the reason the same door comes back.
- Refinish and re-seal the perimeter, then rehang, adjust and fit a new sweep.
Sticking and Warping
A wood door that sticks in summer and swings free in winter is doing what wood does: it moves with humidity. The temptation is to plane it down in August, which leaves a door with wide gaps and drafts by February. The correct approach is to identify whether the door is genuinely oversized or simply unsealed — an unfinished top or bottom edge lets moisture in and out unevenly, which is what causes seasonal swelling and eventually warping. Sealing all six surfaces stabilises most doors without removing material.
Where a door has genuinely warped, we assess whether it can be re-hung with adjusted stops and hinges, or whether the twist is beyond correction. See door replacement.
When Replacement Is Honest
We will tell you when a wood door is not worth saving: when rot has travelled into the panels and lock stile rather than the bottom rail alone, when a hollow-core interior door has delaminated, when the door has twisted so far it cannot seal, or when an original single-glazed door is the main heat loss in the room and the priority is comfort rather than heritage.
Wood Door Repair Across the GTA
We repair and restore wood doors in
Toronto,
Old Toronto,
Leaside,
North York,
Scarborough,
Etobicoke,
Mississauga,
Vaughan,
Richmond Hill,
Barrie,
Guelph,
Waterloo and
Hamilton.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a rotted wood door be repaired or does it need replacing?
If the rot is confined to the bottom rail or a stile section, it can usually be cut out and spliced with matched timber. Rot that has reached the panels and lock stile is generally past economic repair.
My door sticks every summer. Should it be planed?
Often not. Seasonal sticking is usually an unsealed top or bottom edge letting moisture in. Sealing all six surfaces frequently fixes it without leaving winter gaps.
Can you match the existing wood and finish?
We splice with matched species and grain direction and refinish to blend. On an aged or unusual finish, an exact match cannot always be promised, and we will say so before starting.
Do you repair antique and heritage doors?
Yes. Older solid doors are usually very repairable, and we will always quote the repair before suggesting replacement.
Have Your Wood Door Assessed
Send a photo of the bottom rail and any soft areas and we can usually tell you whether it is repairable. Call (647) 955-5637 or use our contact form.