How do I fix drawers and doors that stick?

Sticking has three causes: friction on the running surfaces, seasonal swelling of the timber, or something having moved. Each has a different fix, and trying to plane a door that just needs its hinges tightened makes things permanently worse.

What you'll need

• Candle or bar of soap (optional)
• Screwdriver (optional)
• Sandpaper (optional)

Step by step

1. Try lubrication first — it costs a minute and fixes most cases.Rub a candle stub or a dry bar of soap along the runners and the drawer sides. Wax reduces friction without attracting dirt the way oil does.
2. For a sticking door, check the hinges before anything else.Loose hinge screws let the door drop, so it catches on the frame. Tightening them realigns it and is completely reversible.
3. Fix stripped screw holes with a matchstick and glue.Push glued matchsticks or a wooden plug into the hole, let it set, and refit. It gives the screw fresh timber to bite into.
4. Find where it is actually rubbing.Close it slowly and watch, or slide a sheet of paper round the gap to find where it binds. Guessing leads to removing material in the wrong place.
5. Note whether it is seasonal.Sticking only in damp weather means the timber has swollen. Removing material then means a gap in dry weather — often better to wait it out.
6. Sand or plane only as a last resort, and only where it binds.Remove a tiny amount, test, repeat. Material cannot be put back, so patience matters more than technique.
7. Check the drawer runners for damage or debris.Metal runners collect dust and can bend. Clean them, and check the fixing screws are tight and the runners parallel.
8. Check the unit itself is level and square.A cabinet on an uneven floor racks out of square, and every drawer in it binds. Packing under one corner can fix all of them at once.

Tips

• Beeswax or paraffin wax is better than oil for wooden runners — oil soaks in, attracts dust and eventually makes it worse.
• If several drawers in one unit stick, suspect the carcass rather than the drawers.
• Persistent seasonal sticking in a room usually indicates a humidity problem, which is worth addressing on its own terms.

Common mistakes

• Planing a door that sticks only in damp weather — It shrinks back in dry weather and you are left with a permanent gap and a draught.
• Using oil on wooden runners — It soaks into the timber, attracts dust and gums up. Wax stays on the surface and works better.
• Removing material before finding where it binds — You end up taking wood off a part that was not the problem, and the door still sticks.

Questions people ask