How Do I Repair An Exterior Door Frame From Break In?

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Hollow core doors are much cheaper and more common than doors fabricated of solid wood, only they are as well a lot more fragile and decumbent to damage. While holes in your doors or unsightly scratches might seem hard to repair, y'all tin can get them fixed upwardly in no more than a day or two. Merely patch upwardly holes or fill in the scratches before refinishing the surface and your door will expect proficient as new in no time!

1. ane

   Cut away any loose or broken wood from around the hole or crack. Depending on how the door was damaged, there may exist some loose splinters or fragments effectually the edges of the hole or crack. Rather than trying to repair these, use a utility pocketknife to cutting abroad any damaged wood until yous're left with a make clean hole free from rough edges.^[1]

   • E'er cutting abroad from yourself when working with a utility pocketknife, especially when cut through something sturdy similar wood.
   • You may demand to brand the pigsty or crevice bigger earlier you can begin repairing it. It's much easier to repair a larger hole free from damaged forest than it is to repair a smaller ane that'southward fragmented or broken.

2. 2

   Pack the pigsty with paper towels. While the paper towels won't make the door stronger or repair information technology, they are an piece of cake and affordable mode to hold the insulation foam in place while it dries. Bunch up a few paper towels and stuff them around the bottom and sides of the hole or crevice you desire to repair.^[2]

   • Paper towels work as they are light enough to concord their own weight inside the door. If you don't have newspaper towels, use some tissue paper or something similarly light.

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3. iii

   Fill the hole with expanding foam insulation. Expanding insulation foam comes in a spray can with a long nozzle on the top. Signal the nozzle into the pigsty or crack in your door and begin spraying. The foam will expand to fill the space inside the door, with any excess expanding outside the pigsty through the face of the door.^[3]

   • Expanding insulation foam should be available online or from your local hardware store. For a smaller space, a depression-expansion type may exist easier to handle.

4. iv

   Go out the insulation foam to dry overnight. Once the insulation cream has filled in the pigsty or crack, it needs to dry all the way through before it can be cut or sanded down. Leave the foam to sit for 4 to 5 hours or ideally overnight so that information technology can dry completely.^[iv]

   • Check the instructions on your own brand of insulation foam for more guidance on how long information technology will take to dry out.

5. 5

   Trim away the excess foam with a utility knife. Position a utility knife slightly to a higher place any protruding insulation cream and then that it is flush with the face of the door. Run the knife down the confront of the door to cutting abroad any excess foam, trimming information technology until the foam sits no more than 0.1 inches (ii.v mm) below the face of the door.^[5]

6. 6

   Use a layer of motorcar-body filler for a strong repair. Mix together 2 parts of an car-body filler and i part of a hardener goad and spread the mixture over the hole in your door. Use the edge of a putty knife to smear and press the mixture over the hole, filling in any gaps and making it roughly flush with the door.^[6]

   • Auto-trunk filler is a chemical compound that will give you a very strong door, but information technology tin exist quite difficult to piece of work with. It will normally come packaged with a hardener goad designed specifically to activate information technology. This production is available online or at your local hardware or auto store.

7. 7

   Cover the pigsty with spackle for a quicker fix. ^[seven] If y'all don't have automobile-trunk filler, you can employ spackle instead. Use a putty knife to scoop out some spackle and spread it over the hole in your door. Work in long, smooth strokes to smear the spackle over the door as smoothly and evenly as possible.^[viii]

   • Spackle is readily available, affordable, and very like shooting fish in a barrel to work with.
   • Spackle is available online or from your local hardware store.

8. 8

   Wait i hr for the surface to dry. Whether you repaired the door with spackle or an auto-body filler chemical compound, it volition accept around 1 hour for your repair compound to dry completely. Go out the door to dry until it is hard to the touch.^[nine]

   • Bank check the instructions on your spackle or auto-trunk filler compound for more than information on how long it will take to dry out.

9. 9

   Sand downward the surface of the door. ^[10] Use a sheet of coarse grit sandpaper, around 100- to 120-grit, to begin sanding down your repair compound. Sand off the spackle or auto-body filter until it is level with the surface of the door and it looks flat.^[11]

   • Sanding downward the door volition help you smooth out the repair job to make it less visible. However, it will rough up the surface around the hole or crack. To gear up this and make the door look completely undamaged, paint or stain the door.^[12]

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1. 1

   Employ very fine grit sandpaper to remove loose splinters and pigment. Use 320-grit sandpaper to sand down any areas where the paint is peeling and/or the wood is splintering. Make clean upwards the scratched area then that you lot tin can patch information technology rather than piecing it dorsum together.^[13]

   • If the wood is significantly splintered, clothing heavy gloves while sanding to avoid injuring yourself.

2. 2

   Employ a generous glaze of wood filler to the scratched expanse. Squeeze or spread a small dollop of wood filler over each scratch on your door. Use your finger or a putty knife to spread the filler around and press it into the scratches. Try to attain a polish end that is even and level with the residue of the door.^[14]

   • Wood filler is bachelor online or from your local hardware shop. It volition either come premixed in a tube or in 2 divide parts that need to be combined before using information technology. Follow the instructions on your wood filler for the best results.

3. 3

   Leave the filler to dry for fifteen to xx minutes. The filler needs to fix and fully attach to the wood in society for it to repair the door. Once you have pressed filler into all of the scratches, get out it for fifteen to 20 minutes to dry fully, until information technology is completely solid to the bear upon.^[15]

   • Bank check the instructions on your forest filler for more data on expected drying times.

4. iv

   Sand down the forest filler with 320-grit sandpaper. Once the filler has stale, apply very fine grit sandpaper to sand down previously scratched area. Work in smooth, deliberate strokes to remove whatever backlog woods filler and flatten the surface of the door.^[16]

   • Painting over the sanded area will make whatever irregular bumps more obvious. Run your manus over the expanse you patched with wood filler to catch whatsoever areas that need more sanding and smoothing.

5. 5

   Clean the area with a damp paper towel or sponge. Sanding the wood and pigment around the scratched area can produce a significant amount of dust and droppings that tin ruin the await of the repaired door. Dampen a clean cloth or a paper towel and lightly wipe downwards the area to clean up any grit left behind.

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1. 1

   Sand downwards the surface area you repaired and wipe away the dust. To brand certain the paint or wood stain sticks evenly to the area you are painting or staining, use 220-grit sandpaper to sand downwards the repaired area. Utilise a vacuum cleaner or a damp textile to wipe away whatever dust or debris.^[17]

   • Grit will preclude the paint from sticking to the door properly, leaving an uneven surface. Make clean away whatsoever grit before refinishing the door.

2. 2

   Remove whatever hardware or hinges from the door. It's best to paint or stain the entire door to attain an even stop, rather than only painting or staining the area you repaired. Utilize a screwdriver to remove the hardware from the door. Yous might need to remove the doorknob, hinges, or a strike plate near the base of operations of the door.^[eighteen]

   • If y'all desire to remove the door from its hinges entirely, press a smash against the base of operations of each hinge pin and employ a hammer to pop out the pins. This will allow you lot refinish the door elsewhere and make the chore easier.
   • Check the screws in each plumbing equipment or fixture to choose the correct screwdriver to use. You lot should always remove and reattach fixtures to a hollow cadre door with a screwdriver, as an electric drill can easily damage the door.
   • Alternatively, you could use painter's tape to record off areas y'all don't want to paint over.

3. 3

   Find paint or woods stain that matches the color of your door. Choosing the right color of paint or forest stain volition make sure that the repaired door matches the rest of the doors in your dwelling house. Enquire an employee at your local hardware store for some pigment or forest stain samples or ask for help in choosing the right paint to match the color of your door.^[19]

   • While taking a picture of your door to assist lucifer the color might seem like a skilful idea, it won't always pb to a directly match. The lighting in your home, the blazon of camera used, and the way the picture is printed or displayed volition all change the color.
   • If you tin can, bring in a sample of the door to help match information technology — such every bit a piece of the door you cut away when first repairing it.

4. 4

   Apply an even glaze of paint or wood stain to the entire door. Utilize a broad, all-purpose paintbrush or a pigment roller to use a single coat of paint or woods stain to the door. Paint or stain any grooves or panels beginning, then paint long, even strokes over the rest of the door to avert leaving visible lines.^[twenty]

   • If you're worried about making a mess, lay down a drop cloth or some onetime newspaper underneath the door before you begin painting.

5. 5

   Exit the door to dry for 3 to 4 hours. Once you've applied the commencement coat, allow the door to dry for 3 to 4 hours. Even slight contact with the door can damage the finished look, so brand sure everyone who might come in contact with information technology knows that it is still moisture.^[21]

   • Bank check the instructions on your chosen paint or stain for more information on the expected time information technology takes for it to dry.

6. 6

   Apply a 2nd glaze of paint or wood stain and let it dry out. Each coat that you apply to the door will darken the color slightly and amend the look overall. One time the kickoff coat has dried, utilize a second coat to help obscure any imperfections visible from the first coat. Leave it to dry out fully until the door is no longer damp or tacky to the touch.^[22]

   • Many interior paints and stains volition take several days to cure completely. Be conscientious with your repaired door for 1 week after painting it to avoid damaging your coat of paint.
   • You can utilise as many coats of paint or stain as yous want, simply 2 or 3 coats volition normally exist plenty to brand your door wait fantastic.

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Add New Question

• Question

  Should I fix my door or supplant it?

  

  Barry Zakar is a professional handyman and the founder of Lilliputian Blood-red Truck Dwelling house Services based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over ten years of experience, Barry specializes in a variety of carpentry projects. He is skilled at amalgam decks, railings, fences, gates, and various pieces of furniture. Barry also holds his MBA from John F. Kennedy Academy.

  

  

  Support wikiHow past unlocking this expert reply.

  Near hollow cadre doors are fairly cheap and esasy to replace. If the hole in your door is big, just get ahead and supplant the door. Nonetheless, for a pocket-size hole, y'all may be able to patch it with spackle, and so sand and repaint it to match.

• Question

  Can you patch a hollow core door?

  

  Barry Zakar is a professional handyman and the founder of Little Red Truck Home Services based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over ten years of experience, Barry specializes in a diversity of carpentry projects. He is skilled at amalgam decks, railings, fences, gates, and diverse pieces of article of furniture. Barry also holds his MBA from John F. Kennedy University.

  

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• If the hole in your door is fairly large, it may be more effective to only replace the unabridged door.^[23]

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Video

Things You'll Need

• Utility knife
• Paper towels
• Expanding insulation foam
• Auto-torso filler or spackle
• Putty knife
• 120-grit sandpaper
• 320-grit sandpaper

• 320-dust sandpaper
• Wood filler
• Putty pocketknife
• Clammy cloth or paper towels

• 220-grit sandpaper
• Pigment or forest stain
• Broad, all-purpose paintbrush or paint roller

Virtually This Article

Article Summary X

To repair a damaged hollow core door, start by cut away whatsoever loose or broken forest around the damage using a utility knife. Then, pack the hole or fissure with paper towels, and fill it in with expanding foam insulation. Next, let the insulation dry completely earlier trimming away the excess with a knife. Finally, cover the area with spackle, and allow it dry before sanding it downwardly and then information technology'south flush with the rest of the door. To larn how to refinish a hollow core door, scroll down!

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Source: https://www.wikihow.com/Repair-a-Damaged-Hollow-Core-Door

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