Do you have to force your door open to leave the house? Or maybe you’re stuck inside right now? Either way, a door that won’t budge is a frustrating problem to deal with. So, what gives?

If you’re having trouble opening your front door, the issue may be broken or loose parts in the handle, or a frozen lock. Wooden doors can also swell in high humidity, making them hard to open as they jam into the frame. Keypad locks may fail in extreme conditions or when batteries are low.

Don’t panic if your door is hard to open or won’t budge. Most of the causes behind this issue are easy to diagnose and resolve. Let’s take a look at how these issues can start and ways you can fix them.

Possible Reasons Why Your Front Door Is Hard To Open

Why do you struggle to open your front door? The most common causes are issues with the hardware, high moisture levels, and frozen locks.

In some cases, shifting foundations can also cause problems. Moving foundation is a severe issue that needs to be handled ASAP.

Fortunately, the common reasons are easy to diagnose and resolve. Here’s a few issues to watch out for:

Faulty or Loose Hardware

Faulty, loose, and damaged hardware are the typical culprits behind difficult-to-open doors. When damaged, components like doorknobs, hinges, and strike plates can make your door stuck.

To fix this, start by inspect the hinges on your front door to check for damage. You can easily tighten any loose screws or replace them with lengthier ones — make sure they’re at least 3 inches.

However, you might need to purchase an anchor kit or adjust the hinge if the screws are stripped. Anchor kits fill in spaces around the screw and can be easily found online (on Amazon) or at nearby hardware shops.

If the issue lies with your doorknob instead, you can spray graphite (on Amazon) inside the assembly to lubricate it.

However, if you can’t loosen it with graphite, your best bet is to take it off the door and bring the assembly to a locksmith. They can diagnose the issue and provide additional assistance. You might have to replace the hinge.

Strike Plates

The strike plate in particular is also known to cause issues. This is piece of metal connected to the door jamb. It has a hole in it with a latch that catches the door when it shuts.

Your door will get stuck or be hard to open if the strike plate doesn’t line up correctly or if it’s jutting out of the door jamb.

To fix this, check for misalignment or loose screws. You tighten the screws with standard or electric screwdrivers. Alternatively, you can fix a misaligned strike plate that’s not laying flat with a rubber mallet.

If the issue is that the latch doesn’t line up with the holes, remove the strike plate to realign it with the door latch. Then create a new hole for the latch using an electric drill.

In some cases, the problem might be that the latch is warped and doesn’t slot into the hole anymore. In these situations, you can use a metal file or an electric planer to create a larger space until the latch slots into place.

Humidity

Although you might not expect it, humidity levels and temperature can affect how easy it is to open a door. Weather conditions affect all aspects of your house, and high levels of moisture cause wooden doors to swell.

Wood is an organic material, so the more humidity and precipitation it absorbs, the more it will swell. Your front door is especially vulnerable and might stick when it’s humid or raining.

If swollen wood is the cause of your sticky door, you may need to sand the door to make more room for the frame.

You can remove the door from the hinges and carefully sand the edges. It’s best to practice restraint, as sanding too much can cause significant gaps.

It’s best to call a professional door repairman if you don’t feel ready to tackle this project or aren’t sure how much to sand.

Prices can vary, but repairs can cost anywhere from $100 to $300 depending on your circumstances.

Ice

In some climates, the hardware on a door can become frozen solid. Ice can develop over the lock, making it inaccessible. As you can imagine, frozen locks and hardware are incredibly frustrating to deal with.

How to Fix a Frozen Lock

There are two fast-acting solutions to frozen locks: clearing ice around the cylinder and de-icing the keyhole.

Manually Chip Away at the Ice

Insert your key into the frozen lock and wiggle it around.

Slowly chip away at the ice in the lock cylinder, but be careful to avoid damage to the lock. You can use the tip of your key or a similarly sized item.

Use a Chemical Spray

A quick solution is to use a de-icing spray (on Amazon) on the keyhole to remove the ice. You can also use lubricant sprays to clear away some of the ice.

WD-40 is very effective and will also prevent ice from building up for several days.

Sticking Doors as a Result of Foundation Issues

The foundation of your home is integral to keeping everything secure and upright, regardless of whether it is a raised, slab, or post-tension construction.

You may not notice if you have shifting foundation levels, but the doors and windows will be affected.

Other signs of a foundation include the following:

• Cracks in the drywall
• Counters and cabinets moving away from the walls
• Uneven and sloping floors
• Stuck doors and windows

As your home ages, the ground shifts expands, and settles, causing the structure to morph. Non-level foundation issues can quickly damage your home and frames, regardless of whether it shifts upward, downward, or to the side.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple solution for foundation issues. If you believe foundation problems are causing your stuck doors, call a local structural engineer as soon as you can.

Foundation repairs aren’t cheap and can easily cost from $2,000 and $7,000 for smaller fixes. It’s best to handle the problem quickly to prevent further expenses down the line.