A door that squeaks, catches on the threshold, will not close properly or wobbles on its hinges — sound familiar? In most cases the problem is fixed in 30-60 minutes with no door replacement and no major expense. Adjustment means tightening hinges, re-aligning the leaf, fitting the latch to the strike plate, and planing edges if needed. We adjust interior and entrance doors across Warsaw. If your door is sagging, scraping the floor or catching the frame — get in touch and we will sort it on site.

How much does door adjustment cost and what affects the price

Door adjustment is one of the most affordable services we offer. In a straightforward case it is enough to tighten the hinge screws and lubricate the mechanism — a 15-20 minute job. If the hinge holes are stripped and the hinges need to be re-seated on fresh fixings, shimmed with timber or replaced entirely, it takes longer. A separate situation is a door that catches the floor after new flooring has been laid: that may require trimming the bottom of the leaf, which is a different service altogether.

Fixings are included in the labour cost. If new hinges or a lock are required, materials are charged separately. Lubricant, small screws and shims — the technician brings all of these. Current prices for adjustment, lubrication, trimming and other door work are in the table below.

Describe the problem or send a short video — the technician will tell you exactly what is needed and quote a price upfront.

How door adjustment works: step by step

Door adjustment is precise work, even though it is quick. You cannot just crank every screw tight and call it done. Here is how the technician works:

1. Inspecting the door and frame. The technician checks the gaps all round, the condition of the hinges and the operation of the lock and handle. He identifies exactly where the door is catching or sagging and why.
2. Diagnosing the hinges. Hinges are behind 80 percent of problems. The technician checks whether screws have loosened and whether the holes in the frame or leaf are stripped. If holes are worn out, they are drilled out and fitted with longer screws or packed with hardwood dowels.
3. Tightening and re-aligning. Hinge screws are tightened and the leaf is set in the correct position. If the hinges are adjustable (as on many modern doors), alignment is done with a hex key in three axes.
4. Planing edges. If the door catches the frame at the top or side, the technician removes the minimum of material with a hand plane or a sander on site, without taking the leaf off. Touching up the paint on the planed edge is an optional extra.
5. Adjusting the lock and latch. The latch tongue must engage the strike plate cleanly. If the door has shifted, the strike plate is repositioned or filed.
6. Lubrication. All moving parts — hinges, lock, latch — are lubricated. The squeak disappears immediately. The technician uses silicone or PTFE lubricant that does not attract dust.
7. Final check. The door is opened and closed several times. The technician verifies that gaps are even, the lock works and there is no noise. The client signs off.

In most cases the whole job takes 30-40 minutes. If there are several doors, each additional one takes even less time.

Common mistakes when adjusting doors yourself

Adjustment looks like a simple task, but without experience it is easy to make things worse. Here is what goes wrong most often:

• Over-tightening screws in stripped holes. The screw spins and does not grip. The door keeps sagging and the hole gets even bigger.
• Packing cardboard under the hinges. A temporary fix that falls apart within a week. The cardboard compresses, the door sags again. A proper shim is made from veneer or hardwood.
• Planing the door without diagnosing the cause. The door catches not because it has swollen but because a hinge is loose. You plane the leaf, then tighten the hinge — and end up with a one-centimetre gap.
• Lubricating hinges with cooking oil. Food-grade oil thickens, collects dust and within a month the hinge squeaks worse than before. Use a proper technical lubricant.
• Taking the door off without a helper. A leaf weighs 15-25 kg and if it falls it can damage the door, the floor and you.
• Trying to adjust a moisture-swollen leaf. If a fibreboard door has swollen in the bathroom, no amount of adjustment will help — it needs replacing. Solid timber doors, on the other hand, can move with the seasons: they shrink in winter and expand in summer.
• Ignoring a problem with the frame. Sometimes the issue is not the door but the frame, which has pulled away from the wall or twisted. Adjusting the hinges in that case is a waste of time.

What to prepare before the technician arrives

Adjustment is clean, quick work that needs almost no special preparation. But a few things will speed the process up:

• Describe the problem: squeaking, catching on the floor, not closing, wobbling. The more detail, the faster the technician can diagnose it.
• Record a short video of the door in action — often the issue is obvious from the clip.
• Clear access to the door: remove mats, shoes and anything that stops it opening fully.
• If there are several doors, make a list. The technician will plan time and bring the right set of consumables.
• If you know the make and model of the door (sticker on the edge), mention it. Some doors need specific hinges.
• Have a power socket within 5 metres in case a power tool is needed for trimming.
• Provide the entry code, floor number and lift information.
• If you have pets, keep them in another room — the door will be opened and closed dozens of times.
• Decide in advance whether you need any extra work: handle or lock replacement, lubricating several doors. Everything can be done in a single visit.

A real case: five doors in Wola in one visit

A client in Wola complained that after winter every interior door in the flat had started closing badly. The flat was in a new-build, the block three years old, and the doors had been fitted by the developer at handover. The problem turned out to be typical: the new building had settled slightly, the frames had shifted a fraction, and the hinges had loosened from daily use. On two doors the hinge screws simply spun — the holes in the MDF frame were stripped. The technician packed the holes with hardwood dowels and glue, left them for ten minutes, then drove in fresh screws. On the other three doors, tightening and hex-key adjustment was enough. One door also caught the threshold, so half a millimetre was planed off the bottom. All five doors were adjusted within an hour and a half. The client was pleased: not a single door needed replacing, and the total cost was a fraction of what new ones would have been.

Who does the work and what guarantees we offer

Door adjustment is carried out by tradespeople experienced in joinery and door installation. We arrive with the full kit: drill-driver, hex keys, hand plane, lubricants, spare screws and shims. We cover all of Warsaw and the surrounding area — from Ursynow to Bielany. We guarantee that after adjustment the door will open and close smoothly, with no squeaking or catching. If the problem returns within the guarantee period through our fault, we come back and fix it free of charge. Book now — we typically reply within an hour and can come the same day or the next.