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No matter how well you keep up with the maintenance of your home, there will inevitably come a time when one of your doors ends up with a hole in it. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you don’t know how to fix it.
No one wants to spend time and money fixing the door, and getting someone to come out and fix it for you can be quite expensive.
Luckily, fixing a wooden door is a lot easier than it might initially seem, and when you know what you have to do, you can do it yourself! If you want to fix your door without spending extra money, then read on to find out exactly what you need to do.
How To Fix A Hole In A Wooden Door
In order to fix your wooden door, you first need to make sure that you have the right tools and materials for the job. More often than not, people are unsuccessful in fixing things because they don’t have the right equipment.
Before you follow the guide, make sure that you have these tools and materials first:
- Cardboard
- Putty Knife
- Sandpaper
- Insulating foam
- Utility knife
- Paint (Matching color to the door)
- Auto body filler or plastic wood filler (see also ‘How To Fix Warped Wood‘)
- Pliers
Once you have these tools and materials gathered, all you have to do is follow these steps and your wooden door will be fixed in no time at all!
1. Completely Remove The Door
The first thing you need to do is remove the door from the doorframe. It’s much easier to fix a door when it is on a level surface, so this is why you remove the door first.
First, remove the door from its hinges and then lay it flat on a level surface. If you don’t have a work surface that is big enough, the floor works fine! If your floor is a bit dirty, consider giving it a bit of a clean first or laying something down to protect the door.
2. Clean The Hole
Next, you are going to want to clean the hole in the door. Take the utility knife and the pliers and use them to clean up the edges of the hole first. Remove any excess debris that is in or around the hole.
If for whatever reason the area around the hole feels weak, dent it a little by applying light pressure. You want to make the hole bigger in this case until the area no longer feels weak.
3. Use Cardboard For Support
Once you have cleaned the hole, you are going to take some cardboard and cut it into a strip. Roll it up and put it into the hole in the door.
Using cardboard to do this will provide support on the inside of the door once the hole has been patched. If you need to use more than one strip of cardboard because the hole is bigger, that’s fine.
4. Add Insulating Foam
Once you have inserted the appropriate amount of cardboard into the hole, you are next going to want to add insulating foam.
For this step, simply make sure that there is a hollow area in the center of the cardboard and use insulating foam in the center to fill the hole. Make sure that the insulating foam is expanding and when you add it to the center, make sure to do so carefully.
The foam itself will then take a few hours to dry, so make sure that you leave the door in a safe place where it’s not going to be disturbed by anyone or any animals, etc.
Sometimes the foam can stick to the outside of the door in the area around the hole, but you can prevent this by using painter’s tape to surround the hole.
Once the foam is dry, take the utility knife and use it to clean off any excess foam and make sure as you’re cleaning that it is level with the surface of the door.
5. Apply Filler
For this next step, you need to make sure that the last step has been completed and that the insulating foam is completely dry. When you are confident this is the case, take some plastic wood or auto body filler and apply it to the top of the insulating foam.
You need to make sure that the plastic wood or auto body filler is level with the door, so use a putty knife to spread it appropriately. Make sure to apply the filler generously. Don’t worry if it gets on the door, the next step will take care of that.
6. Sanding
You will have to leave the plastic wood or auto body filler to dry for a couple of hours like you did with the insulating foam, but once it is dry, you can start sanding the door and the hole.
For this step, just keep sanding the door and the hole until the whole surface is completely smooth.
7. Paint The Door
Once the sanding process is complete, you will then be ready to paint the door. Make sure the door is still on a level surface and make sure you have paint that matches the color of the door.
You will need to leave the paint to dry for a few hours, the time will vary depending on what type of paint you’ve used, but once it is dry, you can return the door to its hinges.
Be vigilant and keep tabs on your door for a while to see if you can work out what caused the hole in the first place because if it’s not rectified, there is a chance this problem can happen again!
Conclusion
Fixing a wooden door can be quite a pain, but when you have the right tools and you know what you’re doing, you will find that it isn’t as hard as it might originally seem.
Use the instructions we have provided so you can have your door fixed in no time at all!
