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When I open and close my bathroom door, it catches on the floor. This makes it hard to open and close it, and also makes a really annoying sound.

What is the easiest way to stop the door from touching the floor?

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5 Answers 5

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If the condition has developed over time, you can try tightening all of the screws on the hinges. If any of the screws keep turning then you can replace them with longer screws so that they grip the stud behind the frame and pull the door up.

If you recently installed carpet or a new floor then you will need to plane the bottom of the door with either a hand planer or by sanding. There is also a planer attachment for the dremels which works pretty well for light jobs, and in some cases you can even do it without removing the door.

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  • I didn't find any screws on the hinges. I don't know how exactly the hinges are connected to the lintel, but it seems like they are just one piece. I did not install a new carpet or a new floor. I wanted to avoid sanding the bottom of the door, but it seems I have no choice. Thank you!
    – Joe
    Jan 31, 2012 at 15:12
  • How exactly are the hinges attached to the frame if there are no screws?
    – Steven
    Jan 31, 2012 at 15:20
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    Although it doesn't apply here, a trick my mom taught me to get loose hinge screws to hold tight is to shove a sliver of a split toothpick into the hole to narrow the hole and give the screw something to hold on to. I've also used slivers from scrap shims. Works awesomely.
    – oscilatingcretin
    Feb 3, 2012 at 12:25
  • Or a dowel works too, however if you need to "lift" the door up, you really need the strength from the studs behind it, not the toothpicks :)
    – Steven
    Feb 3, 2012 at 13:18
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    if worst comes to worst move the hinge up or down a few inches to fresh wood to hold itself into
    – ratchet freak
    Feb 3, 2012 at 15:28
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Replace the hinges with Rising Butt Hinges, These will lift the door as it is opened.

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Remember not to mix right-hand hinges with left-hand hinges when using rising butt hinges.

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Take the door out of the frame and shave a few millimeters off the bottom (you might need a second pair of hands to get the door in and out of the frame).

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  • This is easy to do with doors with a hollow core. I've never had to do this with a solid-core door, though.
    – oscilatingcretin
    Feb 3, 2012 at 12:26
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The easiest way is to pay someone to do it. Since it's a bathroom door it should be hollow and light weight and come off hinges easily. Pop the hinges and put the door up on a table. Clamp it down (preferably) and then saw the sucker off about a 1/4 inch or more depending on how low it is looking. Put the door back on hinges and you are done.

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  • Why should a bathroom door be hollow? You'd think you'd want a solid, heavy door to allow for more privacy. I am interested in knowing this because I plan on replacing both of my bathroom doors with solid-core doors.
    – oscilatingcretin
    Feb 3, 2012 at 12:27
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    @oscilatingcretin, in general, all interior doors are hollow. The privacy you want in a bathroom is for sight, not sound, so anything that isn't transparent will work.
    – Martha
    Feb 23, 2012 at 17:29
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    Martha says - "oscilatingcretin, in general, all interior doors are hollow. The privacy you want in a bathroom is for sight, not sound, so anything that isn't transparent will work" Exactly, Martha, because who will be embarrassed to let fly with a nice porcelain bowl fart so long as the people outside the bathroom can't actually see you doing it?
    – oscilatingcretin
    Feb 23, 2012 at 17:33
  • Hollow doors are cheaper which I imagine is the main reason people use them for interior doors. I've seen many houses with solid wood doors throughout, but they were all multi-million dollar mansions!
    – Steven
    Mar 29, 2012 at 13:20
  • I have never owned a house worth a million dollars, but I think I've had three houses where the majority of internal doors were solid wood.
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Mar 25, 2019 at 9:38
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I salesperson at a hardware store in my neighborhood suggested an easy way to solve the problem, that doesn't require sanding the door. I tried it, and it works perfectly!

I took a small piece of plastic-coated electrical wire, and used pliers to shape the piece into a helix. I shoved such a piece up the barrel of each one of the door's hinges. After putting the door back, the pieces of wire inside the hinges made it a bit higher and it stopped catching on the floor.

I also made sure there is spare space between the top of the door and the frame when it was closed, so it can still be closed even when it's a bit higher.

Definitely easier than sanding!

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    This is a bit of "hack" that doesn't solve the root problem. If you still use short screws, the problem is likely to recur. Funny enough one of the doors in my house just fell off when someone tried to close it, and sure enough there was electrical wire shoved in the holes too. I used 3" screws which properly gripped the stud versus the flimsy door frame.
    – Steven
    Feb 23, 2012 at 15:27
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    The hinges of the door are very firm, so I don't see why the door should fall off. For now I am satisfied with the solution I have found, but if any problem occurs, I will report back here, and you may then say "I told you so" :)
    – Joe
    Feb 23, 2012 at 15:47
  • I don't understand how a piece of wire in the barrel will make the door-side of the hinge higher, unless you already have rising butt hinges, but they're just not rising enough?
    – AndyT
    Mar 25, 2019 at 12:04

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