Not everything that goes wrong in your home is going to upend your life. Sometimes, a problem can be as small as a sticking window or door. These minor inconveniences can seem to be just that—inconvenient, but not life-ruining.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you should let sticking doors and windows in your home go unaddressed. When these home accessories start to malfunction, it’s more likely than not that something larger is wrong in your space. Even if it isn’t, then you risk losing money as your air conditioning or furnace overworks itself trying to compensate for loose seals around your windows.
With that in mind, you may want to reach out to the professionals serving eastern Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota if you think something’s wrong with your home’s frames. The sooner you act, the faster you can get ahead of the damage that may put your family’s safety and your home’s value at risk.
Things don’t happen in your home for no reason at all. There are forces at work that you cannot see that can make your doors and windows stick. These can include:
- Hydrostatic Pressure
Hydrostatic pressure is the common denominator behind a significant number of the problems you may be faced to contend with in your tenure as a homeowner. This kind of pressure allows moisture to make its way into your home. In turn, it can make your life significantly more difficult.
Hydrostatic pressure builds up outside of your home after heavy rains or snow runoff. As that moisture gathers outside of your foundation, basement, or crawl space, it can cause the molecules making up those structures to rapidly expand and contract. As those molecules change sizes, they’ll place the structures in question under a significant amount of stress. To compensate, your foundation, basement, or crawl space may crack. Once one of these structures has cracked, it will be even more difficult for you to keep moisture out of your home, as rain and snow runoff will have a direct line into your home.
Other Problems
While hydrostatic pressure is the primary cause behind a significant amount of homeowners’ problems, it can reveal itself in mysterious ways. When it comes to sticking doors and windows in your home, for example, you’ll likely find yourself contending with one of the following before you have to address the moisture levels around your home:
- Premature Foundation Settling
As mentioned, hydrostatic pressure can cause your foundation to crack if you don’t act quickly. Let that moisture have too much of an impact on your home, and your foundation can start to prematurely settle. As your foundation sinks, the structural supports keeping your home in place can falter. In turn, more moisture can make its way into your home, causing your door and window frames to crack. Similarly, lack of support from the aforementioned structures can cause your frames to shift in place.
- Cracks in Your Walls
Cracks are most often caused by hydrostatic pressure, but that isn’t their only cause. Certain insects can also cause your home’s structural supports to start to falter. As such, you may be able to attribute a crack in your wall to the presence of termites, for example, or carpenter ants in your home. As these critters eat away at your structural supports, the drywall in your walls may begin to pull away from the damaged supports, causing cracks to form in your greater wall.
- Mistakes During Your Home’s Initial Construction
In other cases, the construction team who built your home may have made a mistake while setting your walls and floors. In these cases, you may be working with green structural supports or supports that aren’t in the right place. If it turns out that your structural supports weren’t established appropriately, then your door and window frames may start to shift out of place as gravity has its way.
Which Problem Is Which?
It’s not exactly easy for those without professional experience to determine which of the aforementioned problems they may be contending with when faced with sticking door and window frames. Luckily, the professionals in your area can help. If you find yourself faced with sticking doors and windows, you can reach out to area experts before heading down into your basement or crawl space. Once you’re there, you can start to look for other signs of damage that might help you better understand what’s going on in your home.
For example, if it turns out that you’re contending not only with sticking doors and windows but cracks and sagging floors, then your structural supports are at risk. Alternatively, if it’s just your doors and windows that are showing signs of damage, then your problem likely isn’t moisture related. In this case, you may have as much luck reaching out to area exterminators for guidance. Do note that if it turns out that you can attribute your home’s damage to pests, you’ll want to work first with animal control or exterminators to rid your home of these unwanted visitors. Only once the pests are out of the way should you start considering how you can repair the damage done to your home.
The good news is that you can get ahead of all these problems. You can reach out to professionals upon moving into a new home and arrange for a home inspection. After the inspection is complete, you can fix any pre-existing damage that may worsen over time. You can also discuss what waterproofing measures might help you keep your home watertight in the years to come. The sooner you get this kind of work out of the way, the less likely it is that you’ll have to contend with sticking doors and windows in the months and years to come.
Symptoms of Sticking Doors and Windows
More often than not, you’ll be able to tell when something’s gone wrong with the doors and windows in your home. However, if you’re not in the habit of opening your windows, or if you’ve left a particular door open for a considerable amount of time, you may not notice that something’s gone wrong until the damage has long settled in.
With that in mind, you can keep an eye out for other signs of damage in your home. Certain signs can let you know that your door and window frames have started to fail. These can include:
- Cracks around the edges of your frames
- Signs of damage around the frames themselves
- Falling or unevenly aligned doors and windows
- An unusual influx of pests in your home
- Cracks in your exterior walls
Note that sticking doors and windows themselves tend to be symptoms of some larger problem in your home. If you notice any of the above, you’ll want to consider reaching out to the professional contractors working in your area. The sooner you can schedule a thorough home inspection, the sooner you can understand just what may have gone amiss in your space.
Fixing Sticking Windows and Doors
The solutions that help you fix your sticking doors and windows will vary based on the force that’s causing these fixtures to fall out of alignment. As such, you’ll want to make sure you’ve consulted with the experts in your area before you start researching the repair methods that may suit you best.
When it comes to fixing your home’s sticking door and window frames, though, your available solutions typically break down as follows:
- Foundation: If your problem lies with your foundation, then you’ll want to talk to your area experts about what settlement solutions you may have available to you. These can include piers, concrete lifting, and more. These solutions will help stabilize and even move your foundation back into place, effectively undoing the damage that’s caused your doors and windows to stick.
- Crawl Space: If your problem lies with your crawl space and sinking supports, you’ll want to invest either in joist and girder replacements or crawl space support jacks. Both systems will help reinforce your floors and help raise them back into place. Once these problems are handled, you’ll have an easier time ensuring that your doors and windows operate as they should.
Windows and Doors Sticking
FAQs
It’s tempting to hope that a warped door or window frame will resolve itself in the long run. Unfortunately, this tends not to happen. Instead, you’ll want to try and fix any problems with your doors and windows as soon as possible.
- Convenience
The windows and doors you have around your home actively serve a purpose. If you want privacy at any point in the day, then your windows and doors need to close and lock. If you want to save money on temperature control throughout your home, your windows and doors both need to be able to open and seal when they’re closed.
If you leave your doors and windows damaged to the point where you can neither close nor open them properly, then you’ll risk lowering your own quality of life. Comparatively, by fixing these problems before they have a chance to worsen, you can not only make your day-to-day life more convenient, but you can prevent the kind of long-term damage that can seriously disrupt your life.
- Home Safety
Damaged door and window frames often tend to indicate that something larger is wrong in your home as well. These frames don’t start to succumb to damage without reason, after all. Instead, if your door and window frames are warping, it’s more than likely that you have a leak on your hands.
Naturally, you’ll want to go about tending to the leak in question before you fix your door and window frames. However, by making a point to fix these structures, you can prevent water damage from reappearing in your home after you’ve completed your repairs.
If you’re concerned about the cost of door and window repairs around your home, you may consider repairing or replacing your damaged property on your own. These kinds of DIY projects can be rewarding, but that doesn’t mean that they’re your best option. If you’re not careful, trying to fix a stuck door or window on your own can actually cause more problems for you and your home in the long run.
- The Cost
For starters, repairing your home without professional assistance can often cost you more than reaching out to professionals might. Consider, first of all, the tools and materials you’re going to need to repair a water damaged door frame. Even if the damage isn’t extensive, you’ll still have to invest in the wood and tools to straighten out those damaged boards.
Even after you’ve finished your repairs, you’ll have to consider what kind of waterproofing measures you’ll want to invest in and how much they may cost you if you purchase them on your own. Professionals can reach out to their industry peers and secure discounts or deals on the waterproofing materials you want to install in your crawl space, basement, or around your foundation. Comparatively, pursuing these materials on your own can see you not only blow your budget but also bring home a less effective solution at a higher cost.
- The Potential for Error
There is always a chance that you may make a mistake while trying to repair a stuck door or window. If you don’t have experience repairing these kinds of structures around your home, then you may end up permanently damaging your frames or the other structural supports around your home.
If you do manage to go about repairing a door or window frame without doing damage to your home, then you may make a mistake while installing the waterproofing measure of your choice. Mistakes during installation can make it seem as though your home is safe when it really isn’t. If you end up obscuring the symptoms of more severe water damage, then you may find yourself contending with not only sticking doors but a damaged foundation in the months to come.
Identifying The Source Of Window & Door Issues | ||
| Potentially Caused By: | ||
| Structural Problem | Crawl Space Structural Issue | Foundation Settlement |
| Jamming Exterior Or Entryway Doors |  | |
| Jamming Interior Doorways | | |
| Sticking Windows | | |
| Cracks Along Windows & Entryway Doors | | |
| Cracks Along Interior Doorways | | |
| Sinking, Sagging Floors | |
The Cost of Repairing Damaged Door and Window Frames
While it’s important to figure out what’s gone wrong with your doors and window frames, you may still find yourself reluctant to reach out to the professionals in your area. After all, professional repairs come with a cost, and you’ll want to know what you’re getting into before you make that call.
The good news is that the professionals with Innovative Basement Authority understand this drive perfectly. That’s why our team can help you inspect your home for damage without charging a fee. After a comprehensive home inspection, you’ll have a chance to look over a free quote noting just how much it may cost to repair the damage done to your home.
On average how much does it cost to repair damaged door and window frames? The truth is that the cost will vary. Homes that have seen more comprehensive damage, for example, tend to be more expensive to repair than homes that only suffer from a little bit of stickiness. Similarly, if it turns out that your doors and windows have started to stick because your home’s fallen victim to some manner of crack or leak, you’ll need to factor in the cost of repairs for your basement, crawl space, or foundation into your end-game budget.
Work with Innovative Basement Authority Professionals to Repair Your Home
Dealing with problems around your home can be stressful. Luckily, you do not have to try and solve every problem that arises on your own. If you’re having trouble opening up your doors and windows, or if you suspect that there may be too much moisture in your home, you can reach out for help. The professionals at Innovative Basement Authority who serve Minnesota, North Dakota, and eastern Montana can inspect your home with you and help you determine whether or not something has gone amiss.
After a home inspection, you’ll have a chance to look over a free services quote. With this quote in hand, you can determine what kind of repair services you might need and how best you can go about restoring your home.
