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Richmond Foundation Repair

Serving Richmond and nearby areas

Sticking Doors and Windows in Richmond, VA

A door or window that starts to stick in Richmond can be summer humidity or a house that is shifting, and a free inspection tells you which before you spend money on the wrong fix.

Call now: (804) 293-2238 or book your free inspection online

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Local to Richmond

We connect property owners in Richmond and nearby areas, including The Fan, Museum District, Church Hill, Shockoe Bottom, Ginter Park and Woodland Heights, with one independent local foundation repair specialist.

  • Humid summers

    A U.S. Department of Energy funded study of homes in the humid Southeast found vented crawl spaces often went above 80 percent humidity in summer. Damp air like that swells wood doors and frames.

  • Floors that rest on piers

    Only about 4 to 7 percent of homes in the city of Richmond have a basement, one Virginia study of home sales found. When a pier or beam under a crawl space home drops, the door frames above it shift too.

  • Soil that swells and shrinks

    Henrico County requires a soils report before it permits a new home or addition where its maps show moderate or high shrink-swell soil. Soil that moves with the seasons can make doors stick in one season and swing free in the next.

What it costs

Typical published ranges for Richmond. The contractor's written estimate is the price, and the inspection is free.

WorkTypical range
Most foundation repairs, national range $2,200 to $8,200
Sagging floor repair, typical project $1,000 to $8,500
Main support beam replacement $2,000 to $10,000
Piers, each $1,000 to $3,000

See typical foundation repair prices in Richmond

What you will notice

A sticking door is easy to live with, so most people put up with it for a while. Here are the signs Richmond homeowners describe, from mild to more telling.

A door that rubs at the top corner

On the side away from the hinges.

A door that will not latch

Unless you lift it or push hard.

A gap at the top of the door

That is wider on one side than the other.

A door that swings open or shut

On its own.

Several doors sticking

In the same part of the house.

Windows that jam

Halfway or will not lock.

Cracks running up and out

From the top corners of a door or window frame.

Gaps between the trim and the wall

Around a door.

A floor that slopes

Toward or away from the door.

Humidity or foundation? How to tell

Richmond is humid much of the year, and it rains in every month, about 43.6 inches a year on average. Wood soaks up water from the air and swells. So the first question is whether the sticking follows the weather or follows the house.

It is more likely humidity if:

  • Only one or two wood doors stick
  • They stick in summer and work fine in winter
  • There are no new cracks around the frame
  • The gap around the door looks even, just tight

It is more likely the house moving if:

  • Several doors stick at once, often in one part of the house
  • The door sticks all year, even when the air is dry
  • The gap at the top is wedge-shaped, wide on one side and tight on the other
  • There are diagonal cracks from the corners of the frame
  • Floors nearby slope, dip or bounce

A loose hinge is the other common cause. If the door rubs near the top on the latch side, try tightening the top hinge screws first. If that fixes it, you are done.

Why houses shift in Richmond

Floors rest on piers. Most Richmond homes do not have a basement. The floors sit on wood beams over brick or block piers in a crawl space. When one pier sinks or the wood over it sags, the walls above it lean a little, and door frames go out of square.

Damp wood under the floor. Humid air in a vented crawl space keeps the wood damp. Over years, damp beams and joists can rot or sag, and the doors above them are often the first thing you notice.

Soil that moves. Clay in parts of the region swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Henrico requires a soils report for new homes and additions where its maps show this kind of soil. In older homes built before those rules, a corner can drop in a dry summer and rise again after a wet spring. That is why some doors stick in one season and swing free in the next.

Age. About 29 percent of homes in the city of Richmond were built before 1940. A century of small movements adds up, and old doors have often been trimmed and rehung more than once.

When it is cosmetic and when it is urgent

Not urgent:

  • One door that sticks only in humid weeks
  • A door that rubs because of a loose hinge or thick paint

Have it checked:

  • Several doors sticking, or a door that is new to sticking
  • Wedge-shaped gaps or diagonal cracks at the frame
  • Doors sticking along with a sloping or bouncy floor

Call soon:

  • An exterior door that suddenly will not close or lock
  • A window or door that jams along with a crack that is growing
  • A door frame that has visibly racked, with the top corner out of line

What the fix usually is

If the cause is the house, the fix is underneath, not at the door. The inspector maps your floor levels and finds which part dropped. Common fixes are new steel support posts under a sagging beam, reinforced or replaced joists, rebuilt piers, or steel piers under a settled wall. After the house is supported, most doors need only a small adjustment.

If the cause is humidity, drying the crawl space can help as much as trimming the door. A sealed, dry crawl space keeps the wood in the floors and frames from swelling as much.

The prices in the table are typical published ranges from Fixr, not a quote. They cover the fix under the house, which is what moves the price.

What to do before the inspection

  1. List the doors and windows that stick and the rooms they are in.
  2. Note the season. Write down if they stick all year or only in summer.
  3. Check the gap at the top of each door and take a photo.
  4. Look for cracks around each frame, inside and out.
  5. Hold off on planing. Trimming a door now can leave a big gap after the house is supported.

Call (804) 293-2238 or send the short form. A local crew will check your doors, floors and crawl space and give you a written price if work is needed.

Frequently asked questions

Why do my doors stick only in summer?

Wood takes on water from humid air and swells. Richmond summers are humid, so a wood door that rubs from June to September and works fine in winter is most often swelling, not the foundation.

When does a sticking door mean a foundation problem?

Look for a pattern. Several doors sticking at once, a door that sticks all year, a crack running up from the corner of the frame, or a floor that slopes near the door all point to the house moving.

Should I just plane or sand the door?

If the house is moving, a planed door will stick again or leave a big gap later. Check for cracks and sloping floors first. If those are missing and it only sticks in humid weeks, a small trim or hinge fix may be all you need.

Why will my door not latch anymore?

When the frame shifts out of square, the latch no longer lines up with the strike plate. A loose hinge can do this too. If the gap at the top of the door is wider on one side than the other, the frame itself may have moved.

Can fixing the foundation make my doors work again?

Often it helps. Supporting or lifting the part of the house that dropped can bring frames closer to square. Some doors still need a small adjustment after the work.

Do windows stick for the same reasons as doors?

Yes. Old wood windows swell in humid weather and stick from layers of paint. A window that jams along with cracks at its corners, or that suddenly will not close, can mean the wall around it moved.

Other services

Common foundation repair problems in Richmond

Areas we serve around Richmond

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