Door repair is for a leaf you should keep: it binds, the latch misses, the screws spin, or the closer slams. Book an adjustment before you buy a new door. Many UAE homes only need the hinges reset after new floor tile, or a strike plate moved after the frame was painted too many times.
Replacement is the right job when the leaf is split, the hollow core is punctured, the frame rebate has gone, or the door is a fire door that has been trimmed or has damaged seals. Those are installation jobs, not a plane and a longer screw.
What an adjustment visit looks for
Hinge screws that no longer bite, often because they sit in chipboard or in a hole that has been re-drilled too often. A leaf that has dropped on the latch so the bolt hits the strike instead of entering it. A frame that is out of plumb so the door binds on one stile in the morning and catches on the other after the AC has run.
Closers on apartment and stair doors slam when the closer is wrong or the arm geometry is off. Speeding up a closer that is there to shut a fire door is not a repair. Fire-door seals and closers are put back to the set, or the set is replaced.
Hinges, strike, screws
The first repairs are mechanical. A new leaf is not the cure for a strike that is 5 mm out.
When to stop and replace
Split leaf, rotten threshold, frame that will not hold a screw, or a cut fire door. Those move to a new set.
Included, and what repair will not cover
Included is diagnosis on site, hinge and strike work, packing a lining that can still be saved, and closer adjustment that does not defeat a fire door. Not included is a full new doorset disguised as a repair, locksmith safe work, gate motors, or welding a new railing. If the visit shows the leaf should be replaced, you get that finding before a new door is ordered.
- Binding doors, dropped leaves, latches that miss
- Hinge screws and strike plates on sound frames
- Closer adjustment that still lets the door shut
- A clear stop when the door should be replaced instead
- Not a trimmed fire door and not a gate motor
Questions about this door
On a normal internal timber door, yes, if there is still solid edge to take a small cut and the door is not fire-rated. On a fire door, no. On a hollow door, only a very small cut. If the tile build-up is large, a plane leaves a short door and a draught, and a new leaf height is the better fix.
An adjustment is labour on the existing leaf: hinges, strike, packing, maybe a closer. A new door adds the product, and often a frame. The visit is priced as diagnosis and the repair in front of us. If replacement is needed, that is a separate scope so you are not paying for a new leaf you did not need.
The timber or chipboard behind the hinge has gone. Longer screws into solid frame, or a hinge repositioned onto sound material, can save it. If the whole hinge side is soft, the lining is replaced. Filling the hole with matchsticks is not the repair we leave behind.
A bedroom door can take a soft closer or the hinge pin can be looked at. A fire door already has a closer so it shuts. That closer is adjusted so it still latches, not removed so the door stays open. Wedging a stair door open is not a repair we will set up.
A latch or lock that failed, in a door that still hangs straight, is part of this visit. A full security multipoint upgrade on a villa entrance is a security door scope if the frame has to change with it. We say which one after looking at the edge of the door.
Rollers, keeps and a bent track on an existing slider are a repair. A twisted frame or a failed sash is a sliding door replacement. Tell us if the door still runs or if it has come off the track.
Other fittings
Describe what the door does
Binds, misses the latch, or slams. Say if it is a stair door or a bedroom door before anyone planes it.