Fix a door that won't stay shut

The apartment we live in is over 100 years old, so it has some issues. The door between the two bedrooms (we have a strange layout) had some problems last year and it would stick, now it's so far from the door frame that it's easily pushed open. It would randomly open from wind, stepping on a creaky floor board, or the dog might push his way through. Since we've designated the tiny "bedroom" as the room for smoking cigarettes, it's important that this door stays shut since I don't smoke and it's icky.

Fixing this was on the top of my list when I heard about Sugru (Sugru.com). The fix is working great so far!

I couldn't figure out what to call the little piece that moves in and out when you turn the handle. I Googled it and decided that the "bolt" is a good name for it, so when I refer to the bolt, this is what I'm talking about.

Step 1 Materials

1 pack of Sugru, whatever color you'd like.
A door that won't stay shut (because of a wide gap).

I used a tiny bit for another hack, but 1 (5g) pack should be the right amount. I was surprised how closely the green matched our oh-so-green trim.

You can buy Sugru here: sugru.com. You can do so much with this stuff, it's worth buying a big pack.

Comments

[soulman76]

This could be a good fix for an interior door, but if this is an exterior door and security is a concern, you may want to look at a hardware store for a door strike plate and some long screws.