Diagnosis guide

Dropped Or Sticking Composite Door

A composite slab that catches on the frame has almost always moved at the hinges, and hinges are adjustable in three planes.

Most people landing here want one thing: to understand why the door catches on the frame and whether it can be brought back into square. That's what this page answers — no scare tactics, no automatic upsell to a full replacement.

Get it looked at 07375 533723

Composite door hung square in its frame — a dropped composite door put right by Rosac

What you'll notice first

the bottom corner of the door scrapes the threshold or the frame as it closes
the gap along the top of the door is visibly wider on one side
the door drags on the weather bar and leaves a witness mark
you need a knee or a shoulder to bring the door up to the keeps

What actually causes it

1hinge screws working loose into the frame reinforcement over years of use
2a heavy slab with glazing and a letterplate loading the top hinge more than it was set for
3the frame itself moving because it was fitted without enough fixings into the reveal
4settlement in the opening, particularly on older properties with soft mortar beds
5thermal expansion of a dark slab on a south-facing elevation during a heatwave

Your realistic options

Three-way hinge adjustment

Modern flag and butt hinges adjust laterally, vertically and for compression. Bringing a dropped slab back to square is usually a matter of millimetres, done in one visit.

Hinge or fixing renewal

Where the screw threads have stripped into the frame, we re-fix into fresh reinforcement or replace the hinge entirely rather than over-tightening a failing fixing.

Slab or full door replacement

If the slab has bowed across its width or the skin has separated from the core, adjustment won't hold and the door needs replacing.

Repair or replace — our honest view

A dropped door is a repair job by default. The only honest reason to replace is physical distortion of the slab itself, or a frame that's no longer square in an opening that has moved. We measure the diagonals before we recommend anything.

What we check on survey

we measure the gap at the top, bottom and lock side to work out which way it has moved
we check whether the frame is square in the opening before touching the hinges
we look at the threshold for scrape marks, which show exactly where it's catching
we test the hooks against the keeps once it's back in square

How it's priced

Adjustment is a short visit with no parts. Hinge replacement adds the cost of the hinge set. A replacement slab into an existing sound frame is far cheaper than a full door and frame, and we'll quote both where it's genuinely a choice.

How urgent is it? Sort it early. A dragging door wears the threshold seal, then lets water in, and the misalignment steadily loads the locking hooks until the gearbox goes too.

Stopping it coming back

don't hang anything heavy on the door — wreaths and door gyms both load the top hinge
check the hinge caps once a year and nip up anything that has loosened
keep the threshold clear of grit, which grinds the seal and hides early dragging

Dropped Or Sticking Composite Door — questions we get asked

Can a dropped composite door be adjusted or does it need replacing?

Adjusted, in the large majority of cases. Composite doors hang on adjustable hinges specifically so the slab can be brought back into square as the building moves.

Why does it only stick in hot weather?

Dark slabs on sunny elevations expand a little. If the door was fitted with tight tolerances it will bind at the peak of a hot spell and free up again — we can set slightly more clearance so it doesn't.