Doors and Windows repairs you can do yourself

Doors and windows take daily abuse. Squeaks, sticking, latches that miss and drafts usually come from loose hinge screws, seasonal swelling or worn seals, and all have simple fixes.

Doors and windows guides

Doors and windowsHow to Fix a Door That SticksEasy to moderate · 30 minutes to 2 hours Doors and windowsHow to Fix a Door That Won't LatchEasy · 20 to 60 minutes Doors and windowsHow to Fix a Squeaky Door HingeEasy · 15 to 30 minutes Doors and windowsHow to Replace a Window ScreenEasy · 30 to 45 minutes per screen Doors and windowsHow to Weatherstrip an Exterior DoorEasy · 1 to 2 hours

What doors and windows jobs are safe to DIY?

Tightening hinges, lubricating, adjusting strike plates, planing a sticking edge, weatherstripping and rescreening are all DIY friendly. A door or window that suddenly binds along with new wall cracks can point to settling; have it inspected.

Tools for doors and windows work

Most of these jobs use the same short list of hand tools. See the basic home toolkit for what to buy first.