How to Adjust French Doors: Fix Alignment, Sticking, Dropping & Latching Issues!

Got beautiful French doors but find they’re suddenly sticking, dragging, not closing properly, or have uneven gaps? It happens! Over time, houses settle, hinges wear slightly, or wood expands and contracts with humidity. The good news is you often don’t need a brand new door – you just need to know how to adjust French doors.

Properly adjusted French doors aren’t just easier to use; they also:

• ✅ Seal better, improving energy efficiency (less drafty!). Learn more about sealing in How to Seal, Weatherproof & Insulate French Doors.
• ✅ Lock securely, enhancing home security. Check out security tips in The Ultimate Guide to Securing French Doors.
• ✅ Look better, with even gaps and proper alignment.
• ✅ Prevent further wear and tear on the doors and frame.

This guide will walk you through diagnosing common French door problems and provide step-by-step instructions on how to make adjustments yourself. We’ll cover issues like:

• Doors not meeting evenly (alignment)
• Doors rubbing against the frame or floor (sticking)
• One or both doors hanging lower than they should (dropping/sagging)
• Difficulty latching or locking (latching issues)

We’ll touch on adjustments for different door materials like wood, UPVC, fiberglass, and steel. While some adjustments are easy (maybe 15-30 minutes, beginner level), others might take longer and require more patience or skill (intermediate). Ready to get your doors swinging smoothly again? Let’s start!

Preparation and Safety: Getting Ready to Adjust

Before you dive in, let’s gather tools and think safety first.

A. Required Tools and Materials:

• Basic Tools:
  • Screwdriver Set (Phillips head is common, maybe square drive or Torx for some hardware)
  • Hex Keys / Allen Wrenches (Especially important for UPVC door hinge adjustments)
  • Tape Measure
  • Level (a 4-foot or 6-foot level is ideal for checking plumb and level across the doors)
• Specialized Tools (Optional but helpful):
  • Feeler Gauges (thin metal strips for precisely measuring gaps)
  • Pry Bar (small one for minor lifting/positioning)
  • Rubber Mallet (for gentle tapping)
• Optional Materials:
  • Shims (thin wedges of wood or composite material – composite is best as it won’t rot/compress)
  • Longer screws (e.g., 3-inch deck screws)
  • Lubricant (graphite powder or silicone spray for hinges/latches)
  • Wood filler (for filling old screw holes if needed)

B. Safety Considerations:

• Weight: French doors, especially exterior ones or solid wood ones, can be heavy! If you need to lift a door, get help or use proper lifting techniques (lift with your legs, not your back).
• Glass: Be mindful of the glass panes. Don’t put excessive force directly on the glass. Wear safety glasses!
• Pinching: Watch your fingers when manipulating hinges or shimming!

C. Understanding French Door Components (Briefly):

Knowing the parts helps understand adjustments:

• Hinges: Connect the door to the frame, allowing it to swing. Most adjustments happen here!
• Jamb: The door frame (sides and top).
• Latch & Strike Plate: The mechanism that holds the door closed, and the metal plate on the jamb it fits into.
• Flush Bolts: Slide bolts on the inactive door (top and bottom).
• Astragal: The strip covering the gap between the doors.

Different doors have different adjustment points, especially UPVC doors which often have specific screws on the hinges for up/down, in/out adjustments. Wood doors often rely more on shimming or hinge manipulation.

Diagnosing French Door Problems: What’s Actually Wrong?

Before adjusting, pinpoint the exact issue. Don’t just start tightening screws randomly!

A. Pre-Adjustment Inspection: The Starting Point

1. Check the Frame First: Is the door frame itself plumb (perfectly vertical) and level (perfectly horizontal)? Use your long level on the side jambs and top jamb. If the frame is way off, adjusting the door might be difficult, and the root cause might be poor installation (see How to Install French Doors Guide) or house settling (potentially needing professional help).
2. Identify the Problem Area: Where exactly is the door sticking, sagging, or misaligned? Top? Bottom? Hinge side? Latch side? Between the doors?
3. Document: Take photos or jot down measurements of the gaps around the door before you start. This helps track your progress.

B. Visual Assessment Guide: Reading the Gaps

The gaps (“reveals”) around your doors tell a story:

• Uneven Vertical Gap (Between Doors): Wider at top than bottom often means the doors have dropped or sagged at the handle side. Wider at bottom suggests potential hinge issues near the top.
• Uneven Top Gap: Door higher on one side than the other indicates sagging or improper vertical adjustment.
• Rubbing Marks: Look for scuffs on the frame, floor, or where the doors meet – this shows exactly where it’s sticking. How to tell where French doors rub/stick? Sometimes closing the door slowly with a piece of paper in the gap helps pinpoint the tight spot (where the paper gets stuck).
• Dropped/Sagging Doors: The top corner on the handle side is lower than the top corner on the hinge side. Creates uneven gaps.

C. Operational Assessment: Feeling the Problem

• Swing Test: Open and close each door slowly. Does it move smoothly? Where does it start to resist or rub?
• Latch Test: Does the latch engage easily with the strike plate? Does the deadbolt throw smoothly? Or do you have to push/lift the door?
• Draft Check (Exterior): On a windy day, feel around the edges for drafts. Can you see daylight? This indicates poor sealing, often linked to misalignment. See How to Seal Doors for sealing tips, but alignment is often the first step.

D. Common Problem Diagnosis: Why Is It Happening?

• Why do my French doors keep dropping? Often due to gravity pulling on heavy doors over time, loose hinge screws (especially the top hinge), worn hinges, or the house settling slightly.
• Why are my French doors not closing properly? Could be dropping/sagging causing misalignment, sticking due to wood swelling (humidity), frame out of square, latch misaligned, or something obstructing the path.
• Why is it sticking? Usually misalignment (sagging/dropping), wood swelling, loose hinges, or sometimes paint buildup.

Creating a quick checklist can help: Problem (Sticking?), Location (Top latch side?), Possible Cause (Door dropped?).

Adjustment Techniques by Door Material: Different Doors, Different Tweaks

How you adjust can depend slightly on the door material:

A. Wooden French Door Adjustments:

• Tighten Screws: First step! Check all hinge screws (door and frame side). If loose, tighten them. If screws just spin (stripped hole), use a longer screw of the same diameter to bite into the stud, or use wood filler/toothpicks in the hole, let dry, then re-drill pilot hole and re-insert screw.
• Shimming Hinges: To move a door away from the hinge side (if rubbing there), place cardboard or thin wood shims behind the hinge leaf on the jamb side. To move it towards the hinge side, you might need to deepen the hinge mortise (the cutout in the wood) slightly with a chisel (advanced).
• Bending Hinges (Use with caution!): A technique sometimes used for minor adjustments involves slightly bending the hinge knuckle with an adjustable wrench and nail/pin. Search “adjusting door hinge with nail” for visuals – be careful not to break the hinge.

B. UPVC French Door Adjustments: Built-in Fine-Tuning!

• How to adjust UPVC French doors? These often have adjustable hinges! Look for small screws or Allen key sockets on the hinge itself.
  • Vertical (Height): Usually a screw on the very top or bottom of the hinge unit. Turning it raises or lowers the door slightly. Adjust all hinges evenly.
  • Horizontal (Side-to-Side): Often a screw on the side of the hinge part attached to the door frame. Turning it moves the door closer to or further from the hinge side.
  • Compression (Depth/Seal): Sometimes an eccentric (off-center) bushing or screw adjusts how tightly the door seals against the frame’s weatherstripping.
• Toe and Heel Adjustment: A common UPVC method involving placing packers (shims) under the corners of the glass unit itself within the door frame to slightly twist or square up the door sash. This is more advanced and often best left to professionals if unsure.

C. Metal/Fiberglass French Door Adjustments:

• Often use standard butt hinges like wood doors, so tightening screws and potentially shimming behind hinges are common methods.
• How to align French metal doors? Focus on plumb and level, using hinge adjustments or shimming. Ensure the frame itself is solid.
• Fixing steel French doors that stick: Check hinge alignment first. Since steel doesn’t swell like wood, sticking is less likely due to humidity and more likely alignment or frame issues. Check for dents that might be causing rubbing.
• Some higher-end fiberglass/metal doors might have specialized adjustable hinges similar to UPVC – check manufacturer info.

D. Patio French Door Adjustments (Exterior):

• How to adjust French patio doors? Follow methods for the door material (wood, fiberglass, vinyl, etc.).
• Pay extra attention to the threshold (bottom sill). Some thresholds have adjustable screws to raise/lower them for a better seal against the bottom of the door.
• Ensure adjustments maintain a good weather seal. After adjusting, check for drafts or light leaks around the weatherstripping.

Fixing Alignment Issues: Getting Things Straight

Perfect alignment means even gaps and smooth operation.

A. Understanding Hinge Types:

Knowing your hinge helps:

• Standard Butt Hinges: Most common. Adjustments involve shimming or screw techniques.
• Adjustable Hinges: Have built-in screws for fine-tuning (common on UPVC, some fiberglass/metal).

B. General Alignment Techniques:

• Goal: Achieve an even gap (reveal) all around the doors (usually about 1/8 inch, like the thickness of a nickel).
• Process: Identify where the gap is too tight or too wide. Adjust hinges on the opposite side or corner to correct it. Make small adjustments, check, then adjust more if needed.
• How to align French doors / interior French doors: Focus on getting the vertical gap between the two doors perfectly even and parallel first, then adjust height/side gaps relative to the frame.

C. Vertical Adjustments (Height): Up and Down

• How to adjust French doors up and down?
  • Problem: Door dragging on bottom, gap too large at top. Needs to go UP.
  • Solution (Standard Hinges): Try tightening top hinge screws first. If that doesn’t work, try placing a shim under the bottom hinge leaf (on the jamb side). Some pros use a technique involving slightly bending hinge knuckles upward.
  • Solution (Adjustable Hinges): Use the vertical adjustment screw on the hinges (turn same direction on all hinges).
• Problem: Door hitting top jamb, gap too large at bottom. Needs to go DOWN.
  • Solution (Standard Hinges): Ensure bottom hinge screws are tight. Might need to shim behind the top hinge leaf or deepen top hinge mortise (advanced).
  • Solution (Adjustable Hinges): Use vertical adjustment screw (turn opposite direction).

D. Horizontal Adjustments (Side-to-Side): Left and Right

• Problem: Door hitting latch-side jamb. Need to move door TOWARDS hinge side.
  • Solution (Standard Hinges): Shim behind hinge leaves on the jamb side (makes gap at hinge bigger, pulls door over).
  • Solution (Adjustable Hinges): Use the horizontal adjustment screw to move door towards hinge side.
• Problem: Gap on latch side too large / Door hitting hinge-side jamb. Need to move door AWAY from hinge side.
  • Solution (Standard Hinges): Try tightening hinge screws first. May need to deepen hinge mortises slightly (advanced).
  • Solution (Adjustable Hinges): Use horizontal adjustment screw to move door away from hinge side.

E. Depth Adjustments (In-and-Out): Seal Compression

• Problem: Door not sealing tightly against weatherstripping.
  • Solution (Standard Hinges): Less direct adjustment. Ensure door closes flat against stops. Maybe thicker weatherstripping needed?
  • Solution (Adjustable Hinges): Use the compression adjustment screw/mechanism if available.

F. Gap Adjustments: Fine-Tuning the Reveals

• How to adjust gap between French doors? Usually involves horizontal adjustments on one or both doors until the center gap is even top to bottom.
• Fixing gaps at the bottom/top: Primarily vertical adjustments.
• How to close gap between French doors? If the gap is too wide overall, it might mean the frame was installed slightly too wide, or hinges need adjusting towards each other. If it suddenly appeared, check for loose hinges first.

Fixing Dropped or Sagging French Doors: Lifting Them Back Up

This is a very common issue!

A. Understanding Door Drop:

• Gravity pulls on the handle side of the door over time.
• Top hinge takes the most strain – loose screws here are a common cause.
• Heavy doors (solid wood, large glass) are more prone to sagging.

B. Repair Techniques for Dropped Doors:

• How to fix a French door that has dropped / Fixing French doors that have dropped:
  1. Tighten Top Hinge Screws: Check screws on BOTH the door side and the frame side of the top hinge. If stripped, use longer screws or the wood filler trick (Section IV.A). This often solves minor sagging!
  2. Shim Bottom Hinge: If tightening isn’t enough, place a shim (cardboard or thin wood) behind the bottom hinge leaf on the jamb side. This pushes the bottom corner out slightly, lifting the top handle-side corner. Add shims incrementally and check alignment.
  3. “Hinge Binding” Trick (Careful!): Some pros slightly bend the knuckles of the top hinge towards each other to lift the door – search for videos, proceed cautiously.
  4. Adjustable Hinges: Use the vertical adjustment screw.
• Leveling French Doors / How to level one door of French doors: Use your level across the top edges of both doors. Adjust the sagging door using the techniques above until its top edge is level with the other door and/or the top frame.

Fixing Sticking French Doors: Smooth Operators

Doors rubbing is annoying and can damage finishes.

A. Identifying Sticking Points:

• Use the paper test (Section III.B) or visually look for rub marks. Common spots: top corner (due to sagging), latch side (due to misalignment), bottom (sagging or floor issue), between doors.

B. Solutions for Sticking Doors:

• How to fix French doors that stick: Adjustment is the FIRST resort! Try aligning the door properly using hinge adjustments/shimming (Sections V & VI) before considering removing wood.
• Fixing doors that stick at the top: Usually caused by sagging – use sagging repair techniques (Section VI.B).
• Fixing steel French doors that stick: Less likely wood swelling. Check for alignment issues or dents in the steel skin causing rubbing.
• How to loosen up French doors: Proper alignment is key. Ensure hinges are lubricated (graphite or silicone spray).
• Planing/Sanding (Last Resort): If adjustments don’t fix minor rubbing caused by wood swelling, you might need to carefully plane or sand a tiny amount off the door edge where it sticks. Remove the door first. Take off very little material at a time, rehang, and test. Seal the bare wood immediately afterward. This is more repair than adjustment.

Addressing Latching and Hardware Problems: Click, Not Clunk

Door closes but won’t latch?

A. Strike Plate and Keeper Adjustments:

• Alignment: The latch bolt or deadbolt must hit the opening in the strike plate, not the plate itself.
• Repositioning: Loosen strike plate screws. Wiggle the plate slightly up/down or in/out until the latch engages smoothly. Retighten screws. If needed, enlarge the screw holes slightly or fill old ones and drill new pilot holes for repositioning.
• Filing: If alignment is close but the latch still scrapes, use a small metal file to slightly enlarge the opening in the strike plate. File a little, test, file more if needed.
• Depth: If the latch hits the back of the strike plate hole, the strike plate might need to be mortised deeper into the jamb (advanced).

B. Latch Alignment:

• How to adjust French door latch / Fixing a French door that won’t latch: Usually a strike plate issue (see above). Ensure the door isn’t sagging, preventing the latch from reaching the plate height.
• How to fix French door top latch/ball clasp: Check alignment with its strike plate in the top jamb. Ensure the mechanism isn’t jammed or broken. Lubricate if needed.

C. Handle and Lock Mechanism Alignment:

• How to fix a French door handle: If loose, tighten screws (Section V.D under Hardware guide in the linked Materials/Hardware article). If sticky, lubricate latch mechanism. If broken, replacement is likely needed (French Door Materials & Hardware Guide has replacement info).
• Multi-point Locks: These require precise door alignment to function. If misaligned, the multiple bolts won’t engage correctly. Adjust door alignment first. Some systems have minor adjustability – consult manufacturer info.
• How to tighten French door handles: Find the visible or hidden set screws and tighten gently.

Advanced Adjustments and Repairs (Briefly – Beyond Basic Adjustment)

Sometimes simple tweaks aren’t enough.

• Squaring Doors: If the door panel itself is racked (not square), it’s harder to fix. Often requires professional help or indicates a damaged door. Minor out-of-squareness in the frame can sometimes be compensated for with careful shimming during door install.
• Warped Doors: Wood doors can warp. Minor warping might be adjusted for, but severe warping often requires door replacement. Fiberglass/Steel/Vinyl don’t typically warp.
• Making Doors Close Tighter: Improve the seal by adjusting hinge compression (if available), replacing worn weatherstripping, or adjusting the strike plate position slightly inward.
• Structural Issues: If the entire frame is severely out of plumb/level due to house settling, adjustments might be temporary fixes. Addressing the underlying structural issue (or getting a door custom-fitted to the crooked frame) might be needed. See French Door Repair Guide for more on severe issues.

Testing and Fine-Tuning: The Final Check

After any adjustment:

• Test Operation: Open and close doors multiple times. Smooth? No sticking?
• Check Gaps: Are reveals even? Use tape measure or feeler gauge.
• Test Latches/Locks: Do they engage easily without forcing?
• Check Seal (Exterior): Hold a light inside at night while someone looks from outside for light leaks. Feel for drafts.

Make further tiny adjustments as needed. Sometimes doors need a day or two to “settle” into a new position.

Maintenance to Prevent Future Issues: Stay Ahead of Problems preventative Maintenance

• Regular Checks: Glance at gaps periodically. Test operation weekly.
• Lubricate: Apply graphite or silicone spray to hinges and latch mechanisms yearly.
• Tighten: Check hinge and strike plate screws seasonally; tighten if needed.
• Clean: Keep thresholds and tracks clean.

Advanced Troubleshooting: When Adjustments Aren’t Enough

• Still Not Working? The problem might be beyond simple adjustment:
  • Warped or damaged door panel/frame.
  • Severely worn hinges needing replacement.
  • Major house settling affecting the frame.
  • Broken lock mechanism.
• DIY vs. Pro: If you’ve tried basic adjustments and are stuck, or if the problem seems complex (structural, major warp), it’s time to call a professional door installer or experienced carpenter. They have specialized tools and knowledge.

FAQ and Troubleshooting Guide

Q: How to fix uneven French doors / interior French doors?

A: Usually involves vertical hinge adjustments (shimming bottom hinge or using adjustment screws) on the lower door to bring it level with the higher one.

Q: How to fix French doors that don’t close properly? / Why won’t my French doors close?

A: Check for obstruction, sagging/dropping causing misalignment at top/bottom/middle, sticking due to swelling, or latch hitting strike plate incorrectly. Diagnose first, then adjust accordingly.

Q: My UPVC door handle is stiff.

A: Lubricate the locking mechanism first. If it persists, the door might be slightly misaligned, putting pressure on the lock bolts – try minor hinge adjustments.

Q: Can I adjust just one hinge?

A: Yes, but adjustments often affect the entire door’s alignment. It’s usually best to make small, coordinated adjustments to multiple hinges (e.g., tighten all top screws, shim all bottom hinges slightly).

Conclusion: Smooth Swinging Ahead!

Adjusting French doors might seem intimidating, but by carefully diagnosing the problem and applying the right techniques – often starting with simple screw tightening or minor hinge adjustments/shimming – you can solve many common issues like sticking, sagging, and misalignment. This keeps your doors functioning beautifully, sealing efficiently, and locking securely.

Remember to work safely, make small adjustments, and test frequently. Proper maintenance can prevent many issues from recurring. And don’t hesitate to call a pro if the problem is beyond basic adjustment!

If your doors are damaged beyond adjustment or you’re ready for an upgrade with modern features and perfect alignment from day one, explore our wide selection of high-quality, customizable French doors. We can help you find the perfect fit for smooth operation and lasting beauty!