• Overview



  • In this video, This Old House general contractor Tom Silva explains how to repair sliding wood closet doors.


    Steps:

    1 Remove the doors from the closet opening.
    2 Pry tacks from groove in bottom of door.
    3 Cut oak wear strips to fit into groove in door bottom.
    4 Sand rail along threshold of doorway.
    5 Sand top and bottom of door with 100-git sandpaper.
    6 Glue oak wear strips into groove along bottom of door.
    7 Lubricate all wood-to-wood sliding surfaces along top and bottom of door.
    8 Replace doors and check to ensure they slide smoothly.
    See products and services from this episode
    • Difficulty: Moderate to hard
      Requires a little patience and some hand sanding.

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    Video Directory

    Selected Topic/Section

      Tools List

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      • Awl
        Awl,
        used to pry tacks from door bottom
      • hand saw
        Handsaw,
        used to cut oak wear strips
      • block plane
        Block plane,
        used to flatten edge of oak flooring strip

      Shopping List

      Close
      1. Oak strip flooring,

      used to create wear surfaces for bottom of door



      2. 100-git sandpaper

      3. Carpenter’s glue,

      used to adhere oak strips to door bottom



      4. Paste lubricant