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Hollow Door Stop Damage

As you go pass a hallway door that’s partially open, you push it farther open just to get pass.  You could actually close the door but since your hands are full, just pushing it out of the way seems to make more sense.   Then you hear the soft thud as the door stop punches a hole into hollow door.  Ouch!

Repair Damaged Door

Many interior doors are hollow which make them less expensive.   However, problems can develop when using hollow doors.   One of these problems is when using a Hinge Pin Door Stop.

These Hinge Pin Door Stops fit on the hinge and limit how far the door can be opened.   These door stops do work well except with hollow doors.

The problem occurs when the door is pushed too hard when opened and the door stop punches a hole into the hollow door.  Now you have real damage to the door.   You can replace the door or fix the hole.  Of course fixing the hole is much easier and less expensive.

The hole will be about ½” in diameter.  To repair this hole you will need to have a Popsicle stick, some epoxy, few inches of string and wood filler.  Check to make sure the Popsicle stick will fit into the hole, if not, enlarge the hole just enough to make the fit.   You need to remove the Hinge Pin Door Stop to keep this damage from
happening again.

The idea is to glue the stick onto the inside of the hole that will then allow the wood filler to be added to the hole.   Punch a small hole in the center of the stick and tie the string to the stick using the just punched hole.   Mix and place the epoxy onto one side of the stick that will face towards the door.   Now insert the stick into the door, the string will keep the stick from falling inside the door.  Pull the string so the stick is centered and tight against the inside cavity of the door.  Tape the string to the door until the epoxy hardens.

Now cut the string and fill the hole with wood filler.   You will probably need to let the filler harden and re-apply at least once.   Now most hollow doors will be either painted or stained and usually have a wood grain appearance.

If the door is painted and has a wood grain, be a little artistic here and try to match the wood grain appearance with the wood filler by marking light grooves into the filler that match the wood grain appearance.  After the filler has hardened, prime and paint the area.   You may need to re-paint the whole door surface if you can not match the color exactly.

If the door has a smooth stained wood grain appearance, make the filler smooth.   Now you will have to apply the stain with a matching color.   Remember with staining, if you don’t have the exact match; first go with something close by a lighter shade.   You can always make the area darker with a second and third coat.  Also be a little artistic here also and dab the stain lightly to get the same appearance as on the rest of the floor.

Now you are done, cross this odd job off your to-do-list and then take a break.

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