How To Stop A Door From Opening On Its Own

How often do you feel frightened by the sound of your door automatically opening on its own, especially when watching a horror film? Do you jump from your seat in fright? Do you look around for the nearest weapon to protect yourself? Or do you consider contacting the Ghostbusters?

The issue of constantly having your doors automatically open might lead to many negative effects such as burglary, kidnapping, abduction, and much more. To avoid these situations, A+ Lock & Door will be looking at how to fix a door that opens on its own, but before that, we will examine the logical causes why doors open on their own.

Why Your Doors Open On Their Own

While some people get spooked thinking about a ghost lurking in the shadows, others are of a more logical view. There are many causes of this problem, and below are a few of these causes.

• Wind. In situations of intense breezes, your doors can open automatically due to the effect of the breeze. This is one logical cause for the opening of doors.
• A prank. It is quite common now amongst millennials to prank each other. Couples, friends, pets, kids, parents, and siblings frequently record and play tricks on each other for various media platforms or the mere fun of it.
• Pressure. In a little room, the likelihood of your doors automatically opening when you shut a window or another door is very high. This can be explained by simple physics because pressure waves are transmitted through short distances.
• Technical causes. A logical explanation might simply be that there is something wrong with your door. An intense breeze and pressure will be able to open your door automatically only when they are loosely installed. During installation, doors ought to be adequately installed vertically, if not, they will constantly swing open from their weight.
• The pivots. A most likely cause which makes doors open on their own is because of the pivot. If your pivots are loosely placed or do not adequately close doors, then you will often experience this problem.

Tools Required To Stop Your Door From Opening On Its Own

When looking for how to stop a door from opening on its own, these simple home tools will be necessary.

• Hammer: Generally used in carpentry, cabinet creation, framing, bending metals, and shaping chisels, this tool has proven to be very useful in the adjustment of an inadequately installed door.
• Big nails: this comes in handy when going through the processes needed to repair a door that opens by itself. Big nails are frequently used for exterior repairs, such as nailing door frames or installing trim boards.
• Shims: a door shim can be considered a wedge, which is utilized in adjusting doorcases and windows.
• Screwdrivers: they do not just come in handy when you want to open a locked door, but also when you want to keep your doors closed.

Ways To Stop Your Door From Opening Automatically

It is not enough to know the causes behind this problem, or the tools required to fix it. The next step afterward is to know how to stop a door from opening on its own.

Having listed the possible logical reasons, A+ Lock & Door would now finally explain how to stop a door from opening by itself in a simple DIY process.

Find the issue

You cannot solve an issue if you do not know what the issue might be. Determine the cause, is it because of pressure? Winds? Pranks? Pivots? or improper installation. Examine your pivots very closely, they are very often the major cause for the constant automatic opening of doors.

Slide-in a shim

Position your shims in gaps between your doorcases and the wall by neatly sliding them in at both ends. After sliding, utilize a hammer by tapping the shim into position to allow firmness. Continue this with extra care and precision.

Take out pins

Taking out pins from the top pivot will help you in stopping this issue. Place a nail on the bottom of the pins, below the pivot and begin hitting it lightly upwards with a hammer. Do this till the pin has been taken out of the pivot. 

Adjust, add a shim, and secure

Adjust the removed pin until it is straight, use a hammer to position the pin rightly, and check if the door still opens on its own. If the door no longer opens automatically, repeat the process with the bottom pivot, and finally secure the screws in place with a screwdriver.