If your door were accidentally broken or forcefully kicked in during an attack, you would wonder if you could fix the door or if you would need to replace the door and how much does it cost to fix a door.

It is possible to have your door fixed. Depending on the gravity of damage and the type of door, you should spend $250 on average, with a range of $150 – $350. Minor repairs like a spoilt lock will cost as little as $50, and more serious repairs can cost up to $600. 

You can handle minor door repairs and save money. Fixing a cracked door or split jamb is not as tricky as you think. In this article, you will find out how to fix a broken and kicked-in door and how much it costs to fix a bedroom door.

How Much Does It Cost To Fix A Door?

The cost of fixing your door depends on the door material, design, labor fee, and extent of the damage. Let’s consider the location of the door and how it influences the cost of repairs and factors that affect the price.

Exterior Doors

Exterior doors are often more expensive than interior doors because they have to be stronger and more durable; they are used at the entrance providing major security for the house. Exterior doors are often made with wood, fiberglass composites, glass, and metal, and they are more costly to fix or repair.

The average price of repairing an outer or entry door is between $150 – $400, parts and labor inclusive. To replace an exterior door will cost between $250 – $2500, depending on the door’s material and design.

Interior Design

Interior doors are cheaper and easy to repair because they are made from lightweight materials and hardware; hence, they are vulnerable to damage, easy to repair, and inexpensive to replace.

On average, you should spend about $100-$300 to repair an interior door. The replacement cost is between $200-$500. 

Factors Affecting The Cost Of Door Repair

Below is a list of factors that can affect the cost of repairing your door.

Type Of Repair

Simple repairs such as replacing a door lock are cheaper than complex repairs like repairing or replacing a door jamb of an old door.

Door Quality

Repairing light-weighted doors is less expensive than repairing heavy-duty doors. Premium materials will attract more labor fees than a simple material door.

Extent Of Damage

The level of damage determines the cost of repair. If your door has been badly damaged, you will pay more or may opt to replace the door.

How Much Is It To Fix A Bedroom Door?

The cost to fix a bedroom door depends on the material, type of door, and the extent of the damage. Bedroom doors are usually made of simple, lightweight materials and hardware. Therefore, unlike exterior doors, they are more prone to wear but are less expensive to repair or replace. 

The average cost to fix a bedroom door is between $50 – $300. Repairs such as fixing a damaged door jamb or a broken or cracked door are more expensive, plus you will need a help of a professional.

So, in addition to buying supplies, you will need to pay for labor between $25 – $80 per hour, and the task would take a minimum of two hours.

Simple repairs like a spoilt striker plate, lock, or hinges are cheaper to fix. You can even have spoilt hardware repaired yourself. In this case, you will only need to spend money on new hardware.

How Do You Fix A Broken Door?

It is not impossible to fix a broken door; depending on the extent of damage, you could glue split or cracked parts together or use a filler to cover cracks and splits. However, if the damage is pretty severe, you will need to remove the old door slab and install a new door. 

To fix your door, you will need to get some materials and supplies;

• Putty knife
• Dremel tool kit
• Putty or filler
• Epoxy glue or sealer
• Sandpaper
• Wood slat

Follow these steps to fix your broken door. 

Step One

• If the part of your broken door is replaceable, ensure to get the part ready before starting the fixing process; otherwise, you may expose your house to insects and your curious neighbors. Hence, the first step you need to fix your door is to put in place everything you will need for the repairs.
• You should go to your local hardware store to get damaged door hardware like hinge, lock, or door handle, and do not forget to go with pictures of the damaged one to get a suitable replacement for the door. 
• If your door panel is broken, you must buy a new one. Repairing a broken door, especially fiberglass or foam-injected one is usually challenging; hence, it is advisable to replace it entirely. 
• You can repair a wooden door with some strong wood glue and sanding; however, it is a temporary solution, as that point may worsen in no time.

Step Two

After you have gotten everything you need for the door repairs, you can go ahead to remove the door. If replacing the door knob or lock, you can skip this step because removing your door will be unnecessary.

To remove the door:

• Remove the pin from each hinge.
• If there is any screw on the pin, unscrew it.
• Line up a screwdriver with the bottom of the pin and tap the handle with a hammer. The tips of the screwdriver will push the pin out of the top of the hinge’s knuckles. Hold a folded cloth over the screwdriver to avoid damaging a plastic handle screwdriver with your hammer.

Note that you cannot remove the door alone. You will need an assistant so that one can hold the door in place, and the other person will remove the hinges.  

Step Three

When you have removed the door, the next step is for you to replace the broke part of the door. It is easy to replace a lock or knob; you don’t have to remove the door. 

If you want to replace a broken door, remove the door and attach all hinges to the new door. Lift the door and have your assistant hold it in place for you while screwing the hinges to the door frame. 

To Fix Cracks:

• You will need to choose if you want to use wood putty or filler to repair the cracks. Wood putty is the best choice if you do not intend to repaint your door after repairs. With a filler, you will need to paint the door. However, both works perfectly.
• Use a knife to apply the wood putty or filler between and over cracks. Do this until cracks are entirely covered with the putty or filler.
• Scrape over the excess filler to make the surface even, then allow the filler to dry. Good filler would take a shorter time to dry.
• For a smooth and even finish, use gritty sandpaper on the area. For a lasting fill, you should reapply the filler, allow it to dry then sand the area again until even. Repeat this process until you are satisfied. Be careful to damage other areas of the door when filing.
• Use paint with a hue similar to the rest of the door to repaint the sanded area. You should use a roller to paint rather than a paintbrush as it leaves marks while a roller gives a more professional finish. Allow the paint to dry, and your door is fixed.

To Fix Medium-Size Splits:

Putty and fillers will not do a perfect job at fixing splits or large cracks; in this case, you will need to use epoxy glue and sealer.

• Fill the split with a reasonable amount of epoxy glue using the blade of your putty knife. Do not apply too much, as the glue will expand and fill the area. 
• Let the glue dry; after some time, apply a coat of sealer to the area and allow it to dry.
• Use fine sandpaper to burnish the area. 
• Apply to paint the same hue as the rest of the door to the area to cover all traces of damage and give it a finished look.

To Fix Significant Splits:

• Use the Dremel tool to clean the space between the splits so the wood splat fits in well. Fix the wood splat into the area to see what size fits. If the splat does not fix, readjust it to work.
• Fill the area between the splits with good quality wood glue, and then fill in the wood splats until the whole length of the division is filled. Use a rubber mallet to push the entire length of the splat until it is flushed with the door surface. 
• Allow the glue to dry. Apply a filler or sealer to cover the area. Sand the area with fine sandpaper for lasting filling.
• Paint the area with the same hue as the rest of the door for a professional finish.

How Do You Fix A Broken Door Hinge?

To fix a broken door, lay your door on the ground, and unscrew the broken hinge that is attached to it and the door frame. Then ensure that you position the new hinge correctly before screwing it to the side of the door. 

After screwing the new hinge to the side of the door, reconnect the old hinges with their pins to the door frame (for the new hinge(s), only screw a part of it to the door but ensure that it is properly positioned before attaching the old ones). After fixing the old one, screwing the loose part of the new hinge will be easy peasy.

How Much Does It Cost To Replace A Wooden Door?

Depending on the type of wood used, the design, whether it is an interior or exterior, and whether it is a single or double door, the price of wood doors costs between $200 – $2000. The cost to replace a wooden door depends on the type of wood, installation cost, and whether it is an interior or exterior wooden door.

You will arrive at the average replacement cost when you add all these factors.

Installation costs also depend on the above factors and are between $450 and $1750. You can save some money and install your door yourself if you are quite the handyman.

The cost range to replace a wooden door is $750 – $3500. Please note that if any hardware is damaged, you will bear the additional cost of getting a replacement.

How Do You Fix A Broken Door Panel?

Depending on the door material, fixing your door panel is straightforward. If the panel is badly broken, I advise that you replace it so the door can still serve its security purpose. For a wooden door panel, you either have a solid or hollow-core door panel.

A hollow-core door is made using lightweight plywood with a thin veneer. Hollow-core doors are easily damaged because it is softer than a solid material. Veneer or plywood separation are the common problems associated with hollow-core doors, while splintering or cracks are linked to solid doors.

You can fix a broken door panel using glue, wood patches, putty fillers, crayon, and other tools like bar clamps, sandpaper, lacquer, paintbrush, paper towels, body filler, and a blow dryer. You should wear face masks and gloves to avoid inhaling dust/sand.

Below are the steps on how to fix a broken door panel.

• Clean the affected area with a paper towel or rag, and dust it afterward.
• Sand the area you want to work on with sanding paper or any sanding sponge.
• Use a paper towel to wipe off any dust from the surface.
• Apply body filler to the affected area with a putty knife until the area is smooth. Begin with a small amount and add more if needed.
• If there is any excess body filler, use a putty knife to remove it. 
• Use a blow dryer to dry it but if you do not have one, leave it for some time. The blow dryer saves time.
• If the surface is uneven, lightly sand the surface. Apply the body filler again and allow it dry. Re-sand the surface if it remains inconsistent.
• Paint the surface with a similar lacquer tone and leave it to dry.

How To Fix A Broken Door Frame

Follow the steps below to fix your broken door frame. 

• Take away any deadbolt catch/strike.
• Scrape small chunks of wood protruding from the door frame.
• Ensure that your door can properly close; if it does not, remove any obstacle preventing it from closing. 
• Open the door fully to get the door frame.
• Deeply apply wood glue or wood filler into the crack/cracks.
• Add multiple wood clamps to squeeze the crack shut once the crack is full of wood glue. Leave the wood clamp in its position for a few hours so the wood glue can dry. Note that your door will be open while the clamp is in place.
• Remove the wood clamp once the glue is dry. 
• Sand the wood down and paint it.
• Install the door catch/strike again, and check if it works.

How Do You Fix A Kicked-In Door?

A hung door assembly consists of the door slab itself and the frame. The door jambs are the vertical parts of the frame to which the door slab is hinged on one side, and the latch and lock of the door are attached on the other side.

Usually, when someone forcefully kicks in your door, the latch jamb of the door frame is damaged.

The force applied causes the striker plate out of its hole and vertically splits the jamb by a few inches. The door itself could also be cracked, especially if it is pretty old. It is possible to fix the damaged door jamb by gluing the split parts together.

In severe cases, you might need to remove the damaged jamb and install a new frame. To fix a kicked-in door, you will need the following tools: 

• Wood glue
• Screwdriver
• putty knife
• Nail sets
• Clamps 
• Chisel
• Pliers
• Safety glasses

Here is how to fix your damaged door frame:

• Insert a putty knife between the loose parts of the casing on the damaged door jamb and pull it out. Use a plier to pull out the nails holding parts of the casing to the door jamb. If the case is too damaged, discard it.
• If the area around the striker plate is cracked, check that the striker plate is not damaged. If it is, use a screwdriver to remove the screws holding the striker plate in place and pull it out of the mortise. You could discard it if it is damaged beyond repairs.
• Using the tip of the putty knife, remove all loose splinters, wood chips, and other particles from the cracked door jamb.
• Use the blade of the putty knife to spread glue between the split and cracked parts of the jamb. Continue this process until a reasonable amount of adhesive is applied between splits and cracks. Wipe the excess glue off the surface of splits and cracks. 
• Tighten a clamp around the cracked or split part of the jamb, and tighten it around these parts until excess glue oozes out; it is tight enough. Clean the excess adhesive off the surface and allow the glue to dry for about an hour.
• After about an hour, check the glue is dried, then unclamp the jamb. The clamp held the jamb parts together while the glue attached the splits. Use the putty knife to scrape off dry glue on the surface of the jamb.
• Use the edge of the putty knife to clean out the mortise for the striker plate. You could use a chisel to remove excess wood and restore the flush edges of the mortise. Chiseling out the mortise would ensure that the striker plate fits in the back perfectly.
• Screw back a new striker plate into its hole on the door if the old one was damaged. Check that it fits perfectly into the mortise on the jamb.
• Reinstall the new casing. Use quarter-inch nails and a hammer to attach the casing back to the interior side of the door and jamb. Your door is fixed. You might need to have the area painted or sprayed to clear traces of damage.

The cost to fix a door can be cheap or expensive depending on the level of damage and if you are fixing it yourself or hiring a work man. However, on average, it will cost you between $150 – $350 to fix your door.