Door Repairs, Locks and Handles
Sticking, sagging, swinging open, or refusing to lock.
A door that sticks is not a door problem. It is almost always a hinge problem, or a frame that has moved as the house settled, or a latch that no longer lines up with its striker. Sanding the top of the door is what people do. It is also what makes the gap worse next winter.
Doors are quick to diagnose once you know what you are looking for, and most of them are a single visit. Interior, exterior, sliding, and the security gate on the front of it.
Sample photoTypical price
R280 to R650labour
Send a photo of the door and the problem and you get a price for the job. A door that sticks, a hinge that has given up and a lock that needs replacing are three different prices, and the photo tells them apart.
Every job is quoted at a fixed price before work starts, so there is no hourly rate and no meter running. Labour only. Materials and fittings are quoted separately and approved by you before anything is bought.
How pricing worksTypical jobs
What this usually turns into
- Sticking door adjusted at the hinges45 min to 1 hr
- Door rehung or planed and refitted1.5 to 2 hrs
- Hinges replaced, including rusted coastal hinges1 hr
- Latch or striker plate realigned45 min
- Handle or lockset replaced1 hr
- Sliding door roller or track repair1.5 to 2 hrs
Times are on site, not including travel, and they are a guide rather than a promise: a job that reveals something once it is open takes longer, and you hear about it before it carries on. Every job is quoted at a fixed price before work starts, so adding to the list changes the quote rather than running up a meter.
What is covered
Included in the visit
- Interior and exterior doors, plus security gates
- Hinge replacement, including stainless fixings for coastal homes
- Planed and refitted doors, sealed where they are cut
- Latch, striker plate and lock alignment
- Handles, locksets and deadbolts replaced
- Sliding door rollers, tracks and guides
Where the line is
A handyman can replace a lock. Cutting a key, rekeying an existing cylinder, or fitting a safe is locksmith work and gets referred to one. Gate motor and automation faults also go to a gate specialist, not to me.
Doors and locks questions
The door only sticks in winter. Why?
Humidity. Solid timber swells across its width when the air is damp, and the same door that closed cleanly in summer drags on the frame in July. Adjusting the hinges usually solves it without touching the door itself, which keeps the gap correct when the door dries out again.
Can you fit a lock I bought myself?
Yes. Bring the lock and I will fit it. If the door needs a new mortise cut or the existing hole is a different size, I will tell you before I start rather than after.
My security gate is stiff and hard to move. Can you fix that?
If it is a manual gate and the problem is the track, the wheels or the hinges, yes. If it is a motorised gate and the motor or the remote is at fault, that needs a gate automation technician and I will say so.
Do you work on exterior doors that have swollen shut?
Yes, and those need care. An exterior door that is jammed is usually holding water at the bottom edge. I free it, treat the edge, and seal it so the same thing does not happen next season.
While you are at it
Book doors and locks in Gqeberha
Send the job with a photo or two and you get an honest price and a sensible slot. Add anything else from your list while you are at it.