A dropped door is one of the most common UPVC faults, and one of the most commonly misdiagnosed. The symptom is obvious: the door catches on the frame, needs lifting to close, or the locking points no longer line up.
What actually causes a door to drop
Doors are heavy, and they hang from hinges that carry the whole weight. Over years of use, those hinges wear and the door gradually settles. On heavier doors with double glazing, this happens faster.
The other cause is the building. As a property settles, the frame can move very slightly out of square. It does not take much - a couple of millimetres is enough to throw the locking points out of alignment with the keeps.
Why repair is usually the right answer
Re-hanging and re-aligning a door restores its geometry. The hinges are adjusted, the glass is re-toed and heeled where necessary, and the locking points are brought back into line with the frame.
The cost comparison
Adjustment and re-alignment typically costs £60 to £90. A replacement UPVC or composite door runs from £600 to well over £1,500 fitted, before any making good. The door itself is usually perfectly sound.
What not to accept
If you are told the door needs replacing because it has dropped, ask what is actually wrong with it. A dropped door is an alignment issue. Unless the door is warped or the frame has moved substantially, there is no structural reason to replace it.
Similarly, be wary of anyone who proposes planing the door edge. Removing material from the door does not fix the alignment, and it cannot be undone.
When replacement is genuinely needed
- The door has warped - usually visible as a curve along the edge
- The frame itself has moved significantly and cannot be adjusted
- The door was forced and the internal structure is bent
- The door is at the end of its life and repairs would only be temporary
Those are real situations, and a good locksmith will say so honestly. But they are the exception. The overwhelming majority of dropped doors are alignment problems with a straightforward fix.
Preventing it happening again
Once a door is correctly adjusted, it should stay that way for years. It is worth having the hinges and locking points checked if you notice the door beginning to need a lift again, because catching it early is a small adjustment rather than a bigger job.
4 minute read · updated October 2026
This guidance is written by KMG Locksmiths, an emergency locksmith based in Skelmersdale, West Lancashire, covering a 30-mile radius 24 hours a day.