Your door sticks because the hinge alignment is off and you can fix it with three careful adjustments.

Start by removing the hinge pins using a small hammer and a nail punch or screwdriver to tap them up from the bottom until you can pull them out by hand. With the pins out, close the door and check how the leaves sit; if one leaf is twisted or gaps appear, place the door on shims or have an assistant hold it at the correct position so you can see the misalignment clearly. To correct a leaf that pulls the door toward the jamb, use a crescent wrench to gently bend the hinge leaf back toward the plane of the other leaf by applying slow, even pressure; bend in small increments and check fit after each try. If the hinge screws are loose or the mortise is worn, remove the screws and drive matchsticks coated with wood glue into the screw holes, let set, then reinsert the screws to tighten the fit. For cases where the top of the door rubs the jamb, loosen the top hinge screws, shift the hinge leaf slightly down, and retighten while the door is held in the correct position. Finally, reinstall the pins and tap them gently with a hammer so they seat fully, then operate the door several times to confirm smooth movement and make any final micro adjustments.

Common mistakes include overbending a hinge leaf which can warp the hinge and make alignment worse; avoid heavy force, bend only a little and check fit frequently. Another issue is relying on loose screws to mask misalignment; if the jamb or screw holes are worn, repair the hole with wooden fillers or longer screws that reach solid framing so the hinge holds true. A third frequent error is ignoring the door plane when adjusting only one hinge; if the door still sticks after a single hinge tweak, adjust the other hinges so the door hangs evenly and the gap is uniform around the perimeter.

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