Door jammed on skirting board.

natea4

Hi there, I'm looking for a bit of advice on how to unjam a door. Long story story it's an interior door and opens into the room. The skirting in the room was replaced a while ago when we had a damp course done and it juts out from the wall a couple of centimetres. The door entry into the room knocks up against one of the walls and this jutting out skirting board has prevented us from being able to fully close the door...except for two days ago.

The door was closed miraculously but now when  we try to open it there's a significant amount of skirting at the base blocking it. We can't even get it to move a tiny bit. 

The door has glass panels in it and is pretty flimsy. I'm scared to put too much weight behind pushing it. 

I'm feeling like it's going to end up with door destruction but I'm eager to avoid it. 

The hinges aren't accessible as the door won't open far enough. 

Any advice is appreciated. I'm just thanking my good luck that it wasn't closed with a pet in the room!! 

flashg67

Might be possible with damage rather than destruction!? Can you cut off the bit of skirting or insert a lever in the gap to force it? or a piece of timber in the 'blocked' part and tap with a hammer so localising the stress to one part?

Murmansk

A photo might help?

victor2

Murmansk said:

A photo might help?

^^definitely!^^

Is it possible to slide something under the door, such as a metal ruler or T-square to push the offending skirting board out of the way, or does it need pulling rather than pushing?

grumbler

Any chance the window in the room isn't locked?

natea4

Photographs are here, thank you.  Ive sent four. First one is the door at the bottom when im trying to open it and sm pushing against it. It doesnt move at all really. Theres also a picture of how much it moves at the top when im pushing it. A picture of the door as a whole where you can see through the glass how close it is to the wall and a picture of the same style of skirting in the hall so you can see how much it protrudes. Sadly no windows are unlocked 

casper_gutman

Can you see whether the glass in the door is fitted from the side you can access? E.g. is there beading pinned in place round the pane of glass in that bottom corner? If you could remove that glass it might help....

grumbler

casper_gutman said:

Can you see whether the glass in the door is fitted from the side you can access? E.g. is there beading pinned in place round the pane of glass in that bottom corner? If you could remove that glass it might help....

From my experience, usually there is no beading, just solid woden profiles glued together.

victor2

casper_gutman said:

Can you see whether the glass in the door is fitted from the side you can access? E.g. is there beading pinned in place round the pane of glass in that bottom corner? If you could remove that glass it might help....

My thinking also. The best bet looks like removing the bottom right pane of glass. That will give you access to the protruding skirting board that the door has somehow forced its way past. If you have to break the glass, it could be very difficult to find a matching piece and actually fitting it. 
Who fitted the skirting board? If it was your own doing, then you've got to sort it out. If it was a paid tradesman, maybe he can take some blame and cost of repair?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

when you do get it open, hopefully without too much damage, maybe it would be possible to chamfer down the protruding edge of skirting.

casper_gutman

If you can get access from the other side then you might be able to open the door by using a piece of thin stiff material to help ease the door past the protrusion of the skirting, like a shoehorn.

Then, use a sharp blade like a plane to chamfer the end of the skirting enough to allow the door to open and close.

It's possible you may be able to do this in situ, if it's only the top part of the skirting that's catching the door, but it might be difficult to do it right down to the floor. If you have to remove the skirting then the repair will need more work to make good.