--- title: "Damp in the Old Town: Why a Wooden Street Door Sticks" description: "A wooden street door that closes easily in July and fights you in January: what damp does to an old door and its lock, and when it needs a locksmith." url: "https://locksmithalcoi.es/blog/damp-old-town-and-a-sticking-street-door/" business: "Locksmith Alcoi" --- # Damp in the old town: why a wooden street door starts to stick The same wooden door that closes with one finger in July has to be shouldered shut in January. What is going on, what you can safely check yourself, and when it is a job for a locksmith. 5 October 2026 · 5 minutes to read Alcoi’s old town has had a reputation for damp for a very long time. When the Pont de Sant Jordi opened in 1931, thousands of people left the narrow streets of the historic centre for the new, airier blocks of l’Eixample, and Alcoi’s industrial heritage association still describes the old town they left in terms of damp and darkness. Many of the houses they left are still there, and so are their wooden street doors. ## Why an old door changes with the seasons Wood takes in moisture from the air and gives it back. In a damp ground floor in winter, a solid door swells, mostly across its width. Alcoi’s winters are cold by Valencian standards, with January nights averaging around 4 °C, and its summers are hot, so the same door can be two different sizes six months apart. When the door swells, three things happen at once: - the edge of the door rubs against the frame, so it has to be pushed shut; - the latch no longer lines up with the hole in the keep, so it does not catch; - the bolt of the lock presses against the side of its hole in the keep, so the key is hard to turn, or will only turn while you push the door. The last one is the one that makes people think the lock is broken. Very often it is not. ## A simple test before you ring anyone Open the door and, with it standing open, turn the key all the way and back again. - **If the lock turns easily with the door open,** the lock is fine. The problem is the door and the keep no longer lining up. - **If it is stiff even with the door open,** the lock itself needs attention: worn levers, a dry mechanism, or a bent key. Then close the door slowly and watch where it touches. A strip of paper slid round the edge will catch where the door rubs. ## Three things to do before you ring - **Tighten the hinge screws.** A door that has dropped on loose hinges rubs at the bottom on the lock side. - **Clean the keep.** Old paint, grit and dust build up in the hole the bolt goes into. - **Use a dry lubricant** in the keyhole, such as graphite powder or a PTFE spray, a little at a time. Heavy oil gathers dust and makes an old lock worse over a winter. And what not to do: don’t force the key. Old keys are long and soft, and a key that snaps inside a lever lock is a much bigger job than a stiff one. ## When it needs a locksmith, and when a carpenter If the lock turns freely with the door open, moving or reshaping the keep so the bolt and latch catch again usually solves it, and that is locksmith’s work. If the lock is stiff on its own, it needs taking out, cleaning and sometimes new parts. If the door itself drags on the floor or binds along its whole edge, planing it is a carpenter’s job, and it is worth doing in the damp months so it still fits in summer. ## If you have just moved into an old house A sticking door is often the first thing new owners notice. The [first-week lock check for a village house](https://locksmithalcoi.es/blog/first-week-in-an-el-comtat-village-house/) goes through every door in an old house, not only the street door. In a block of flats, the door that sticks may be the street door of the building, which belongs to the community: see [the guide to street doors that no longer latch](https://locksmithalcoi.es/blog/street-door-of-a-sixties-block-will-not-latch/). Mortice and box locks on old wooden street doors are repaired, freed or replaced to fit, keeping the door you have. [Wooden door lock repair in Alcoi, for doors worth keeping](https://locksmithalcoi.es/wooden-door-locks-alcoi/) Read next - [First week in an El Comtat village house](https://locksmithalcoi.es/blog/first-week-in-an-el-comtat-village-house/) · 5 min - [The street door of a 1960s block](https://locksmithalcoi.es/blog/street-door-of-a-sixties-block-will-not-latch/) · 4 min - [All the guides for Alcoi and El Comtat](https://locksmithalcoi.es/blog/) ## Easier to talk it through? Ring, or send a photo of the lock and where you are on WhatsApp. Open 24 hours · 7 days [+34 678 583 290](tel:+34678583290) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/34678583290?text=Hi%2C%20I%20need%20a%20locksmith%20in%20Alcoi.%20Where%20I%20am%20(barri%20or%20town%2C%20street%2C%20which%20bridge%20it%20is%20near)%20and%20what%20has%20happened%3A)