What to do if this describes your place? “Burn the house,” said Kurt Rudolph, the manager of the Door Store in Denver. “Just kidding. I would first make sure the door really is changing sizes, and it’s not paint or sealant sticking,” especially if it was recently finished, in which case the sticky areas should be sanded.

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To prevent swelling, there are a few measures that do-it-yourselfers can try. The most superficial one involves limiting moisture by, say, opening a window during showers or using a dehumidifier. Adjusting obstacles like rugs or carpets could also help.

For a fix that lasts a few years, there’s a more aggressive, Botox-like option: refinishing. To do so, remove the door and apply new finish, following the door manufacturer’s advice (generally an oil-based wood finish, about $15 a quart, suffices). Follow the label’s instructions regarding coats, and don’t overlook the bottom of the door, which is often poorly finished in factories. Let the door dry, and rehang. If it’s outside, you can protect it further with a storm door or overhang.

For a more long-term solution, there’s plastic surgery: planing the door. Wait until dry season, detach the door and, with a hand plane, remove a sixteenth of an inch from the areas that rub (be conservative, as door clearance is generally an eighth of an inch, and don’t plane the lock side unless you enjoy removing and reinstalling). Sand the planed area, refinish it and rehang the door.

If this is all too much, a professional can fix most problems for $100 to $300 without replacing the door, usually by planing or sanding and then refinishing it.

Stephen Huebner, president of North Jersey Door Center in Ramsey, N.J., said that a recent Teaneck client thought she needed a new door. “We said, ‘Hey, lady, this is a beautiful door,’ ” he said. “It had a gothic top, incredibly custom on a brick Tudor house. So rather than spending seven grand to replace it, we spent a few hundred to restore and refinish her old door. But you got to talk to someone who knows how to service doors, like a carpenter or a handyman. A retailer won’t always have the staff.”

Another answer may be getting a fiberglass door, because it’s one size forever. But for city dwellers, that may be easier said than done, as fiberglass doors are standard size, and many city buildings have odd-size doors.

Whatever the door type, Mr. Rudolph said, treat it nicely, and it will outlive you. “Doors get a lot of abuse, spun 180 degrees by wind or slammed by owners,” he said. But as the saying goes, all doors open to courtesy.

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