The doors of your home conveniently keep nature at bay but only when they're functioning properly. A door that sticks when closed or presents problems when you're trying to shut it adds frustration and precious time to your already busy routine. While the problem may be with the door itself, often the culprit is the door frame. Some problems are fixable but others are signs that you need a replacement door frame. Here's how to tell.

1. Warping

If your door frame is made of wood rather than metal, fiberglass, or composite, it's susceptible to moisture. That's just the nature of wood. When water gets to your frame, you probably won't notice at first. Water penetration of the frame may go on for months before the frame starts to show the signs of rot. But when it does, it often manifests as warping. You may spot unusual bulges in the frame that weren't there before and they'll make the door hard to open and close. When the wood is so warped it is affecting the function of the door, it's probably time for a replacement frame. One way to check for rot is to prod the frame with a screwdriver. If the wood is soft and yields to the tool, you've got rot.

2. Cracks

Cracks are also possible signs of a faulty door frame. They're usually caused by problems with humidity or dry air. As the humidity changes and the level of the moisture in the air and the frame changes, the wood will expand and contract. While some level of expanding and contracting is normal, cracks are a sign that there are abnormal forces at work. Some minor cracks can be repaired but that won't stop the problem that caused the crack in the first place. If you don't want the problem to resurface, you should replace the frame. If cracks are appearing in multiple door frames around your home, however, you could have bigger problems like foundation issues.

3. Binding

Another issue that could mean you need a new door frame is a door that's constantly binding, meaning it's difficult to open and close due to pressure on the hinges. This is often due to normal settling or an improperly installed jam. Sometimes the problem can be fixed by putting shims at the top or bottom hinge of the door. But occasionally the problem is so severe that the door frame just needs to be replaced.

For more information about replacement door frames, visit websites like http://www.distinctivesidingandwindow.com.