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Cordless planer for doors: mark the bind, then ease it

Updated: 23 October 2026

The door sticks after a wet week, or the new carpet catches the bottom, and a cordless planer is already in the cupboard. A cordless planer for doors is enough for an ordinary internal door if you mark the gap while the door is hung, take the door off, and remove less than you think. It is the wrong tool for guessing at a certified fire door. The bodies sit on the [cordless plane comparison](/hub/hand-tools/cordless-plane). Peter F., DIY and tools editor, wrote this on 22 October 2026 from UK review notes and from GOV.UK, BWF and trade gap guidance. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The door sticks after a wet week, or the new carpet catches the bottom, and a cordless planer is already in the cupboard.

Our top picks

DeWalt DeWalt DCP580N-XJ

Best overall

DeWalt DeWalt DCP580N-XJ
9.7/10about £117.98
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Einhell Einhell TE-PL 18/82 Li Solo

Best value

Einhell Einhell TE-PL 18/82 Li Solo
9.4/10about £77.99
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Mekturm Mekturm DeWalt-slide planer

Alternative

Mekturm Mekturm DeWalt-slide planer
6.1/10about £47.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Mark the door before you cut
  2. 2.Off the hinges, in shallow passes
  3. 3.The bottom edge is end grain
  4. 4.Do not plane a certified fire door on a guess

Mark the door before you cut

Find the bind first. Close the door slowly and look for a shiny patch, a scuff on the frame, or crushed carpet at the bottom. Mark that spot on both faces while the door is hung. A fire door often has a label, a closer, intumescent strips or a certification plug. If you are not sure, stop. A door that only binds in damp weather may be timber movement. Ease the clear high spot, or wait. Checkatrade says most sticking doors need a millimetre or two in total, and that you take the door off for more than a whisper. The pass itself is how to use a cordless planer.

Off the hinges, in shallow passes

Planing while the door hangs is the harder job. The latch edge is narrow and the tool tips. Lift the door off, support the stile, and plane the marked edge with the grain. Keep the cut light enough to refit and look. DIYnot contributors talk about about 0.5 mm a pass. That is forum practice, not a regulation. Stop when the mark is gone and the door closes without force. You cannot put the shaving back. In situ is reasonable only for one high spot at the lightest depth. UK reviews here use the DeWalt and the Einhell on ordinary doors. Platform and box contents are the cordless planer buying guide.
DeWalt DeWalt DCP580N-XJ

Testsieger

DeWalt DeWalt DCP580N-XJ
9.7/10about £117.98
View offer

The bottom edge is end grain

The bottom rail is end grain. Come in from each side toward the middle, shallow, so the exit is still supported. Keep the rear shoe down as the front shoe leaves the rail. GOV.UK says the fire-door gap to the frame should not be more than 4 mm, except the bottom, which should be as small as practicable. The BWF card puts 2–4 mm at the top and sides, often 8–10 mm at the bottom for fire resistance. Those figures are not a licence to open an ordinary door to 10 mm.

Do not plane a certified fire door on a guess

A certified fire door is a tested assembly. Birmingham Joinery's FD30 note says planing the edges may void that certification. One UK review of a SWTHM lookalike mentions fire doors on site after a DeWalt failed. That sentence is not a method. If the door has strips, a closer or a certificate, leave the edge alone. Ordinary doors are a different job. DeWalt and Einhell UK texts here name doors and bottoms after carpet, at a listed 2 mm, if you stay shallow. When a lead is still the better choice, that split is cordless planer vs corded.

Common questions

Should I take the door off?
Yes, if you are removing more than a light rub. Checkatrade's guide allows a whisper with care, and anything more comes off the hinges. Mark both faces first, support the stile, and take shallow passes until it closes without force. The bottom is awkward while the door is hung, because the floor is in the way.
How much do I take off the bottom for carpet?
Mark it on your floor. A trade calculator uses about 8–10 mm under a door for carpet and about 3–5 mm for hard floors. Another habit is 2–3 mm. Those are not the same rule, and neither is law. Carpet that catches is often a few millimetres of pile, which a 2 mm cordless maximum can take in more than one shallow pass, in from each side. On a fire door, use the door sheet, not the carpet rule of thumb.
What gap do I leave at the sides?
On a normal door, enough to close without rubbing, and not so much that the latch fails. The trade calculator's 2–3 mm is one aid, not a number to plane toward if the door already shuts. On a fire door, GOV.UK cites not more than 4 mm to the frame. Stop when the rub is gone.
Can I plane a fire door?
Do not plane a certified fire door to make it fit. Planing the edges can void certification, which is the FD30 warning, and the gaps are tight: not more than about 4 mm at the frame in the GOV.UK guidance, with the bottom as small as practicable. A UK review that mentions fire doors and a cheap planer is not a procedure. If the door will not close, the frame, the closer or the hinges may be the fault.
Do I plane the bottom in one direction?
No. The bottom rail is end grain, and one direction breaks the far corner out. Plane in from each side, shallow, and meet in the middle. Do not run off the corner at the full 2 mm setting. The long edges can go with the grain in longer passes, still under the maximum. If the end splinters, the knife is blunt or the depth is high. Fix that on scrap.
The door only sticks in damp weather. Should I plane it?
Only the small high spot, and only if you accept a larger gap when the timber dries. Planing to the worst damp day can leave a winter gap that whistles. If the door clears after the house has dried, wait. If it sticks all year, mark it and take it off. If it is a fire door, do not plane the certified edge.

Related pages

Cordless plane

Best cordless planer UK for the packs you already own

Cordless planer buying guide for battery platforms

How to use a cordless planer on scrap, then timber

Cordless planer vs corded for site work or a bench

Sources

Sources from the research digest, last checked on 22 October 2026.

  1. DeWalt UK, DCP580N-XJ (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. DeWalt DCP580 instruction manual (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Einhell UK, TE-PL 18/82 Li Solo (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Einhell TE-PL manual (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. HSE, wood dust (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. HSE, WD0 on-tool extraction (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. HSE, noise for employers (retrieved 22.10.2026)