Hello-
I am looking for a little help with doors. We just bought an 84 year old house and the first of many projects is to fix three of the doors( one outside, two inside). Specifically they do not hang correctly and two of them rub the floor when opened all the way. I am a pretty decent furniture builder and am excited to try my hand at this. Our local library has a nice collection but I haven’t found a book that is very good at describing the entire process of building both the door and jam. Any suggestions?
Replies
Pictures pictures pictures..post pictures.
We far out weigh books here but we need facts and did I say pictures?
Be a swinger
Namaste
andy
"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is."
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
It's a little hard to know what you mean about it not hanging correctly. building a whole new door and jamb is way overkill for this problem probably. Most bottom draggers result either from a loose hinge which can simpley be tightened up, or from the building having settled. If the latter, pop the pin out of the hinges and shave the bottom off the dor just enough to make it quit dragging.
BTW, When My fiend Andy aske for piuctures, I'nm sure he meant of the doors, not of you, but he wouldn't mind if you were in the pictures too.
;)
Excellence is its own reward!
Kimberly
If your lucky the builder that installed the doors used shims between the door jamb and studs. If Piff's suggestion doesnt work by tightening up the hinges , before you shave the bottom of the door you might want to remove the door casing (molding) on the hinge side and see if theres enough space between the stud and jamb to re shim . Take the entire prehung door out if youre so inclined and rehang it using less shims on the top of the hinge side of the door....Or do what Piff said..probably would be easier. Just cut the bottom.
Be a swinging door
Namaste
andy
"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is."
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Kimberly,
Try tightening up the hinges as Piffin and Andy suggest. If that doesn't work and if the problem is not too severe you can deepen the upper hinge mortise slightly (on the jamb side). That will pull the lower (knob edge) side of the door up a bit. If that fails you can re-shim the jamb or cut the bottom of the door as has already been suggested.
Chip
You wouldn't be a model from Colorado, or a gunnery sargeant, would you?
.
.
(Sorry - Inside joke)
How's life in the fast lane, Norm?
Dunno, can't get on the on-ramp.
No not a model or gunnery sargeant. Sorry.
I do teach highschool science inside a juvenile detention facility. So maybe a little of the latter. Thank you for your responses. I will get a closer look this weekend and maybe snap a few digital pictures.
Thanks-Kimberly
Sorry - That was kinda an inside joke, directed more at some of the regulars.
Glad to have you around - Hope you'll keep coming back. A new face is always welcome. As are pictures. (You *OR* the doors)How's it going Mr. Peterson?Poor.I'm sorry to hear that.No, I mean pour.
Boss Hog,
No offense taken. I was kind of playing with you back.
Thanks for the welcome. With all the great suggestions and kind reponses you will be hearing from me more I am sure.
-Kimberly
One question, I've lived in older homes too, Are the dorrs out of whack or are the floors not level?
How's it going Mr. Peterson?Poor.I'm sorry to hear that.No, I mean pour.
Boss..now dats funny : )"As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can't see how it is." http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
One easy potential solution that I use is to take out the middle screw or screws on the jamb side of top hinge and replace them with long (2 1/2 -3in) exterior screws ( the gold tone ones), usually this will pull things up pretty well unless whoever hung the door really shimmed it tight. If that does not fix it shim the bottom hinge by removing the jamb side and put a shim or shims cut from plastic or cardboard under it only tightening the screws securely, not honking then down. You can do this to the door side also if it takes so much that it can be seen at the hinge. If this fails the good suggestions from the others are your answer.
I agree with what the other posters have said regarding building a new door being a last resort. One other possibility for the sag if these are frame & panel doors is if the frame of the door has come unglued. This will cause the door to "diamond" (knob side of the door drops). Check corner to corner measurements. If they're not the same, the door has sagged or someone has previously sawed the door. Checking each corner for square will tell you which.
Pete