Hello and thanks in advance for any suggestions.
About a year ago I had a show door installed. The fellah did a good job, etc.. Its the style where the hinges clamp on to the door and on to the glass sides, so, when its closed, its like a larger piece of glass.
Anyway, recently the door started moving in at the top (closing the gap) and out at the bottom. My worry is that my wife or I close the door and have a glass to glass impact, thus breaking the door.
Three times now I have adjusted the door back square. Three times it has moved back. I figure I am not tightening the hinges of the screws sufficiently, so it isn’t clamping tight enough.
Any suggestions are to a more permanent fix? I have huge monkey hands and tend to twist off bolts & screws, so I have been very careful not to over tighten. I have been using a 1/4 rachet with a philips head bit in order to not over-torque. Is there a guideline for how tight is tight enough without braking the glass?
Thanks again.
Replies
I have always found when tightening a screw/bolt on glass or ceramic (like the bolts that hold the toilet tank to the base) that the optimum torque is usually about 1/8 turn less than I applied. Iam reminded of that optimum torque when I hear a not-so-subtle "clink".
Do you find that the screw is loose every time? Maybe a drop of loctite on the threads will help. Or is the glass slipping in the bracket? Might be slippery with soap scum. Take the bracket apart and clean it anjd the glass very well.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Yeah - I guess I'll know I went too far once I break the glass!I'm pretty sure the hinge is slipping & not the screws. The idea about a good clean up is certainly a good one.I *have* to believe door installers have some way of not over tightening that doesn't rely one trial and error.
Sounds to me like a call to the manufacturer is in order. If the hinges are like the one's I've seen, I wonder if they've become distorted from the force of the screws so that are deflecting as the screws are tightened, making it impossible to maintain a grip over time...PaulB
http://www.makeabettertomorrow.com
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Use a new bit & the right size. # 3 or 4 for those.
Tighten til they squeal.
You're squeezing rubber not the glass so it won't break.
I would not use locktite, it isn't the screws backing out that's the problem. The glass is moving in the rubber.
Joe H
When you say squeal, do you mean when they sort of sound like a rusty hinge?
Yup, til they squeal.
Common sense would say lube so they don't squeal, but I'm guessing lube would allow you to strip them easily.
Joe H
If it was "about a year ago" and we had provided the door and install; a phone call to our office would correct that quickly.
Why not try calling the installer?
Pic,
Maybe your house is moving,,,,,seasonally.
I can't see any of the hinges I've ever messed around w slipping.
How thick is the glass??
Is the fixed panel mechanicaly attached, or attached w silicon?
H
My house is made of steel reinforced concrete on all external walls and the floor. All internal walls are steel studs. Movement is unlikely, but since I have moved it several times already, total movement would have been about 1/2 an inch.Good idea though. Id imagine a glass door in a wood house would probably move an obvious amount.
Pic,I guess your house is not settling.Most of the doors, if not all, I've been involved w have had hinges from C.R. Laurence (sp) Co. The hinges and hardware are a major cost in a glass install. Like near half.The hardware I've been involved w would no way slip,,,, no way. Almost seems like you have the wrong hardware for the glass. Or, wrong glass for the hardware.I see your in Milton,,,, I'm in O'ville!Best of luck, Harry
After three tries at tightening, I think I would take the door off and inspect the inside of those hinge mounts to find out what's wrong.
It's unlikely that the door glass is held simply by clamping, There's probably a couple of holes bored in the glass or perhaps a "T" shaped slot cut in the glass.
Before trying that, I would do as a couple of other posters have suggested and call the installer. They should come back and fix it without charge after such a short time.
+1 on having the installer back to do it, even if it costs a few bucks. I would try like hell to avoid adjusting it because if you break the glass you will be one incredibly sad fella.
Anyway, recently the door started moving in at the top (closing the gap) and out at the bottom.
Anybody else think that sounds backwards?
Anybody else think that sounds backwards?
No, not without seeing the door in person. Why does it sound backwards?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
"Why does it sound backwards?"
'Cause the weight of the door would tend to pull the top out instead of in. Sounds weird to me too. Mebbee the bottom is really loose and it's just pulling out when the door swings, and the top is levering on the pivot formed by the hinge.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
It is as you would expect. I described the movement from the non-hinge side, so the top of the door is tilting away from the upper hinge.As for the installer, I live in the country and its a 1 hour drive each way. I had some fun convincing somebody to do the job. I doubt it'll be that easy to convince they guy to come back to fix a hinge.
Edited 12/18/2008 9:28 am ET by Piccioni
Don't matter if he's two hours away. Get his adze back there to look at the job.
That would be a great excuse for not providing a warranty to one's service: "Oh, sorry, it's too far of a drive. But thanks for your check that cashed."
Seriously. Live up to your name. Show the man how "picci" you can get. It's not your fault his boss put the shop in the wrong spot.
Sounds weird to me too.
Ah ha! You made the famous "take the OP literally" mistake. I, on the otherhand, used my vast knowledge base and years of experience to assume that the OP didn't know what he was talking about, and maybe he was describing it incorrectly. I also got lucky."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
LOL!
And here I was thinkin' "Never Assume. If you do, you make an . . . ."
So much for THAT theory! ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Well, I don't think I was describing it incorrectly. I simply wasn't clear as to my definitions. A you say tomato I say tomAto situation, I guess.The issue is moot anyway, as the questions wasn't related to the direction in which the door was moving, but how to stop it from moving.
No no, you missed the point. My response was semi-humorous. The point was, I think, someone said the door gap was backwards, but then when you described it more fully, it wasn't. So i was poking fun at someone for jumping to conclusions based on a verbal-only description. It's a problem we have here all the time, trying to form a properr mental image based on a partial description."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Ah, well, good point. I didn't take offense or anything.People are funny, though - there might be a deemed kosher way of describing the tilt of doors I wasn't aware of.Of course, clarity is something one only realizes is missing once there is misinterpretation. That's why I was asking about screws 'squealing', etc.. Still, I'm a little surprised the hinge manufacturers don't say 'tighten to xx inch pounds of torque' or something like that. Or if they do, I haven't been able to find it.
"I'm a little surprised the hinge manufacturers don't say 'tighten to xx inch pounds of torque' or something like that. "
Well, it's more a function of the glass than the hinge, and glass varies. So if they did, and your glass broke -- you'd blame them. So they don't and you can't. ;-)
I didn't read every post, but the ones I see that said to call the installer are right. Either the screws aren't tight enough or, maybe, they were tightened too much and stripped so they won't ever stay tight, or maybe the hinge is bent so the front and back aren't parallel. Either way, they should make it good for you.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I figured out he was talking about the non-hinge side right after lunch.LOL
Your good!