I just moved in to a house built in 1896/1920 about 6 months ago. There is a small bump out about 2′ x 20′ on the back of the house that is built over an unaccessable crawlspace. There is a steel exterior door in a wooden frame right in the center of the bump. We live in western Wisconsin so, cold temps. Since Dec, the door has started binding on the top and strike side againt the frame. Pain but workable still, until this week. Temps here have gotten up into the 40s and so things have been thawing. The door is now to the point where it really can’t close or it will stick so badly it can’t be used.
I am guessing that the foundation isn’t deep enough and there aren’t any gutters on the house so the combination of the two are allowing the movement. That being said I need to do something to solve this now.
I thought about re-squaring the frame but was concerned that once Spring is fully here I will have to do it again. I also thought about getting a wood door that I could mod to fit the opening until Spring.
Any ideas?
Evan
Replies
You may be able to move the hinge side jamb a little on the bottom. Check to see if there are shims behind the jamb, removing those may allow enough room to shift the jamb so the door will operate, replace with the right size shims where needed. There are times when the door jamb isn't shimmed or is loose. Sometimes, a long screw put in place of a hinge screw will help. Other times, you will need to remove the jamb and re-set it.
Take off the trim..........
Cut the nails if that's what's holding it in..............
Reset it to work proper............
Reshim and use screws to secure the jamb.
That way you can "adjust" a bit easier down the road.
Screw the trim back on too if you want.