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Couldn’t find any help in the archives or back issues: A panel storm door (wood below and glass on top) has sagged enough that it won’t close. It looks like the wooden joints have loosened as the door frame is square and the door hinges are OK. They’re still tight enough however that I’m not able to close the door by lifting it. Any suggestions on how to repair this would be greatly appreciated.
Thon
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Mr. Basom,
If the joints in the door are tight enough that you can't "rack" it to get it closed, then I am a bit confused. If the door has sagged due to the loose joints, then you should be able to lift it by the handle to get it back in the jamb. Once the joints are loose, they won't tighten themselves up, they will always be loose. If the hinges are not loose and the joints are not loose, then there should have been a problem closing this door from day one.
If the joints are loose, then take the door down and spread the joints as much as you can and inject as much "plastic resin" glue as you can get in there. (a reverse bar clamp works great for this) You can get a good size "horse syringe" from your vet or a feed store in your area. You can also buy a glue syringe at most good woodworking supply stores. If you don't have a syringe, then smear it in as much as you can with your finger. Plastic resin glue is a powder that you mix with water. You should be able to find it if you live in a large enough city. If not.....there is always mail order. I suggest plastic resin glue for the glueing of exterior wood joinery.
Once you get as much glue in the joints as humanly possible, then set the door sqauare by measuring the diagonals. Then put a bar clamp across the door to pull the joints back together again, and wipe off the excess glue with a wet rag.
Plastic resin glue only has a pot life (the time you can work with it before it starts to set up) of about 20 minutes or so. So work fast.
I hope this helps,
Ed. Williams
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Couldn't find any help in the archives or back issues: A panel storm door (wood below and glass on top) has sagged enough that it won't close. It looks like the wooden joints have loosened as the door frame is square and the door hinges are OK. They're still tight enough however that I'm not able to close the door by lifting it. Any suggestions on how to repair this would be greatly appreciated.
Thon