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Hello,
I am writing to you all the way from my home in Amsterdam.Although it is
really nice here,I am still plagued by a problem that followed me all the way from California.For some reason everytime I hang a door (Not prehung) I get hinge bind.I try different things but always the same problem.Should I sink the hinges deeper in the jamb?In the door?I have 2 doors to hang soon so any suggestions would be great.Dank je wel voor jouw hulpen.
Met vriendelijk groeten, Dan
Replies
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Dan,
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"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it."
Aristotle
*Dan, Joe's suggestion is a good one and can easily be done. I have seen instances where the door jamb itself is twisted and the door itself strikes the jamb before completely closing. In such a case, you might want to square up the jamb before proceeding.Good luck, Steve
*Dan,This has happened (many times?) before? Hinges, ideally, should be inset flush with the door edge on one leaf and also flush with the jamb face on the other leaf. When the two leaves are face to face, as when the door is closed, there will be that natural space left between the leaves. If you mortise too deep you lose that space. This space should be sufficient to prevent binding. Except...If you are installing your own stops take care not to jam them right up against the door to get a tight fit. Some advocate a thickness of a dime to prevent binding against the stop. If the stops are part of the jamb then your measurements for the hinge mortises will just have to be better.When you set the jamb use a known straight edge and carefully shim the jamb plumb. Just shimming under the hinges is not usually enough. There could be just that right amount of belly in the jamb stock between the hinges to cause binding. It could take one or two more shim spots between each hinge. Also, especially at the top hinge, but at the others also, use a long screw through to the cripple.Check that the jambs are set square into the opening. The crossed string method works. If your header jamb is not square to the hinge jamb it will throw off the door closing which could then cause a bind. Sometimes the rough framing is far enough off that when you get the hinge jamb perfect nothing fits right.Another type of hinge bind, not door against jamb bind, is caused when the mortises in the jamb and/or door are not perfectly square or you throw them off when driving the screws. This is most obvious when you try to put the pins back in and have to use a hammer because the holes do not line up vertically.And, finally, your screws have to be driven straight so the countersink mating results in a flush finish.Hope this helps.Comments? Ralph
*Great advice from Ralph,Hanging a door is quite difficult for the inexperienced, and can be quite difficult even for those of us who do it all the time. Every door and every rough opening are different. Ralph's tweeks and insights are worthy of your attention. Take notes.If you just can't get everything square, then a back bevel on the hinge side should get you by. You don't need it if the door is hung square and true, but it's a good last ditch effort if you just don't have enough time to get it right.Ed. Williams
*I ALWAYS back bevel on the hinge side as well as the strike side. The bevel goes from the outside edge to a line I scribe 1/8 " from the inside edge. The bevel is not noticeable when the door is open and is hidden by the doorstop when closed. Trick of the month: set the doorstop on the strike side so that the door when closing hits the top of the stop about 1/16" before it latches. This means slanting the stop a little. When you close the door, the little bit of tension makes the latch snap into place with a solid feel and the door never rattles.
*This is probably not good advice, but if after you've squared everything you still find the hinge is binding try re-bending the hinges. Open and close the door near the closed position and note which hinge pin(s) appear to be moving with the door (binding). Then use a thick nail, drill bit or some other solid shaft and slip it between the hinge plates between the door and the pin. Carefully put some pressure on the door to close and pinch the shaft in the hinge. Easy on the pressure, a door makes a hefty lever and you don't want to over do it. This will spread open the hinge plates just enough to hopefully bring a binding hinge in line with the other pins. Or you may end up deforming the hinge beyond use or strip out the hinge screws.I had to do this with my first door. Thought I had everything plumb and square, but the door was binding up bad in the closed position. Guess I wasn't so accurate with lining up the hinges. Pinched a drill bit in the bottom hinge and now it swings free through the whole range. I expect that those who know better wouldn't have to resort to this hack.
*dan, the fact that the problem has followed You makes me believe that perhaps something in Your technique is off. Why not follow up with what you do when you hang a door an especially anything that you are careful to do every time. In the meantime keep them butts flush :) Skip ps the last thing You want to do is sink the butts deeper in the door or jamb. A small wedge shaped shim that is thicker away from the door stop may help the problem.
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Hello,
I am writing to you all the way from my home in Amsterdam.Although it is
really nice here,I am still plagued by a problem that followed me all the way from California.For some reason everytime I hang a door (Not prehung) I get hinge bind.I try different things but always the same problem.Should I sink the hinges deeper in the jamb?In the door?I have 2 doors to hang soon so any suggestions would be great.Dank je wel voor jouw hulpen.
Met vriendelijk groeten, Dan