ajusting house door gaps

[steveo3002]

been tinkering with some doors in the house , the hinge side is very tight and the handle side has a larger gap

all i can think off besides buying new doors is to add a small shim under the hinge to bring it out ....am i missing any other clever ideas to even things up?

 

[brewdexta]

Card board from cereal packets can do the trick for small adjustments. A bit under both hinge and frame side if necessary.

If its a big gap then you may need to fill in the hinge recess with timber and glue it then recut them shallower or move them if your painting door and frame.

 

[Shox Dr]

As Brewdexta says, for the hinge side, what size gap are we talking on the lockside

 

[brewdexta]

I had to trash just about all the doors in the house when we moved in, damaged by dogs, woodworm, bad taste, dodgy DIY and we changed the floorplan anayway.

So I thought it would be a good opportunity to make my own panelled doors from Oak. Wrong!

Doors turned out lovely but oak was a bad choice. Ever wondered why oak was used to build ships? Not just because its strong but becasue is swells most than most woods in the presence of water so fills any gaps.

So my doors are loose in winter when the central heating is on and sticking in "summer" when its humid. I've just about got the balance right now but lots of bits of cardboard was involved in adjusting hinges!

 

[pedrobedro]

I fitted some salvaged doors and used the cardboard packing method in the hinge recess. Some of the doors were slightly narrow and needed a strip gluing and pinning to the edge of the door on the catch side.

 

[Hitch]

Just use card to pack them out a little, are the hinges rebated properly or too deep.

I seem to recall the perfect gap around a door being the thickness of a £1 coin.

If its really bad, you could add a thin strip of timber then plane it back to fit properly. Pretty easy if its a painted door.

Probably easier to do on the hinge side of the door if the lock position is good. Fill the hinge recesses with timber, plane flat, then add a strip along the whole door edge.

Just glue the strip on, dont nail it Save your plane

 

[steveo3002]

ive moved it over , gaps look good with some card under the hinge , its just with the door open the hinges arent flush in the post now

cant have it all ways ..

 

[Hitch]

Have a look at the hinges, when they are closed, is there a gap between the leaves?
Crank the hinge slightly, will open the leaves up a little when the door is in closed position....

 

[steveo3002]

crank? what like bend it in the vice?

 

[chevy2]

I'm originally a time served carpenter/joiner,
Must have hung many hundreds or thousands of doors,

As said it's really not rocket science adjusting doors that are too tight on the hinge/butt side, simply make card packers to go behind the hinge,
dont use that brown cardboard as it compesses too much,

Little tip, if you need to fit several thin packers its always difficult holding them in place while refitting the hinge,
hold the packers in place in the frame cutout and nail in place with a single panel pin, that way you only need to refix the hinge,
and only ever fit the packers between the hinge and frame,
not hinge to door,
believe me its easier this way.

 

[Hitch]

If they are rubbish flimsy hinges, just wedge something against the frame, and close the door a bit. It will spread the hinge a little....

You can see what i mean here,
The uncranked type would give a larger gap when closed.

Bit of a rough way of doing it mind

 

[chevy2]

Another way,
Loosen the hinge screws on the frame side,
slide a narrow shim/shims down the outside edge of the loosened screws, re-tighten screws,
This way no need to remove door.

 

[Epicyclic]

Another way,
Loosen the hinge screws on the frame side,
slide a narrow shim/shims down the outside edge of the loosened screws, re-tighten screws,
This way no need to remove door.

I found a bit of plastic is handy for doing this as its a bit more rigid. My Dad taught me the card trick years ago, I guess plastic just updates it a bit!
H.

 

[brewdexta]

I found a bit of plastic is handy for doing this as its a bit more rigid. My Dad taught me the card trick years ago, I guess plastic just updates it a bit!
H.

If you use the missus credit card you solve two problems

 

[Epicyclic]

If you use the missus credit card you solve two problems

What a damn good idea.








Was just getting it

 

[steveo3002]

thinking sinse im having most the doors off and repainting etc..might as well fit those raising hinges so were sorted when we get new carpets

 

[Epicyclic]

thinking sinse im having most the doors off and repainting etc..might as well fit those raising hinges so were sorted when we get new carpets

They are good, bit more expensive though, we had them at the old house with big old doors - the other nice thing about them is they tend to self close if well lubricated.

 

[chevy2]

thinking sinse im having most the doors off and repainting etc..might as well fit those raising hinges so were sorted when we get new carpets

Be prepared that you might need to take a couple of mm off of the very top corner of the door on the hinge side,
if the door is already tight to the head of the frame as the door raises on the rising butts it may foul in the top corner.

 

[steveo3002]

yeah i saw that thanks...looking at molded doors now , some sound a bit rubbish only letting you shave a few mm off here n there

 

[normspanners]

rising hinges tend to be made from thicker steel that would help your situation, BUTT ( pun intended) it is a problem now when you rebate a hinge properly coz they are made from such thin steel nowadays. I have two proper rebate formers 3"-4" you screw them to the door then hold the chisel on the flat and that is the depth required---- for old hinges --- BUTT then you fit newly made hinges and the gap is tight.

I have always found that BUTTS are tighter than FLAPS though