Let me start by saying that I do not wish to hear responses about ghosts. They do not exist, period.
On to the issue. A few interior room and closet doors either want to slowly swing open when I partially close them or swing closed when I open them. Id like them to stay put. My guess is that since 1886 when the house was built there has been some settling of the foundation and the house isnt perfectly level. So I need some advice on the best way to fix them. Should I shim the hinges, and if so, which one for each condition? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks and have a happy new year everyone.
2007-01-04 04:06:52 · 4 answers · asked by audioengineer2005 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I'm with you on the "there are no ghosts" thing...anyway...Shim from the bottom hinge and don't forget to shave the door to match so that it won't stick...good luck...have a good day!
2007-01-04 04:17:21 · answer #1 · answered by Shannon M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you should shim the hinges.
First make sure that the screws in them are tight because that is one potential problem. Next look to see whether you can close the door by hand. Sometimes if the settling made the frame out of plumb so the doors jam on the way to closing. If you can't close them you need to pull hinge pins to take off the door and plane or sand the edge that is sticking.
As far as shimming you need to shim either the top or the bottom hinge depending on whether the door is moving closed or open.
If the door tends to open then put a shim (like a cardboard cut to size) behind the bottom hinge's leaf that is attached to the frame (not the door leaf). That will tilt the door bottom out to keep it from swinging open.
If the door tends to close do the shimming instead on the top hinge's leaf. That will tilt the door top out in to keep it from swinging closed.
2007-01-04 04:17:53 · answer #2 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
check screw tightness first,if any are striped out fix them with a wider screw or longer one.check the hinge pins for wear and make sure they all move freely(pull them out and clean them)as far as which one to shim,the ones that close start by shimming the top and the opposite the ones that open,but it might come down to the squareness in your door frame.A house this old is surely sagging in spots.
2007-01-04 04:30:19 · answer #3 · answered by " The All Seeing Eye " 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
GHOST DOOR ( CONSTRUCTION TERM ) DOOR IS HUNG OUT OF LEVER - CHEATERS FIX... PULL THE HINGE PIN OR PINS TAP & BEND SLIGHTLY WITH A HAMMER & REPLACE!
2007-01-04 06:02:28 · answer #4 · answered by Bonno 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋