My front door is out of alignment. Can I fix it or do I need to replace it?

Question

The previous owners of my house had something hanging over the front door which caused it to bend slightly down and in (it hung from in betwen the door and the molding). The consequence is a huge draft. Can I replace the hinges or do I need to replace the whole door to fix this alignment problem?

The previous owners had something in between the top of the door and the molding causing the door to bend down and in a significant amount. How can I fix this?

Answer 1

Doug, really need more information.
1) Is the draft on the top bottom or sides.
2) you can tell exactly by looking between the door and jam for light coming through Light= Leak
3) there is a jam seal some are just foam older wooden doors have a metal inter locking seal which suck.
4) If you do have the metal jam seal remove it and replace with a adhesive foam seal it is sold at any hardware store comes in various widths.
5) If your current seal looks good but your door is out of alignment, this can be fixed by realigning the door. This is done by shimming the hinges, tip if the reveal (which is the space between the door itself and the jam) this space should be the same on the lock side from bottom to top.
If not? say the top is rubbing then loosen the bottom hinge and slide a thin 1/16 material under the hinge (this depends on how much reveal you have to work with) sometimes a piece of cardboard or a old credit card behind the hinge will fit it. I am assuming because you said the door had some thing hanging on it, it would be hitting the top jam corner.
6) Last thing after you get the door aligned if you have any draft on the bottom of the door, there is a product you can buy (adjustable door sweep) which attaches to the bottom inside of the door to take care of that. I hope that this helps you if you have any more questions feel free to contact me directly @ [e-mail]

Answer 2

replacing the hinges will do nothing, if you install them the same way. Without actually seeing it I cannot tell you exactly how to fix it, but there must be a way. is it a wooden door? or metal? you could simply add a plastic strip to the top of the door frame that meets the door when closed. you could also add a piece of molding that would meet the door. must be a million ways to fix it. give it a go, it isn't rocket surgery.

Answer 3

you ca take the door of the hinges and look at the jam.if there are any cracks or major defects u may want to replace other wise YOU should look at the hinge is it loose or if it is loose than can it be tightened if not you may need to take hinge off and fill holes reapply hinge if no then look at jam take a peace of twobyfour apply to jam now strike two by with hammer see if ther is any change

Answer 4

If the screw holes are wallowed out, you can move the hinges up. You may also try using longer screws to reach deeper into the wood. Exterior doors should be solid type doors. If it isn't, you might want to consider replacing the door.

Answer 5

sounds like the door is racked. Replacing the door would be a better solutions. You could try and use some weather stripping, but I think the time invested would be wasted and replacing the door would have less time invested in it.

Answer 6

Try a longer screw in the top hinge.A 3 or 4 inch deck screww will draw the hinge into the jamb.

Answer 7

Put some weather striping on the door where it is drafty.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/repair/article/0,16417,698011,00.html

http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/homemaintenance/dnw/doorseal.php

http://www.ehow.com/how_114789_fix-drafty-door.html