Doors and Windows - Door Hang Not Balanced

I have a couple of inside doors which weren't balanced too well when the house was built. One will not stay open (always tries to close) and one will not stay partially closed at night (wants to swing open).

Is there a handy way to quickly fix this so the doors are balanced properly and stay in the position I want them?

I figure my choices are:

1. Make some sort of adjustment (most preferable for me)

2. Re-hang the door (can I do this without getting too intense about it and how do I know I have the door balanced correctly?)

3. Maybe hang something decorative on the doorknow to create a counter weight??

Thank you very much.
David

Ironic that you have a self-closing door where you don't want one.

The doors are likely out of plumb. First, check to be sure that the screws that hold the hinges to the door and the jamb are seated properly.

With a level, four foot variety is preferable, check to see that the hinge side of the jamb is plumb. Whatever variation you find there will be the amount to shim the hinges to make the door plumb. You can shim under the hinges with the cardboard from cereal boxes. Most people have some, it is easy to cut, and is uniform in thickness. If the jamb is plumb, turn the level against the door stop. That is the strip of wood the door rests against when closed. See if it is plumb. Correcting for that will require moving the hinges into or out of the position in the jamb relative to the stop.

You can improve a stripped screw hole by inserting toothpicks coated in carpenter's glue or elmer's glue into the hole, letting the glue dry, and trimming them off, the re-drilling the screw hole.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for replying.

Can you please explain the following a little more:

"With a level, four foot variety is preferable, check to see that the hinge side of the jamb is plumb."

I'm trying to picture shoving a 4-ft level against a 4-inch long hinge. Is that what you mean? Also, what how do I check the hinge side of the jamb vs. the other side? Again, I 'm trying to picture what you mean.

Thanks again for the help.

David

He means hold the level against the hinge side or the other side to see how much either is out of plumb, so you can see which hinge (top or bottom) to shim behind to get it plumb.
If all hinge screws are O.K., loosen the lowest hinge and begin adding hidden layers of shims behind it until you get it to hang where you leave it.
You can use cereal box cardboard or anything that will fit to make a shim. I always save and use old utility knife blades for this purpose.
Easy. Just have to experiment a bit to get it right.
Good Luck!

Thank you. I will give this a try.
David