Doors and Windows - Warped Wooden Door
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cfrankfeldt
02-08-05, 10:02 PM
I have a wooden interior door - thin wood back and front and hollow inside. It is mounted with 2 hinges.
The outer edge of the door is warped in that when I close it the top is fully closed and the middle and bottom do not fully close. Therefore the latch does not go into the hole in the plate, and the door does not stay closed.
Any ideas? Thanks
The outer edge of the door is warped in that when I close it the top is fully closed and the middle and bottom do not fully close. Therefore the latch does not go into the hole in the plate, and the door does not stay closed.
Any ideas? Thanks
lefty
02-09-05, 01:25 AM
By carefully removing the door stop from the header and at the top of the latch side of the jamb, you can then close the door and reattach the door stops so that they allow the door to fully latch.
The door swinging open on its own is an indication that the jamb, and probably the wall itself is not plumb. One or the other leans toward the hinge side of the door jamb. A 78" level, or a shorter level and a 78" straightedge will allow you to determine which is leaning and how severe the lean is.
If it's the wall that is leaning, it is probably going to be too difficult to fix "properly", but you might be able to correct, or at least lessen the problem by pulling the hinge pins out and bending them slightly. This will put some friction in the hinges, and will at least slow the door down.
Another way to plumb the door would be to move the top hinge a little deeper into the jamb. This would mean making the mortise about 1-3/8" (rather than the 1-1/4" that it presently is), filling the screw holes in the jamb by gluing toothpicks or match sticks in them, and putting the hinge leaf back into the door jamb, set about 1/8" closer to the stop than it originally was. Of course, you'll have to pull the stops off of the jamb and readjust them as well so that the door closes without hiting them.
The door swinging open on its own is an indication that the jamb, and probably the wall itself is not plumb. One or the other leans toward the hinge side of the door jamb. A 78" level, or a shorter level and a 78" straightedge will allow you to determine which is leaning and how severe the lean is.
If it's the wall that is leaning, it is probably going to be too difficult to fix "properly", but you might be able to correct, or at least lessen the problem by pulling the hinge pins out and bending them slightly. This will put some friction in the hinges, and will at least slow the door down.
Another way to plumb the door would be to move the top hinge a little deeper into the jamb. This would mean making the mortise about 1-3/8" (rather than the 1-1/4" that it presently is), filling the screw holes in the jamb by gluing toothpicks or match sticks in them, and putting the hinge leaf back into the door jamb, set about 1/8" closer to the stop than it originally was. Of course, you'll have to pull the stops off of the jamb and readjust them as well so that the door closes without hiting them.