Fixing a sagging door - GIF

[Altair]

Fixing a sagging door.




Previously:

Repairing worn doorknob screw holes - GIF
Door installation tool - GIF
Bathroom door with hinged cutout for sink - GIF
Heavy door lifter - photo
Retracting door chain - GIF

[N00b Machinist]

It appears to have worked but I don’t think that’s the Queen’s Rules, textbook way to fix that.

[Toolmaker51]

It appears to have worked but I don’t think that’s the Queen’s Rules, textbook way to fix that.

I'd make it a Queen's Rule.........
"Quit hanging all your granny panties on there", and duck incoming textbook.

My house (1901), hinges are cast, doesn't seem tweaking the knuckles would work. Little noticeable setting of foundation, doors can warp or swell in humid parts of the year.

[Haroun]

This is the wrong thing to do 1st. As he pulls the shim the door drops & he catches it holding the knob & then opens the door. Maybe he didn't carry the door & the hinge hold it, maybe not. Would need to see the whole door to tell if he's just lifting the door by the knob. The place to start with a sagging door is check the top hinge for looseness. Tighten the screws & maybe the door lifts up & free of the binding. If the screw is still loose then plug the hole with a splinter & tighten up the screw. If that doesn't work I go for a longer screw to get a better grip. I have up to 6" drywall screws to be able to find sound wood. 99% of doors fix this way. I've encountered doors with the framing behind the jamb split & unable to take a screw & removed the casing & glued (or epoxied) the frame tight again. I was taught that a door with a loose hinge will drop soon after I plane & rehang it leaving a door with a weird angled bottom when It does get repaired correctly.

[Frank S]

Buy better quality hinges and belt the kids rumps when they swing on the doors to prevent sagging doors

[WmRMeyers]

Works well for those of us who have better things to spend our money on, like more tools. Yes, more expensive hinges would have worked, but my master bedroom door has been getting progressively worse over the past year, and there hasn't been a child in this house in over a decade. Replacing the short screws with longer ones helps, and so did a bit of nudging on the top hinge. Didn't even have to try out my new Wen power planer. Which is good, I'm probably going to need all the blades I have on the workbench top...

Bill

[Philip Davies]

Good fix, but you couldn’t do it with our hinges!

[WmRMeyers]

Good fix, but you couldn’t do it with our hinges!

I couldn't do it with most of the rest of the doors in my house, either. But the really light hinges on that particular door are courtesy of the home inspector, who wouldn't clear the sale without a door on that doorway for us to buy the house, and the seller really wanted out of it. We've been here nearly 25 years, and I've not had to replace them yet. Wanted to? Oh yes. But they work well enough.

[Unkle Fuzzy]

I'll have to try that at home.

Our problem is it's a 100 year old farm house that is basically sitting on rocks for pilings, even though sandstone is only 18 inches below grade.

In most cases I have used a jack post to lift sagging areas but this would be a quicker, easier, if only temporary fix.

[WmRMeyers]

I'll have to try that at home.

Our problem is it's a 100 year old farm house that is basically sitting on rocks for pilings, even though sandstone is only 18 inches below grade.

In most cases I have used a jack post to lift sagging areas but this would be a quicker, easier, if only temporary fix.

Unk, there is no permanent fix for housing. A house has been described as a hole in the ground you throw money into, just like a car is a hole in the road you throw money into, or a boat is a hole in the water, likewise. Best you can do, is keep the expenses down to a dull roar. All fixes are temporary. So you might as well learn to LIKE fixing stuff!

And if you can do it with craftsmanship equal or better than the original builder, you can be proud, too.