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.

[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.

[cmarlow]

As an old carpenter I can say well done to your video. I have used this trick quite a few times, sometimes even on new doors.
I like the mod you did to the hive tool. Since I use the hive tool more as a scraper I and would prefer a clean scraper edge I use a little pin punch instead. I avoid using my nail sets for anything except setting nails, once that cup point is gone a nail set is no good as a nail set.
The first thing I check are the screws and often shim the hinges for proper clearance but Sometimes cheap hinges come with the wrong swage on them, right out of the box.
My tool of choice for resetting the swage is a pair of waterpump pliers with plastic jaw pads, but vice grips are good too. I found adjustable wrenches tended to get in their own way because of the 15 degree built in angle, especially when close to a wall. Be careful about leaving tool marks on the hinges because the metal can be soft on cheap ones.

[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.