"Thomas G. Marshall" . com
wrote in message news:1xCOf.601$eJ1.498@trndny05...

One of my interior doors has the top hinge with all the screws more or
less "floating in space". It has caused the door to sag a little. This
seems odd to me, since the other 2 hinges are solid as rocks, and yet
there is enough flex in a door somehow to bend or sag just "enough" to not
close perfectly.

Odd.


Not really odd at all. A door can hang as little as 1/16" out of alignment
and cause hang up problems. Most likely the door was never hung correctly
in the first place if this is new construction. You mention that the door
has 3 hinges, is that a heavy solid core door? Typically interior doors are
hollow core these days unless you have an uppper end custom built home.


In *any* case, I am in need of understanding the *right* way a door should
have been hung: All the parts, what they're supposed to be screwed to, are
the hinge screws supposed to extend into the studs, what parts of the door
frame/jamb/whatever are connected to what.

No, the hinge screw are not suppose to be screwed into studs. typically
they are about 3/4" long. During constructiona 2x4 constructed rough
opening is made in a wall to accept a door/door jamb assembly. The door is
typically already hung in the door jamb and the installer only has to insure
that the sides of the jamb are plumb and that the top of the jamb is level.
He uses longer screws to attach the jamb to 2x4 door opening. He uses
wedged shims between the door jamb and 2x4 to allow for a tight fit in the
opening. Typically the 2x4 door opening can be as much as 1" wider than the
total width of the door jamb. If the jamb is not plumb, the door can sag
and not close or open properly. The door jamb is rarely attached directly
to the surround support studs. these studs are rarely perfectly plumb. The
wedged shims seperate the jamb from those support stud. The use of wedged
shims enable the installer to insure that the jamb is plumb and square
inside a the door opening.

The normal correct solution is to remove the trim from the side of the door
that was added by the installer so that you can see the shims and gaps
between the door jamb and the support studs. The removable trim is usually
on the side opposite from the side that the door swings. After removing the
trim locate where the screws or nails are located, check the vertical parts
of the jamb to insure that they are plumb and check othe top of the jamb to
insure that it is level. Reposition or add shims as needed and rescrew or
nail taking care to not over tighten and pull the jamb back out of square or
plumb. Replace the trim.






No one I know is "sure", and I would like to know what /your/ opinion of a
good website or other source is.

I'm checking the other doors in the house, and am (I must be thick) now
wondering if this might worsen or outright /cause/ the strike-plate
repositioning I'm always going through.

--
Sometimes life just sucks, and then you live.