"marybeth" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

THANKS to you for your help!

Thank you Jeff for suggesting the magnetic door holders.

My post was intended to be about the doors, and not about the handyman,
who was mentioned only so you knew the history and what method had not
resolved the problem. Thanks to you Jeff and to Nospam, and to George,
and to RicodJour, and to everyone who realized that the handyman's
bashing and smashing was not appropriate. I appreciate your replies as
opposed to those who felt a need to attack me in order to defend the
handyman, or to make light of the damage he did.

Just to clarify, - He did not remove the pin to "lightly" bend it. He
pulled it up and while still in the hinge, struck it so hard that it
bent over and he to hit it again, and again to try to straighten it.
He repeatedly struck both the hinge and pin. All that did was bend the
hinge and loosen it from the door and the frame. He used a screw
driver inserted in the top and then the bottom of the hinge as a pry
bar, to open up the hinge to let the bent pin drop in. That only
loosened and twisted the hinge even more. The pin didn't fit back in
so it was left sticking up about an inch, while the pins in the other
hinges were flush. The hinge was bent, twisted, marred, and looked
bad. I don't think that is the approved fix. I don't want my new
home to look bad and a guest should show more care.

The house is fairly new and the doors are probably affected by
settling. It sounds like I need to check the doors with a level and
then try the cardboard shim suggested by George, and maybe use a plane
or sander.

Nobody else mentioned it, so I will- make sure the hinge screws are in
tight. Mainly a problem on heavy exterior 3-hinge doors, but can affect
builder-grade interior prehungs as well. And don't just check the doors for
level, check for plumb on both sides of opening, and within the plane of the
wall. Then, check them for square with a framing square. (If you don't have
one, buy one- useful for all sorts of stuff around the house.) With a
straight-edge or eyeball, make sure both sides of frame are a straight line.
Gap around door slab should be consistent. Most household door problems I
have found and fixed over the years are due to improper shimming and
installation. If door is sticking and hinges are tight, frame is usually out
of square or bowed, or was installed with too few nails/screws, and is
floating apart. Prehung interior doors can usually be pulled and reinstalled
with only minor paint touchup needed, with careful use of a utility knife to
slit the paint, and a stiff putty knife and Stanley mini-wonder bar to
non-destructively pull the trim on the applied side.

aem sends...