On Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 6:38:15 PM UTC-5, -MIKE- wrote:


In my handyman work I run across hundreds of doors that are either
improperly installed, have sagged due to house settling, or have swollen
and are rubbing against the frame.
I can attest that the vast amount of doors I fix are due to improper
installation by lazy and/or ignorant installers who are getting paid by
the door and don't give a rat's ass if it's done correctly, or simply
were never trained how to do it right.

Right there with you. I used to hang doors for a door company, and I couldn't agree with your assessment more. OTOH, I made good money fixing expensive doors that were simply installed incorrectly by that company (!) so I don't have any complaints.

I use 12" to 16" wedges to hang doors coming from both sides of the jambs. I never, shim. Never. Result? No call backs in my memory from a door sag or loose jamb. Yes, I was trained to do it that way 40+ years ago, but I cringe when I see pieces of wood, debris and all kinds of crap stuck behind hinges because they can get the door to hang well for a while. Depending on the door, I might not wedge both sides (no need on a 2'6" A/C access door, etc.) but still, no shims. And no call backs.

I'm put in situations where I must give the home-owner the option of me
removing the door and installing it correctly, which is an expensive
option. Or spending 10 minutes bending the hinges to correct a crooked
hang and possibly another 10-15 minutes readjusting/chiseling out the
strike plates to compensation for the new door angle/height.

You can guess which one makes for a more satisfied client. :-)

The original Knuckle Bender has served me well and is worth its weight
in gold. However, there were a couple of design flaws which made the
tool a bit less than perfect. It didn't work on all diameter hinges.
It could damage the casement molding at times because of its square
profile. It was difficult to move down the hinge when bending because
the previously bent knuckle moved the tool out of line with the rest of
the hinge.

Even with those flaws, it was a great tool and served me well for dozens
of door adjustments.

OK,... why am I the last to hear of this? I can't calculate how much time that would have saved me over the years. Seriously... that little bit of genius should be in my tool box.

I look forward to trying it out, which I get to do on a job tomorrow for
a client who has a few crooked doors needing adjustment. It seems like
a pretty simple modification of a common tool, but kudos to the inventor
for perfecting it. I can tell just from visual inspection that it fixes
some of the flaws in the original design. I'll find out tomorrow how
well it works in real world application.

Hope you post back your findings! And BTW, I do metal doors as well, and typically I shim the hinge where possible with 30ga sheet metal. Do you think that would bend a standard thickness (.143") 4" commercial hinge?

Robert