hi!

I have two doors that I recently installed that don't close perfectly
evenly. They fit squarely this way:

----------
| ------ |
|| ||
||h ||
|| ||
||h ||
|| o||
||h ||
|| ||
| ------ |
----------

and the hinge line is level with gravity.

but the bottom of the door closes before the top of the door. when the
door is latched, there is a ~1/4" gap at the top corner, opposite from
the hinges.

i want the door to seal tightly against weatherstripping for sound
blocking reasons, but it doesn't make a good seal. i installed both
doors. one is a prehung door and i had to do a lot of work to get the
swing parallel to gravity. i don't want to undo previous work or
reseat the hinges because the gape is at most 1/4" and the house is
very crooked so i'd be hard pressed to do much better.

can i adjust the door by

1. loosening the middle hinge so it doesn't affect swing of door.

2. adding a small shim to the inside (hinge side) of the top hinge.

3. adding shims to middle hinge so it fits naturally.

thanks for any advice!

eric

ps. if i can't get the door to shift, i can fix the problem by adding
extra weatherstripping. does anyone have suggestions for making this
reliable (so the weatherstripping doesn't loosen and peal off.

Two things are possibly wrong. 1. Either side of your door jam is not
plumb or your door is warped.



"Eric Prebys" wrote in message
m...
hi!

I have two doors that I recently installed that don't close perfectly
evenly. They fit squarely this way:

----------
| ------ |
|| ||
||h ||
|| ||
||h ||
|| o||
||h ||
|| ||
| ------ |
----------

and the hinge line is level with gravity.

but the bottom of the door closes before the top of the door. when the
door is latched, there is a ~1/4" gap at the top corner, opposite from
the hinges.

i want the door to seal tightly against weatherstripping for sound
blocking reasons, but it doesn't make a good seal. i installed both
doors. one is a prehung door and i had to do a lot of work to get the
swing parallel to gravity. i don't want to undo previous work or
reseat the hinges because the gape is at most 1/4" and the house is
very crooked so i'd be hard pressed to do much better.

can i adjust the door by

1. loosening the middle hinge so it doesn't affect swing of door.

2. adding a small shim to the inside (hinge side) of the top hinge.

3. adding shims to middle hinge so it fits naturally.

thanks for any advice!

eric

ps. if i can't get the door to shift, i can fix the problem by adding
extra weatherstripping. does anyone have suggestions for making this
reliable (so the weatherstripping doesn't loosen and peal off.

I had the same problem on some doors in my house. I opted for cutting thin
wedges of maple on the angle sled of my table saw and discreetly adding them
behind the moulding if it wasn't obvious. The best way is probably to
replumb the jamb but it's a tough call, depends what you willing to live
with really.

"Eric Prebys" wrote in message
m...
hi!

I have two doors that I recently installed that don't close perfectly
evenly. They fit squarely this way:

----------
| ------ |
|| ||
||h ||
|| ||
||h ||
|| o||
||h ||
|| ||
| ------ |
----------

and the hinge line is level with gravity.

but the bottom of the door closes before the top of the door. when the
door is latched, there is a ~1/4" gap at the top corner, opposite from
the hinges.

i want the door to seal tightly against weatherstripping for sound
blocking reasons, but it doesn't make a good seal. i installed both
doors. one is a prehung door and i had to do a lot of work to get the
swing parallel to gravity. i don't want to undo previous work or
reseat the hinges because the gape is at most 1/4" and the house is
very crooked so i'd be hard pressed to do much better.

can i adjust the door by

1. loosening the middle hinge so it doesn't affect swing of door.

2. adding a small shim to the inside (hinge side) of the top hinge.

3. adding shims to middle hinge so it fits naturally.

thanks for any advice!

eric

ps. if i can't get the door to shift, i can fix the problem by adding
extra weatherstripping. does anyone have suggestions for making this
reliable (so the weatherstripping doesn't loosen and peal off.

"Leon" wrote in message ...
Two things are possibly wrong. 1. Either side of your door jam is not
plumb or your door is warped.

the door and reasonably high quality and testing indicates that it
isn't warped.

i'm pretty sure both sides of my door are not plumb. there really
isn't anything for them to be plumb to since the wall is pretty
warped.

but they should be plumb to each other. so i want to know if i can
effectively plumb the hinge side of my door by adding shims directly
underneath the hinges.

and if so, what is the formula for adusting (i.e. adding a shim to the
barrel side of the top, door facing hinge will push the top, swinging
side of the door to close earlier.

"Eric Prebys" wrote in message
om...
"Leon" wrote in message
...
Two things are possibly wrong. 1. Either side of your door jam is not
plumb or your door is warped.

the door and reasonably high quality and testing indicates that it
isn't warped.

That does not prevent the door from being warped although it is probably
unlikely.



i'm pretty sure both sides of my door are not plumb. there really
isn't anything for them to be plumb to since the wall is pretty
warped.

You plum the door jams to a Level, not the wall. Close the gaps between the
jam and wall with moldings and or caulk.




but they should be plumb to each other. so i want to know if i can
effectively plumb the hinge side of my door by adding shims directly
underneath the hinges.

Plum to each other????? Maybe parallel to each other but plumb is measured
with a level as bieng perpendicular to the ground not a wall or each other.


and if so, what is the formula for adusting (i.e. adding a shim to the
barrel side of the top, door facing hinge will push the top, swinging
side of the door to close earlier.

I suggest you rehang the door jam and use a level, not the wall.

You might try posting your question on alt.home.repair as well.

-JBB

"Eric Prebys" wrote in message
m...
hi!

I have two doors that I recently installed that don't close perfectly
evenly. They fit squarely this way:

----------
| ------ |
|| ||
||h ||
|| ||
||h ||
|| o||
||h ||
|| ||
| ------ |
----------

and the hinge line is level with gravity.

but the bottom of the door closes before the top of the door. when the
door is latched, there is a ~1/4" gap at the top corner, opposite from
the hinges.

i want the door to seal tightly against weatherstripping for sound
blocking reasons, but it doesn't make a good seal. i installed both
doors. one is a prehung door and i had to do a lot of work to get the
swing parallel to gravity. i don't want to undo previous work or
reseat the hinges because the gape is at most 1/4" and the house is
very crooked so i'd be hard pressed to do much better.

can i adjust the door by

1. loosening the middle hinge so it doesn't affect swing of door.

2. adding a small shim to the inside (hinge side) of the top hinge.

3. adding shims to middle hinge so it fits naturally.

thanks for any advice!

eric

ps. if i can't get the door to shift, i can fix the problem by adding
extra weatherstripping. does anyone have suggestions for making this
reliable (so the weatherstripping doesn't loosen and peal off.

(Eric Prebys) wrote in
om:

"Leon" wrote in message
...
Two things are possibly wrong. 1. Either side of your door jam is
not plumb or your door is warped.

the door and reasonably high quality and testing indicates that it
isn't warped.

i'm pretty sure both sides of my door are not plumb. there really
isn't anything for them to be plumb to since the wall is pretty
warped.

but they should be plumb to each other. so i want to know if i can
effectively plumb the hinge side of my door by adding shims directly
underneath the hinges.

and if so, what is the formula for adusting (i.e. adding a shim to the
barrel side of the top, door facing hinge will push the top, swinging
side of the door to close earlier.


Your going about it backwards.

1) Pull the trim moulding off of both sides of the door. You can
usually do this without damaging it. When you are done you put it right
back up.

2) Find a friend with a saw-zall. When prehung doors are installed they
are shimmed in place then finish nails are driven through the frame,
through the shims and into the 2x4 that the rough opening is framed in.
What you want to do is run the saw-zall with a metel cutting blade
between the door frame and the rough opening to cut the nails. Do this
across the top and down the edge with the door handle. Now the door
frame is loose and held in the rough opening by the hinges.

3) Get new shims and re-adjust the door frame so everything is square
and flush. Nail the frame back in.

4) Put the trim back on.

5) Touch up.

How about putting a small rubber bumper at the bottom of the frame
(knob side)? By holding the bottom out further it might allow you get
the top in closer once the latch catches. You may have to press on
the upper part of the door (knob side) to get the latch to catch.

This might work for interior doors but I'm not so sure about insulated
doors.
--
Jim

(Eric Prebys) wrote in message om...
hi!

I have two doors that I recently installed that don't close perfectly
evenly. They fit squarely this way:

----------
| ------ |
|| ||
||h ||
|| ||
||h ||
|| o||
||h ||
|| ||
| ------ |
----------

and the hinge line is level with gravity.

but the bottom of the door closes before the top of the door. when the
door is latched, there is a ~1/4" gap at the top corner, opposite from
the hinges.

Joe,

I'm not familiar with this type of door but aren't the hinges removed
before you do the Sawz All bit. It seems to me that the hinge screws should
be biting into the 2x4 framing. If you run the Sawz All you'll cut these
screws.
I think Eric needs to go to the library and read a home repair chapter on
door hanging. From the symptoms he describes it sounds as if he did not hang
these doors correctly and needs to redo them in much the manner that you
suggest. There are how to books in his local library which will give him the
step by step procedures and the tool list that he needs.

Dave M.

(Eric Prebys) wrote in message om...
hi!

I have two doors that I recently installed that don't close perfectly
evenly. They fit squarely this way:

Hi.

Beyond the already stated advice that the jambs, the door (and then
the stops) must be plumbed (perpendicular to the earth's surface), let
me suggest one other thing- how the doors are sealed. (I assume
you're talking entry door here.)

You can have the door edges butt up against seal strips- this was
quite common, but is subject to various distortions as humidity
changes.

Later seals involve the door, or a seal strip on the door, sliding
some short distance along a seal strip on the jamb. So you have zero
or very little clearance, with flexibility. You can get stick-on
teflon seal-strip which accomplishes the same along the sides and top
of the opening very effectively, at very little cost. I've used this
to seal 1/4" gaps in some very poorly hung doors at work, tightly.
And teflon is extremely durable.

HTH,
John

"David Martel" wrote in
link.net:

Joe,

I'm not familiar with this type of door but aren't the hinges
removed
before you do the Sawz All bit. It seems to me that the hinge screws
should be biting into the 2x4 framing. If you run the Sawz All you'll
cut these screws.
I think Eric needs to go to the library and read a home repair
chapter on
door hanging. From the symptoms he describes it sounds as if he did
not hang these doors correctly and needs to redo them in much the
manner that you suggest. There are how to books in his local library
which will give him the step by step procedures and the tool list that
he needs.

Dave M.


If you want to completely remove the frame then Yes. But I only want
you to cut the top and other side loose. This leaves the door still
mounted in the opening.

To me it sounds like the door is hung fine. But it isn't in the correct
relationship to the frame. So one of two things need to happen. Move
the door or move the frame. Doors are a pain because they are heavy and
move. Frames are easy.

Once the frame is loose in relationship to the door it is easy to move
things around. ctually I guess it would be best to not cut the frame
completely loose. If you left 1 nail in place along the open side of
the frame the the frame can be tweeked to get everything lined up then
some new nails added.

"Eric Prebys" wrote in message
om...
"Leon" wrote in message
...
Two things are possibly wrong. 1. Either side of your door jam is
not
plumb or your door is warped.

the door and reasonably high quality and testing indicates that it
isn't warped.

Sounds familiar.

You know what a plumb bob is?







i'm pretty sure both sides of my door are not plumb. there really
isn't anything for them to be plumb to since the wall is pretty
warped.

but they should be plumb to each other. so i want to know if i can
effectively plumb the hinge side of my door by adding shims directly
underneath the hinges.

and if so, what is the formula for adusting (i.e. adding a shim to the
barrel side of the top, door facing hinge will push the top, swinging
side of the door to close earlier.

"David Martel" wrote in message
link.net...
Joe,

I'm not familiar with this type of door but aren't the hinges removed
before you do the Sawz All bit. It seems to me that the hinge screws
should
be biting into the 2x4 framing. If you run the Sawz All you'll cut these
screws.

Normally the hinge screws are relatively short. When you buy the doors
prehung including the heavier exterior doors, the screws are not sticking
out past the jam. Occasionally the exterior doors will include 2 or 3 extra
longer screws.