I love my girlffriend, but sometimes she's just in my way when I need to
make a change in her house. She had another guy come in and replace
several doors. It was a bigger job than I could do at the time, and it
was done very quickly. I'm not at all happy with the craftsmanship of
this fella, but then I don't want to give him a call and say fix this
****, because I don't want to create competition for my client.

The doors worked initially but now, not a single one closes. We have a
whopping 35% relative humidity because we use evaporitive cooling. These
are typical resi doors that come pre-fabbed with the jambs. They are
finished with a dark brown paint.

On the hinge side, there is a quarter inch of room on all of them.

Now I've rehabilitated many doors in my lifetime, and it's always a
series of steps and an eventual win, but if I lift a finger while she is
gone on vacation, it's got to be perfect.

So first, what happened to these doors that they now don't close? They
don't feel shaky like the screws are loose. They've been in less than a
year.

If it's the humidity, what happens when you install a door like this in
Mississippi?

Second, I've got a belt sander, a finger sander, a sharp chisel, primer
and brown paint. How am I gonna fix these so that they're perfect?

Thanks for your comment, and cheers,
--
Uno

Less than a year? Obviously some wood is moving.

Try this. Curl your toes back and give the bottom of the jam a good kick
towards the studs to widen it. Close door. If this works unscrew the middle
screw on the jam part of each hinge. Get a good 2.5 - 3.5" plated , matching
screw,like a deck screw and drive the sucker to pull back tight to the shims
the carpenter put in. Most doors are only hinged to the jam and it pulls the
jam from the framing.

This can be done with the latch plate also. If the tight spot is somewhere
else you may have to a small pilot hole and drive a long screw in the studs
through the jam to pull it back, then patch and repaint.

Carpenters use power nailers and the nails typically don't have much grip to
hold things tight.

OTOH: A house 1 year old would still be under warranty, here. Call the
builder and bitch. The trim carpenter will come and do some small fixes, for
nothing, usually.


"Uno" wrote in message
...
I love my girlffriend, but sometimes she's just in my way when I need to
make a change in her house. She had another guy come in and replace
several doors. It was a bigger job than I could do at the time, and it
was done very quickly. I'm not at all happy with the craftsmanship of
this fella, but then I don't want to give him a call and say fix this
****, because I don't want to create competition for my client.

The doors worked initially but now, not a single one closes. We have a
whopping 35% relative humidity because we use evaporitive cooling. These
are typical resi doors that come pre-fabbed with the jambs. They are
finished with a dark brown paint.

On the hinge side, there is a quarter inch of room on all of them.

Now I've rehabilitated many doors in my lifetime, and it's always a
series of steps and an eventual win, but if I lift a finger while she is
gone on vacation, it's got to be perfect.

So first, what happened to these doors that they now don't close? They
don't feel shaky like the screws are loose. They've been in less than a
year.

If it's the humidity, what happens when you install a door like this in
Mississippi?

Second, I've got a belt sander, a finger sander, a sharp chisel, primer
and brown paint. How am I gonna fix these so that they're perfect?

Thanks for your comment, and cheers,
--
Uno

"Uno" wrote in message ...
I love my girlffriend, but sometimes she's just in my way when I need to
make a change in her house. She had another guy come in and replace
several doors. It was a bigger job than I could do at the time, and it
was done very quickly. I'm not at all happy with the craftsmanship of
this fella, but then I don't want to give him a call and say fix this
****, because I don't want to create competition for my client.

The doors worked initially but now, not a single one closes. We have a
whopping 35% relative humidity because we use evaporitive cooling. These
are typical resi doors that come pre-fabbed with the jambs. They are
finished with a dark brown paint.

On the hinge side, there is a quarter inch of room on all of them.

Now I've rehabilitated many doors in my lifetime, and it's always a
series of steps and an eventual win, but if I lift a finger while she is
gone on vacation, it's got to be perfect.

So first, what happened to these doors that they now don't close? They
don't feel shaky like the screws are loose. They've been in less than a
year.

If it's the humidity, what happens when you install a door like this in
Mississippi?

Second, I've got a belt sander, a finger sander, a sharp chisel, primer
and brown paint. How am I gonna fix these so that they're perfect?

Thanks for your comment, and cheers,
--
Uno

Are the hinges mortised into both the jamb and the door like they are
supposed to be? Assuming they are you could make the mortises
deeper and close that 1/4" gap to a more normal 1/8".
Art

The OP stated it was only a year old house. I would be sure the doors fit
initially.

I have attempted to route hinges deeper and then the hing side starts to
bind. It can be almost assured to jam (pun intended) after the next coat of
paint.


"Artemus" wrote in message
...
Are the hinges mortised into both the jamb and the door like they are
supposed to be? Assuming they are you could make the mortises
deeper and close that 1/4" gap to a more normal 1/8".
Art

"Uno" wrote in message
...
I love my girlffriend, but sometimes she's just in my way when I need to
make a change in her house. She had another guy come in and replace
several doors. It was a bigger job than I could do at the time, and it
was done very quickly. I'm not at all happy with the craftsmanship of
this fella, but then I don't want to give him a call and say fix this
****, because I don't want to create competition for my client.

The doors worked initially but now, not a single one closes. We have a
whopping 35% relative humidity because we use evaporitive cooling. These
are typical resi doors that come pre-fabbed with the jambs. They are
finished with a dark brown paint.

On the hinge side, there is a quarter inch of room on all of them.

Now I've rehabilitated many doors in my lifetime, and it's always a
series of steps and an eventual win, but if I lift a finger while she is
gone on vacation, it's got to be perfect.

So first, what happened to these doors that they now don't close? They
don't feel shaky like the screws are loose. They've been in less than a
year.

If it's the humidity, what happens when you install a door like this in
Mississippi?

Second, I've got a belt sander, a finger sander, a sharp chisel, primer
and brown paint. How am I gonna fix these so that they're perfect?

Thanks for your comment, and cheers,
--
Uno

So first, what happened to these doors that they now don't close? *They
don't feel shaky like the screws are loose. *They've been in less than a
year.

Has the latch-side jams moved?... Someone pulling on the facing,
there? Maybe the whole door frame has moved, for some reason. Check
the whole frame, vertical and horizontal level and measure the
diagonals, for equalness.

I find this strange that all or many of the doors are not closing
properly. Has the house suffered foundation failure? A pillared
house is more apt to have foundation failure than one on a slab. See
if the windows are difficult to open/close, also. Factors
contributing to foundation failu Extreme dryness in the soil due
to 1) drought, 2) a large tree nearby, drawing moisture from the
soil.... a year ago the tree roots (if applicable) may not have
reached the house/under neath.

I'm assuming the house is on pillars:
How old is the house? Apparently, it has some age, since the
original(?) doors were replaced. Were they replaced because of the
same problem, not closing properly?

Check the floors' levelness throughout the house. If there is a large
discrepancy in floor levelness in the bathroom area, check the toilet
drain pipe to see if it has any hint of buckling or the toilet having
been raised a tad or its attachment compromised in some way. Inspect
other plumbing, also. You cetainly don't want any stress on the water
heater plumbing, if the cold line is buried in the ground before
entering the house, there. Compromised plumbing, this way, in
combination with an unlevel floor, is also evidence of foundation
failure.

Sonny

The OP did not state the house was a year old. He said several of the
doors were replaced a year ago.

Sonny

Artemus wrote:

Are the hinges mortised into both the jamb and the door like they are
supposed to be? Assuming they are you could make the mortises
deeper and close that 1/4" gap to a more normal 1/8".

Art, I haven't studied every hinge. I wouldn't dare take a light and
bang on it if need be with jenny there. She'd know something were up.

So, within 24 hours, I will have better diagnostic data, however, the
hinges that I looked at were not closed against each other as the door
was closed.

The mortising looked good from my cursory glances.
--
Uno

On 7/15/2010 8:04 PM, Uno wrote:
I love my girlffriend, but sometimes she's just in my way when I need to
make a change in her house. She had another guy come in and replace
several doors.

Why did they need to be replaced? Was it just appearance or was there a
problem with them?

It was a bigger job than I could do at the time, and it
was done very quickly. I'm not at all happy with the craftsmanship of
this fella, but then I don't want to give him a call and say fix this
****, because I don't want to create competition for my client.

The doors worked initially but now, not a single one closes. We have a
whopping 35% relative humidity because we use evaporitive cooling. These
are typical resi doors that come pre-fabbed with the jambs. They are
finished with a dark brown paint.

On the hinge side, there is a quarter inch of room on all of them.

Are you saying there's a quarter inch gap between the door and the frame
or do I misunderstand?

Now I've rehabilitated many doors in my lifetime, and it's always a
series of steps and an eventual win, but if I lift a finger while she is
gone on vacation, it's got to be perfect.

So first, what happened to these doors that they now don't close? They
don't feel shaky like the screws are loose. They've been in less than a
year.

The doors have absorbed moisture, expanded, and no longer fit the frame,
or the frame has dried out, shrunk, and no longer fits the door, or the
structure has settled so that the shape of the frame has changed, or
something else has happened. You need to figure out what. Without
examining the doors it's difficult to diagnose.

If it's the humidity, what happens when you install a door like this in
Mississippi?

You wait for it to take up however much moisture it's going to take up,
then adjust it as required.

Second, I've got a belt sander, a finger sander, a sharp chisel, primer
and brown paint. How am I gonna fix these so that they're perfect?

I'd need to eyeball the problem before making any kind of suggestion.

Thanks for your comment, and cheers,

Sonny wrote:

Has the latch-side jams moved?... Someone pulling on the facing,
there? Maybe the whole door frame has moved, for some reason. Check
the whole frame, vertical and horizontal level and measure the
diagonals, for equalness.

I find this strange that all or many of the doors are not closing
properly. Has the house suffered foundation failure? A pillared
house is more apt to have foundation failure than one on a slab. See
if the windows are difficult to open/close, also. Factors
contributing to foundation failu Extreme dryness in the soil due
to 1) drought, 2) a large tree nearby, drawing moisture from the
soil.... a year ago the tree roots (if applicable) may not have
reached the house/under neath.

I'm assuming the house is on pillars:
How old is the house? Apparently, it has some age, since the
original(?) doors were replaced. Were they replaced because of the
same problem, not closing properly?

Check the floors' levelness throughout the house. If there is a large
discrepancy in floor levelness in the bathroom area, check the toilet
drain pipe to see if it has any hint of buckling or the toilet having
been raised a tad or its attachment compromised in some way. Inspect
other plumbing, also. You cetainly don't want any stress on the water
heater plumbing, if the cold line is buried in the ground before
entering the house, there. Compromised plumbing, this way, in
combination with an unlevel floor, is also evidence of foundation
failure.

Thx for your reply, Sonny. The house was built about the same time as
mine, in the 1950's in Albuquerque. Houses here are slab on grade and
don't have a lot of the problems that you see in places with frost heave.

The soil everywhere is packed adobe. Foundations here last centuries.
The descendants of the conquistadors are people I see occasionally. New
Mexico is good real estate.

The floors will be level; I don't need to check them. They're exactly
where they were a year ago.

I had a client up in Montezuma who had done a lot of excavation to get
the elevation he wanted. He's like the other half of building here.
The clown passe. Gets hourlies like me to do work for him and then
either does/does not pay them.

Cocaine Johnnie Montoya. Flipped his Mercedes 15 times and has a house
under from which the center is eroding. I'll give him my one-finger
carpenter salute as he sits on top of a house that has more mistakes per
building system than any I've ever seen.

Anyways, so foundations: solid, and level. I have measured them with a
laser at one point 3 years back.
--
Uno

My bad. Misapplied the age stated.

Thanx

"Sonny" wrote in message
...
The OP did not state the house was a year old. He said several of the
doors were replaced a year ago.

Sonny

Josepi wrote:

Less than a year? Obviously some wood is moving.

Try this. Curl your toes back and give the bottom of the jam a good kick
towards the studs to widen it. Close door. If this works unscrew the middle
screw on the jam part of each hinge. Get a good 2.5 - 3.5" plated , matching
screw,like a deck screw and drive the sucker to pull back tight to the shims
the carpenter put in. Most doors are only hinged to the jam and it pulls the
jam from the framing.

This can be done with the latch plate also. If the tight spot is somewhere
else you may have to a small pilot hole and drive a long screw in the studs
through the jam to pull it back, then patch and repaint.

Carpenters use power nailers and the nails typically don't have much grip to
hold things tight.

OTOH: A house 1 year old would still be under warranty, here. Call the
builder and bitch. The trim carpenter will come and do some small fixes, for
nothing, usually.

Thx, Josepi, the trim is such that if I want to remove it, I can, and
re-attach it with the brad nailer better than the original.

The nailing pattern on the original really shows lapses in
craftsmanship, in particular, when I can see the damn craters from
across the room as something not even brown.

I'll throw my 4-foot level on the latch-side jamb before I move it.
--
Uno

When installing my doors in a new home I like to put good decking screws
under the door jam trim to avoid filling and painting, especially if stained
doors.

I also like to put screws beside each other at the bottoms of jams and/or
the latch area. You have to fill and paint a few then but reinforces it at
strategic spots.

I sold my previous home a while back and while gone for a weeks at a time
thought I would save heating money by turning temps down to 50F degrees.
When I returned each weekend to check house I would stay overnight and turn
heat back up. I dried the house out badly doing this!!! I had a 15 year old
jam warped so bad it tore up the vinyl flooring next to it. When I got a
block of wood and cracked it back in the door jam broke! This door had never
moved before in 15 years from new.

While living there (normal temps) about 6 doors in that house started to
move and I found by kicking in the jam at the bottom it cured the problem
for another month or so. A well placed deck screw always solved the problem
permanently. One matching plated screw in each hinge through into the
framing stabilized them well. I see now many hinges are supplied with one
long screw.

The level can help but the square door is the best measuring stick after
seeing if the hinge jam is vertical by the door closing or opening by
itself.

Best of luck!


"Uno" wrote in message
...
Thx, Josepi, the trim is such that if I want to remove it, I can, and
re-attach it with the brad nailer better than the original.

The nailing pattern on the original really shows lapses in
craftsmanship, in particular, when I can see the damn craters from
across the room as something not even brown.

I'll throw my 4-foot level on the latch-side jamb before I move it.
--
Uno


Josepi wrote:

Less than a year? Obviously some wood is moving.

Try this. Curl your toes back and give the bottom of the jam a good kick
towards the studs to widen it. Close door. If this works unscrew the
middle
screw on the jam part of each hinge. Get a good 2.5 - 3.5" plated ,
matching
screw,like a deck screw and drive the sucker to pull back tight to the
shims
the carpenter put in. Most doors are only hinged to the jam and it pulls
the
jam from the framing.

This can be done with the latch plate also. If the tight spot is somewhere
else you may have to a small pilot hole and drive a long screw in the
studs
through the jam to pull it back, then patch and repaint.

Carpenters use power nailers and the nails typically don't have much grip
to
hold things tight.

OTOH: A house 1 year old would still be under warranty, here. Call the
builder and bitch. The trim carpenter will come and do some small fixes,
for
nothing, usually.

On Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:04:47 -0600, Uno wrote:

On the hinge side, there is a quarter inch of room on all of them.

There is something wrong here.
Most prehung doors have a swaged hinge that does not require the
beveling of the hinge side of the door. When closed most will show
less than 1/8" gap at the hinge. If you take a hinge off and close it
until the leafs touch you will see a gap near the barrel or pin. The
doors shouldn't show any more gap than that assuming that they are
routed flush into the door and jamb.

My guess is that the hinges are coming loose from either the jamb or
door or both. Open the door about 90 and give it a good push back and
forth. If you feel movement there or if the door falls off in your
hand, you'll know what the problem is. About all you can do is fill
the holes with wood and glue (toothpicks can work) let it set up drill
a pilot hole and install the hinges again. That may or may not work
but it's worth a shot.

Mike O.

"Josepi" wrote in
:

Less than a year? Obviously some wood is moving.

Try this. Curl your toes back and give the bottom of the jam a good
kick towards the studs to widen it. Close door. If this works unscrew
the middle screw on the jam part of each hinge. Get a good 2.5 - 3.5"
plated , matching screw,like a deck screw and drive the sucker to pull
back tight to the shims the carpenter put in. Most doors are only
hinged to the jam and it pulls the jam from the framing.

*snip*

I fixed several doors this way. One was so bad it wouldn't even latch
after lifting the knob end. A single 3.5" screw later, and the door
closes and latches perfectly.

If you can, drive the screw through the shims. That'll keep everything
tight and in place.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

dadiOH wrote:
Uno wrote:
I love my girlffriend, but sometimes she's just in my way when I need
to make a change in her house. She had another guy come in and
replace several doors. It was a bigger job than I could do at the
time, and it was done very quickly. I'm not at all happy with the
craftsmanship of this fella, but then I don't want to give him a call
and say fix this ****, because I don't want to create competition for
my client.
The doors worked initially but now, not a single one closes. We have a
whopping 35% relative humidity because we use evaporitive cooling.
These are typical resi doors that come pre-fabbed with the jambs. They are
finished with a dark brown paint.

On the hinge side, there is a quarter inch of room on all of them.

That's a lot. Are the jambs perpendicular to the walls and door face? If
not, the door will wedge on it and not close properly. Your fix might be as
simple as getting the hinge jamb as it should be.


No, I think that slamming the doors so much has brought them off their
jambs. Seth and Jenny have a 3 bedroom house, where we play our bedroom
farce. There's a lot of door-slamming.

Ah, the jealousies and angers of life that keep handymen in business.
At least we don't sweep them under the carpet.
--
Uno