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Front door is a little out of square - Advice? nospam@gmail.com 06-20-2008
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Posted by nospam@gmail.com on June 20, 2008, 12:35 pm
The front door of my house is out of square. The top of the door
slopes down from the hinge side to the lock side leaving a gap. Do I
need to shim from the bottom? TIA

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Posted by dpb on June 20, 2008, 12:49 pm
nospam@gmail.com wrote:
> The front door of my house is out of square. The top of the door
> slopes down from the hinge side to the lock side leaving a gap. Do I
> need to shim from the bottom? TIA

Is the door out of square or you mean the door opening?

It's also possible the hinges are worn/loose letting it sag.

Not enough to know for sure what is the actual cause; therefore, can't
say what is proper remedy.

Unless somebody has trimmed on the door or it's actually failing, it's
more likely the opening isn't square or hinges, not the door itself.

That can be it was originally framed out of square, there has been
settling of one side, etc.

What's the gap on all sides at top and bottom and hinge/latch side?

--

Posted by David Nebenzahl on June 20, 2008, 2:06 pm
On 6/20/2008 9:35 AM nospam@gmail.com spake thus:

> The front door of my house is out of square. The top of the door
> slopes down from the hinge side to the lock side leaving a gap. Do I
> need to shim from the bottom? TIA

Yes, but here's the deal on shimming the door: If you shim at the bottom
as you propose, you'll have to redrill the hinge holes to move the door
up towards the top. If the gap (and therefore the amount the door must
be moved) is at least 1/4", this *might* work, but it'll be difficult if
the distance is less, since the new holes will be right next to the old
holes. (In this case, you'll need to *completely* fill the screw holes,
by drilling them out and gluing in dowels, then drill the new holes.)

The alternative is to keep the hinges where they are and shim at the
top, which will be a lot easier but more noticeable.

Here's what I'd do:

1. Make sure hinges are fully tightened. If any screws are stripped in
their holes (very common), use the old toothpick-and-glue trick to make
them hold. You want to make sure that none of the misalignment is due to
loose hinges.

2. Measure the gap at the top on the lock side. This is the (approx.)
size of the shim you'll need, assuming the bottom of the door lines up OK.

3. Shim the door and re-plane the top to match the jamb.


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill

Posted by dpb on June 20, 2008, 2:17 pm
David Nebenzahl wrote:
> On 6/20/2008 9:35 AM nospam@gmail.com spake thus:
>
>> The front door of my house is out of square. The top of the door
>> slopes down from the hinge side to the lock side leaving a gap. Do I
>> need to shim from the bottom? TIA
>
> Yes, but here's the deal on shimming the door: ...

Before he goes shimming, need more info...

I'd also beyond previous notes recommend he read the article in a fairly
recent FHB on fitting doors--don't recall author's name now but know
it's been in the last few issues. It goes into detail on fixing
problems in a more systematic fashion...

--

Posted by David Nebenzahl on June 20, 2008, 2:45 pm
On 6/20/2008 11:17 AM dpb spake thus:

> David Nebenzahl wrote:
>> On 6/20/2008 9:35 AM nospam@gmail.com spake thus:
>>
>>> The front door of my house is out of square. The top of the door
>>> slopes down from the hinge side to the lock side leaving a gap. Do I
>>> need to shim from the bottom? TIA
>>
>> Yes, but here's the deal on shimming the door: ...
>
> Before he goes shimming, need more info...
>
> I'd also beyond previous notes recommend he read the article in a fairly
> recent FHB on fitting doors--don't recall author's name now but know
> it's been in the last few issues. It goes into detail on fixing
> problems in a more systematic fashion...

Good advice. I concur. And those Taunton publications are the best.

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