Shimming door.

>I have a back door that apparently was not put in square. It is a big
>door. a fake door on each side and the real one in the middle. SOmeone
>suggested shimming the hinge side so the gap is smaller where the door
>latches. Can anyone explain how to do this? WIll I need to buy a router
>to route hout" the hinge side? I am thinking of putting a 1/4 inch
>board on the hinge side of the frame to push the door over that far.
>How do I ensure the door is lined up properly when I put it back on?

> On 31 Aug 2005 09:05:52 -0700, stryped@hotmail.com wrote:

> >I have a back door that apparently was not put in square. It is a big
> >door. a fake door on each side and the real one in the middle. SOmeone
> >suggested shimming the hinge side so the gap is smaller where the door
> >latches. Can anyone explain how to do this? WIll I need to buy a router
> >to route hout" the hinge side? I am thinking of putting a 1/4 inch
> >board on the hinge side of the frame to push the door over that far.
> >How do I ensure the door is lined up properly when I put it back on?

> When you're taking about shimming, a router isn't going to do you much
> good... Take a good hard look at the door. If the gap is at the top,
> you need to shim the bottom hinge. If it's at the bottom, shim the
> top hinge. But before you shim anything, check to make sure the
> screws have not come loose on any of the hinges, and lift up on the
> door to make sure there isn't any slop. Sometimes it's a really easy
> fix like tightening a couple of screws.
> To shim the hinges, get yourself some thin material that will hold up
> to weather. Sheet metal, plastic, treated wood or even the shims you
> can buy at the hardware store for under a buck will work for this. A
> shim is just a thin sliver of something for the hinge to sit against.
> Try a couple of different sizes by loosening the hinge screws, sliding
> the shim underneith and retightening the screws. You're done when
> you're happy with the way the door fits. Simple, but not always easy-
> you may need a helper to hold the door steady if you're working on the
> top hinge. You may need to trim the bottom or top of the door once
> the hinge is shimmed if it is rubbing. The easy way to do this is
> with a circular saw or a power planer, but a belt sander or hand plane
> will work as well. It's well within the reach of anyone who cares to
> do it, it's just kind of putzy work.
> You only need a router if you're excavating a mortise, which you'd be
> doing if you're installing a new door that is not pre-hung or if you
> prefer that to shimming out for some reason. You can also mortise a
> hinge with a chisel, and it's usually faster and easier than messing
> around with the router unless you're doing four or five doors. To
> mortise with a chisel, define the edges of the cavity by holding the
> hinge in place and tracing it with a pencil, then set the chisel on
> the pencil lines and give it a little tap to cut the fibers or the
> jamb. Peel up bits of wood using hand pressure on your chisel (a
> hammer is liable to cause the chisel to follow the grain and split a
> big splinter off the jamb if you're not careful) If it won't cut with
> hand pressure, sharpen the chisel until it does- a dull chisel is a
> dangerous tool. Start from near the center line of the mortise, and
> work towards the edges until you reach the desired depth (usually the
> thickness of the hinge material, but with a door that is not square,
> the depth needed is anyone's guess) and then work carefully to
> flatten the bottom of the cavity. Hold the hinge in place to check
> it, and maybe make a little dimple with a center punch to give you a
> guide for pre-drilling the screws.
> If the holes for the screws are stripped out, fill them in with bondo
> or epoxy and redrill them.
> Keep at it until you're happy with the result- if you cut too deep,
> shim it back out, if it isn't deep enough, get the chisel back out.
> Good skill to develop!

> The gap is actually the entire latch side. There is about a 1/4 inch
> gap at the worst place. I was thining of installing a 1/4 inch board on
> the entire hinge side to "move" the dor over.

> stry...@hotmail.com wrote:

> > The gap is actually the entire latch side. There is about a 1/4 inch
> > gap at the worst place. I was thining of installing a 1/4 inch board on
> > the entire hinge side to "move" the dor over.

> If that's the case, that's a lot more than I would want to shim. If it
> was me, I would remove the door casing on the latch side, and remove
> and reposition the jamb 1/4" closer to the door. This would require
> cutting 1/4" off the end of the upper jamb and stop.
>
> Ken