Hi all, door of my condo's bathroom isn't closing. Door frame seems to be square. It's got a gap of about 1/4 at the bottom, but seems about right up top. The door does close, but the latch won't engage because there's too much of a gap. What kind of material could I put under that lower hinge to kind of shim it into position? Cardboard?... something not as affected by moisture? Any thoughts?
Unless door slab is a trapezoid, frame to be out of square. Can't see from here, but sounds like a beginner installed the (probably prehung) door, and didn't shim the frame properly before installing the loose part of the casing. Does bottom part of doorframe flex when you push on it? Proper fix is to remove casing, take part or all of frame loose, reshim properly, checking for proper gaps as you go, and then button everything back up. A good carpenter can do it so you only have to touch up a few screw or nail heads. Shimming hinges work, but is likely to make top of door bind, and/or make striker miss the hole in the plate, and moving that around is a PITA, and more work (IMHO) than rehanging door.
Any of the popular DIY books will have good diagrams on how to do this, or it would be maybe an hours work for a freelance fixit guy that knew what he was doing. As home repairs go, almost trivial.
aem sends...
"Seems to be square" and "is square" is your biggest clue here. Some one goofed and you need to correct the problem. Obviously a case of disasseble to the studs and start over and do it right. Your door may have been hacked on to fit the out of square opening so be prepared to buy a new assembly. Hire a journeyman carpenter and stay home to watch him do the job. The price will be worth the education. HTH
Joe
Without seeing it who knows, building could have settled or hinges are worn or loose screws.
Take a string. One that won't really stretch. Measure from one corner to another. Mark the lenght (a touch of sharpie works).
Now put string on the other corners...
Is it the same length?
If not it's not square.
Repeat for the door.
Now, if it's 1/4" off or so, you'll have a tough time telling with a string. (they stretch), but you can tell if it's deeply off.
Buildings settle, things shift.
were I shimming the lower hinge, I might take the advice in The Graduate:
Plastics.
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