Entry Door Problems

[lnbn1975]

Greetings, and thanks for reading.

We had a problem with the entry door in our older home. The deadbolt was not lining up, and by looking at the jam, it appeared that this was a problem thru the years. We decided to replace the door about 2 years ago. It was installed correctly, and was nice and level at that time.

This is where the problem starts. 6 months ago, the deadbolt was higher that the hole, and the top of the door was scraping when it was closed, to the point that it was scraping the stain off the jam. My brother-in-law helped me put some shims under the jam side of the opening, raising up that side so everything seemed square again.

About 3 weeks ago, the dead-bolt was too low to go into the receptacle. Brother in law came over again, and we took out the shims, which didn't make much difference, and put some cardboard behind the lower hinges. All was OK at that time. Week later, deadbolt didn't work again. Called a contractor to come over to take a look, and he put about 3 shims under the sill on the hing side. Worked close to fine, just a bit of a drag on deadbolt. 3 days later, barely can get deadbolt to work when I lift VERY hard on door knob.

I know something is going on making the hinge side of the door sink. I cannot get to the foundation on the outside of the house because of a cement porch, and on the inside a floor joist is within 6 inches of the foundation, making it next to impossible to do anything but "feel" the problem area. Jacking up on the floor joist does nothing to the situation. I have a feeling that my problem may be with the wood beam that sits on the foundation. It may be rotting, but where do I go from here?? My concern is with the in-accessibility of the sill.

Guesses or suggestions???

Brad

[SQLit]

This only started recently or has this been going on since you have been in the house? If recently look for water leaks (maybe) Sounds like expansive soil to me, changes state with different conditions. Here is is moisture. I think your in for something expensive if you own the home. Sorry my opinion

[David Babcock]

I would agree with the sill plate guess, but it wouldn't be the first thing I look at. But all my suggestions point back to a rotting problem either the sill plate or the framing of the door itself. I do have to say your timing is bad, I know my wife wouldn't be happy to have me ripping the wall around the door frame apart in the dead of winter and with the holiday around the corner. Something is causing the bottom of the hinge side of the door to move minutely away from plumb. Now whether its the framing rotted or the sill plate is still to be determined. But either way you're going to have to get inside the wall to see. If the house is older, and you say it is, the sill plate is most likely the cause. But remember if the sill plate is bad, the bottom of the frame could be as well. Water splashing up from the ground, and time does that to unprotected wood. The reason I say this is you might fix one problem piece only to have it reappear because both pieces could be rotted. As an owner and rehabber of many older houses, checking out the sill plate is one of my first priorities, and I find that in most cases they are marginal. Good Luck,

Dave