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?

Reply to
stryped
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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!

Reply to
Prometheus

Reply to
stryped

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

Reply to
Ken

Reply to
stryped

Why would you put the filler piece on the hinge side? It's _far_ more work than putting it on the latch side, and no real benefit. Buy some lattice molding of the correct width - basically a flat thin strip of wood - perfect for your application. You'll have to cut a mortise for the strike plate, but that's really simple to do with a razor knife, chisel and hammer. No need for a router. Make sure the piece fits correctly before attaching it permanently. Cut it to fit. Put it place and mark for the strike plate(s). Remove and cut mortises. Test fit. Then glue and nail the strip in place.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Ahh, I didn't catch that from the original note. Yes, that is slightly more of a problem to fix nicely. Any chance you can detach one of the fake doors and move it over a little bit to take up the gap? Barring that, probably just do what Rico suggested, and glue on a thin strip on the latch side.

Ken

Reply to
Ken

I wonder if there was supposed to be an applied astragal. They're typical on French doors. Maybe it came separately and was never installed?

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R

Reply to
RicodJour

Reply to
stryped

Instead of leading people on home improvement diagnostic wild-goose chases, take some pictures of the door and post them on a free picture hosting site and let us take a look.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

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