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Door Hinges to loose

18 years ago

How can I tighten up hinges so my doors will stay open ? These are 2 hinge interior doors. They just drift about half way shut.Do i need gunpowder or someone to chase ghosts away.or is there a simple answer ????

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Comments (9)

kudzu9
18 years ago
The reason doors do this is usually because the house has settled and the doors are slightly out of plumb. They drift to where they find their center of gravity. One thing you can try is to remove each hinge pin, lay it on concrete, and give it a couple of whacks in the middle with a hammer to bend it slightly. Then pound it back into the hinge. This bend shouldn't interfere with the normal opening and closing of the door, but it will cause the hinge to have more friction and may prevent the door from swinging to another position by itself.
redrabbit
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks kudzu9 , I'll try that over the weekend, I'll let you know
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kudzu9
18 years ago
RedRabbit-
Good luck. Hope that's adequate to do the job. Do let me know if it worked, when you have a moment.
Michael_H
18 years ago
Knurled hinge pins are also an easy solution.

I never thought about a bend in the pin. Great tip!

But first, make sure the top hinge screws are tight and inspect it for a previous shim. Sometimes, all you need to do is remove the shim that was placed there when the door frame was level..a long time ago.

Michael
redrabbit
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks again kudzu9 that worked great , my wife send's you a big kiss.. ( wish I could send her ) That's a real simple and easy fix..doing all my hinges now....
kudzu9
18 years ago
RedRabbit-
Thanks for the feedback. It's always good to know when some of my advice actually works!
Window_Guy
18 years ago
The hinge pin method does work well. One other thing to look at is your hinge screws. If they are all tight then pull the top one out of the top hinge on the frame side. Insert a 2.50" screw and drive it back into the jack stud. Ounce you get close to setting the screw in the hinge just tighten it ever so slightly. Don't torque it down at all. Just enough to feel the frame move over a bit. This will pull the door over and up. You may have to adjust it back and forth so the doors reveal looks correct and doesn't rub. This usually works 90% of the time for me. Just another idea!!
mike_in_kc
18 years ago
Putting a slight kink in hinge pins is a quick fix that usually works, but if you bend them a tad too much and pound them into the hinges, you'd better hope you never need to remove those pins in the future ... like to sand and/or paint the door or door frame!
beau-kins
15 years ago
Have tried to locate knurled hinge-pins to correct drifting interior doors. All the hardware stores do not stock these. Any suggestions where they might be located?

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