I go over how I used a few simple techniques to adjust a wood door so it would close properly again.
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The original video script,
From time to time, certain doors in my house will start to bind with their frames. This is usually related to the weather because when the soil around my house get's very dry, or very wet, the foundation of the house will move. And since this door frame is perpendicular to an I beam in my basement that supports the wall that this door frame butts into, the movement of the frame is more pronounced. Another issue that can cause wooden doors to jam are humidity changes. Because wood swells slightly when it absorbs water from the air, that can cause it to bind. Or if the finish on the door or frame gets sticky when damp (this happens all the time for my bathroom door), then that will also cause it to jam.
It doesn't take much movement of the frame for the door to start jamming. Sometimes the gap between a door jamming or opening and closing properly can be paper-thin.
To fix my doors, I usually have to adjust the door, and sometimes add a spacer behind one of the door hinges to get everything working properly again.
To adjust the door, I will first find where the door is snagging. This can be easily done with a piece of paper. I hold the paper where I think the door is jamming, and close the door on the paper. If I can easily pull out the paper, then that is not where the snag is. In some cases the door frame might leave marks on the door where it jams (like on this door), and those marks can sometimes be the simplest way to get started.
Once I have found where I need to adjust the door, I will take it off it's hinges, and take it down to my workshop for adjustment. The door hinges just have a pin that is removed from the top [sometimes I have to tap the pin out using a screw driver].
I start with a plane, making sure not to remove too much material, and to not remove material in the wrong areas. Some areas of the door are end grain, which is very hard to cut through with a plane, so I have to use a file. A file or sand paper can make quick work of the end-grain without needing to dull the blade of my plane, but I do have to be very careful with the file because it can easily round the edges and corners of the door, or chip off the veneer. I have to keep my hands moving in a very linear and precise direction, because sloppy strokes will damage the faces of the door.
Once I have planed and filed the door, I can take it back up to the frame and check it for doorness. I sometimes have to repeat the previous steps many times before I get a perfect fit, because I only remove what I absolutely have to to get the door working again.
If I see that one side of the door is much closer than another (like the top, or the latch side), I might choose to make a spacer to adjust the door.
If I put a spacer behind the top hinge, then that will slightly move the top of the door down, and the latch side of the door closer to the frame. If I put a spacer behind the hinge on the bottom, then the opposite happens. If I put two identical spacers behind both hinges, then the space at the top of the door will not change, and the latch side of the door will get closer to the door frame. You could put spacers behind both hinges if your door latch doesn't quite reach the catch on the door frame.
Unfortunately, I have given up on trying to adjust this door in my house because the frame moves so much. When I get it just right, there will be a big storm or drought that throws everything outa-wack again. There have been times where I have fixed the door, then a week later and into a dry spell, the door will jam again and half a month later after a storm, it will work again. It can be frustrating, but there are few situations where a door will jam this much, and hopefully if you have a door that jams, you will be able to fix it with a couple of the techniques I went over.
7 окт 2024
