My Door Is Hinge Bound

Restore a warped door to its normal shape by removing it and laying it flat.

My door is hinge bound.

You can usually see whether it is just one hinge or the door itself that is binding. Spray them liberally then open and close the door so the oil. If not it s a fairly easy task to bend it a bit if it s a standard samped sheet metal hinge and not cast. Generally when correctly fitted the hinge flaps should be flush with the surface of the wood.

A door that is difficult to close and tends to spring open is said to be hinge bound. Same on the edge. If you see either the binding is probably related to the hinges. Hinges binding before door fully closes barry a saw will work fine in a pinch if the door jamb is perfectly straight.

The problem is usually caused by hinge recesses cut too deep in either the door edge or in the frame. You can remove the screws from one side and see if the hinge closes flat then. If one is loose remove two or more screws and try driving in longer screws. When the door has swelled place shims in the inner edge of the hinge mortise as shown in figure 7 6.

Weighing it down may also be necessary. Sooner or later when the door is closed on the paper it gets trapped. And if the hinge pins do not bend the door should then operate satisfactorily. You can t pull it out.

This forces the door closer to the jamb at the lock edge. In a real world they should be flush with the surface of the jamb and set in 1 and 1 2 inches. If you can t find where the door is binding open the door and hold a sheet of paper in various places in the joint. If a door binds open it grasp the knob and lift up to see if a hinge is loose.

Could be one of several problems. First open the door and check the hinge mortises. That s where your problem is. Each hinge should be shimmed equally to prevent the door from becoming hinge bound.

The normal procedure is to scribe the door and plane to the line with a power planer preferably a porter cable model 126 spiral cutter. If your door binds at the hinges squeals during closing or stops almost immediately when pushed to close the hinges are the culprit. Door that is hard to close.