Loose Hinges on Doors

[fRED mCnEILL]

The hinges on a number of interior doors have become loose where they attach to the door frame.(the screws are stripped in the holes) Larger screws won't work as thet won't fit in the countersink in the metal hinge.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks

Fred Mc.

[Greg Heppeard]

use some toothpicks and wood glue...put a couple of drops of glue on the toothpick and push as many into the hole as possible...tap them in lightly and break them off flush. Wait about 20 min and drive the screw back into the hole. I've used this trick often and works most every time.

[jud dinsmore]

wooden golf tees will also work.


good luck,

jud

[Frank Drew]

How about longer versions of the screws whose heads do fit the countersinks? Like a good 1/2" or more longer to make sure they get a good grip.

Greg and Jud's suggestions are also fine and I've done it that way a lot.

[Peter Quinn]

Try running one or two screws long enough to go through the jamb into the framing on each hinge. For a standard door this would be :1/16"(hinge thickness)+3/4"(jamb thickness)+1/4"(shim thickness)+1"(screw depth into framing) = 2 1/16" screw length, so I'd go with 2 1/4" screws in the same gauge as the originals. That should tighten things up.

If the jambs are soft wood a dutchman isn't going to offer much strength, but hitting the framing will.

[glenn bradley]

I drill them out and glue in dowels then drill an appropriate hole sequence for a permenant fix. Matchsticks, toothpicks, etc. work too for awhile (sometimes till I moved) depending how bad it is ;-)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Toothpicks & even dowels only hold for so long.
I cut plugs out of 3/4" plywood and use those instead of dowels.
The screws hold a lot better in the face wood of the plugs than in the end grain of a dowel.
There's also a lot less tendancy for the bit to wander - like it does with a dowel, even when using a Vix bit.

In one particualrly extreme case, I removed the door trim and glued a piece of 3/4" plywood to the jamb, then used longer screws that went into the plywood.

You have to be careful not to hit the stud where the door casing is mounted to. I used 3" screws. When you tighten down on the screws that hit the stud, it pulls the casing out of alignment.
I found this out the hard way, thus the need to remove the trim mentioned above - it was a steel entry door so I couldn't plane it to fit.

Another couple of tips (we have 3 rentals - I do a lot of doors):
- Don't use a power driver to tighten the screws. Hinge screws go in very snug, not tight. If you have a lot and want to use some sort of power driver, B&D makes a low powered (under 20 inch pound) electric screwdriver that's perfect for the job.
- The screws have to go in perfectly centered. If they aren't, then the lateral force generated by tightening the other screws will tear them loose.
- Use brass screws. They bend (see above about lateral forces) ever so slightly.

- Forgot one. Usually there's only one out of the three screws that won't hold. A good permanent fix for one loose screw is (don't laugh) - chewing gum. Stuff a bit in the hole and run the screw in. The other screws will hold until the chewing gum sets up. It won't work for two or more loose screws though.

[fRED mCnEILL]

Thanks for the tips. I hadn't though of cutting plugs out of plywood. Good tip.

Fred Mc.

[Peter Quinn]

Hello,

You have to be careful not to hit the stud where the door casing is mounted to. I used 3" screws. When you tighten down on the screws that hit the stud, it pulls the casing out of alignment.
I found this out the hard way, thus the need to remove the trim mentioned above - it was a steel entry door so I couldn't plane it to fit.



If the door was installed properly, the jamb was shimmed top, middle and bottom at each hinge location then nailed. In this case running long screws into the framing WILL NOT pull the door out of alignment. I have seen pre hung steel doors which included and required at least two long screws per hinge be set into the framing. Otherwise the door may sag as the weight pulls the finish nails out of the framing.

If the door was not shimmed properly the first time all bets are off unless you remove the casing and shim/nail the jambs properly.

[fRED mCnEILL]

Here is an update on the loose screw situation. This is my daughters apt. so today I drilled out the holes and glued in 1/2 in plywood plugs -nice and solid. BUT what I found was that ther door jambs are PARTICLEBOARD.

Unbelievable!!

Fred Mc

[Jason Roehl]

Not so unbelievable, Fred. It's been probably 10 years since I have seen anything but particleboard jambs. Even in nicer homes with stained oak trim packages and solid-core 6-panel doors, the jambs were oak-veneered particleboard. They're stable...

Any time I set a pre-hung door, I will shim it (3-5 places each side), nail it (below the shims), then put in 1-3 3" screws depending on the weight of the door. Most hinges on interior doors have 3 screws per side, I will pull the center screw on a hinge and replace it with an appropriately colored 3" screw, run into the jamb stud. If the door is heavy (solid core), I do that to all three hinges.

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Longer screws can remedy this situation, but I have used this plugger from LV with good results.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=32280&cat=1,180,42240,53317

Greg