December, 2005, I replaced our double doors at the front entrance with a single with sidelights. Should have been a pretty straightforward project. Problem was, December days are short here, and it can get cold, (and my FIL helper is getting a lot older and is more moral support than helper these days.)
Also, the new 36″ Mahogony door with sidelights weighs about 400,000 pounds.
So I hung the frame in the opening, nice and plumb and square. Put the monster door on the hinges, and it sagged a little. So I tried to adjust/shim to get the gaps around the door even, and so it would close properly. Anyway, had to settle for “close enough, we’ll fix it some other time.” Needed to get it buttoned up to keep out the weather. So what if it touched a little while closing?
So. yesterday was that “some other time.” I pulled out the door, scraped all the spray foam off it, padded the RO so there wasn’t so much room between that and the frame. Levelled the bottom of the RO so I didn’t have to shim the door. And since I’m smarter this time, I figured I set the whole thing with the door attached, so it wouldn’t sag.
Got it all pretty plumb and square, but I could NOT get the door to close without hitting the frame first. I racked the frame every which way, no improvement, so I settled for plumb and square. I fiddled with shimming hinges, mortising hinges deeper, everything. It still bumped the frame in the same place.
Finally had to get out the power planer, and take about 1/32″ or a little more off the edge in a few spots.
So this thing has been bugging us for almost two years. I finally get the time and motivation to fix it, spend an afternoon working on it, and it comes out the same. Could have used the planer 2 years ago, but I was really hesitant to start shaving a nice mahogony door. Until yesterday.
Well, it wans’t a total waste of time. I made some minor improvements on the RO which no one will notice but me. But, I’m happier now.
Maybe I’ll even get it trimmed in the next 2 years.
Pete Duffy, Handyman
Replies
With real heavy doors like that, I'll generally mortise the top hinge almost a sixteenth deeper, and the middle one a thirty-second. Still, its an inexact science, so planer, belt sander, palm sander, and hinge-tweaking are for fine-tuning. Your projects sound like mine - customer projects come first, I get to mine when I get to them.
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
And a couple of extra long screws in the top hinge right throught the jamb into the framing...................[email protected]
I have found that the screws ( when I can actually get 16" screws) scratch the he77 out of the sidelights. :0Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
Just be a little more careful next time and try and center those screws in the sidelites !! :)Live by the sword, die by the sword....choose your sword wisely.
lol............mmmmmmm, yaeh, might be a problem![email protected]
Just fixed a sagger with a couple of 2" screw into the door, the jamb side of the hinge was fine, tight as secure, the door itself was pulling off the hinges .
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
The top hinge was already pretty deep, middele a little deep, and the bottom almost flush.
This was a prehung unit with sidelights, so using long screws on the hinge side is limited by the thickness there. I used long ones on the sidelight frames where I fastened to the RO framing.
Didn't want to hear what the wife would say if a hinge screw came poking out the sidelight frame.Pete Duffy, Handyman
Pete,
You didn't mention what hardware you used to fasten the jamb or if you pulled the stop off first. Heavy doors need big screws through the jamb, under the stop. I would drill and countersink the jamb for two #10 or #12 screws, next to each hinge, before attempting to shim and set the jamb in the RO.
Edit: I like Eric's idea too. Either way, the door isn't going to sag.
Edited 11/4/2007 11:04 am ET by Hudson Valley Carpenter
and i thought it was just me...
I spend a ton of time on hang'n doors... mostly 8ft 3' just did a set of 8ft 32" doors used 5" bearing hinges... used all the tips from here and FHB... like shim the jam first get the hinge side of the jam as close to perfect BEFORE ever setting the jam ect... four 5" bearing hinges on each door help alot... the long screws allow you to pull & tweek... on cheaper hinges i can tweek the hinges some to get where i want... but these were stainless and i was pretty sure tweek'n was not an option on this...
another reason I have no clue on time involved... i often spend 4-6 hours building a jam hanging & fitting a door & trim...
p