As part of my whole-house remodel (gutting the house to the studs), I’ve installed new doors on the kids’ bedrooms. The solid-core doors came with rounded hinges, so I used my Rockler spring-loaded chisel to square out the hinges, then a hand chisel to finish it off.
The problem is when I push one of the doors all the way shut, it immediately opens back up a few inches. I assume it’s something with the way I chiseled out the hinges; perhaps the hinges are too recessed at the front of the hinges of the frame, and that’s pulling the door open? Rather than starting from scratch in troubleshooting, I thought maybe someone with experience could immediately recognize the issue. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
Replies
This sounds like a "hingebound" door. There are a few causes and a few solutions.
The door may not be beveled. Check to see if the edge of the door is square to the face.
If you have a plane you can bevel the edge a few degrees and that should help.
Otherwise you'd have to adjust the hinge mortices. If the door has enough room on the strike side you can shim the edge of the hinge on both the door and jamb (if necessary).
Or, you might have to mortise the hinges slightly deeper on the stop side of the recess.
Another option is to tweak the knuckles of the hinge leaves. This may be troublesome if you don't have the tools.
Hope that helps.