I recently attempted to hang an angled door that is under a stair run and didn’t really stop to think. I pulled out the hinge mortising jig and routed for hinges on the long side of the door and jamb. When I attempted to hang the door, wow, guess what? The long point of the angle will not allow the door to swing closed-even with radical back cutting of the top of the door. Must all doors with an angle at the header jamb be hinged on the short side in order to swing? Anyone with experience in hanging doors under stairs or other application with similiar angles please advise.
Jeff
Replies
Took me a minute to visualize your description, but I see now what you mean. And I believe your second guess is correct, that the door would have to swing from the short side. Any thickness of the door at the long point, behind the outside face of it, will cause interference with the jamb as it swings. Your door, hinged on the long side, will fit in only two cases ... all the way open, and all the way shut, but nowhere in between. I don't recall the exact instance, but I think I learned this lesson the hard way on a job somewhere long ago.
you could probably make this work if you cut the tops level, I mean, say you have a 2' door, shape the top so it slopes up 1', then cut it level from there. That , and a wider gap between the door and jamb, should do it.listening for the secret.......searching for the sound...
Yea, that rings a faint bell here too.
All the understair doors I have seen have a flat not a point at the long side. If the point is a must ,hang the door opened and beltsand or plane the inside face at a 45 degree angle until the inside of the point can clear the jamb. I don't think you'll have to go lower than the thickness of the door(1 3/8"?). Leave as much as possible towards the outside face. Think of this as the same situation as a door edge being beveled so that the interior face corner clears the jamb because it swings in a larger radius than the exterior. Only this is more severe due to the tighter swing radius. Hope this helps. Steve C
Not sure if your door is irreplacable or it must be hung on the long side, but if so, maybe you can find some articulated hinges that might help.
Jake Gulick
Lateapex911@aol.com
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
If you bevel the edge of the door sufficently, it will work as you have set it up. The only real problem will be at the handle where you will need absolutely minimum possible bevel to ensure the latch mechanism has sufficent support while allowing enough clearance. If you draw a top view full size, you can measure the required bevel and clearance combination to make it work.
The top of the door needs to a quarter section of a cone so when it rotates around the hinge pin it will clear the jamb.
I bet Joe Fusco could do the math.
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am a trained professional!
Yep, you have to bevel the crap out of the "peak" to make it work, less at the bottom. If you want to make it look nice you have to "roll" the bevel from radical to regular. A belt sander works nicely. I've set alot of closet doors next to sloped ceilings where I wasn't too worried about what it looked like from the opposite side. I would dread having to try the same thing on a passage door and probably triple my price for installation.
Gordsco