Browse Forums Windows & Doors 1 Oct 27, 2014 2:38 pm We have a number of wooden flyscreen doors which we removed last year for varnishing. We attempted to put one of them back up yesterday and found that, even though we had the hinges and holes all matched up, the door wouldn't close. This is as far as it will go.
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ There has been movement in the foundations since they were taken off - the external French door appears to have moved downwards about 4mm judging from the way the mushroom stop is being cut into by the strike plate - so this is probably the reason they are catching on the threshold. What to do to compensate? a) Plane the bottom of the door? b) Plane the door and sand the threshold? c) Get a good carpenter (if we can find one!) who might have a better solution? I'd appreciate advice from anybody who has been in this situation or who has had experience dealing with this. Re: Wooden screen door not closing 2Oct 29, 2014 12:58 am Hi Liliana. It's hard to troubleshoot a door by looking at a couple of pictures but I'll try and give you a couple of hints. I know the door won't close but when it's closed as far as possible how does the margin or gap look down the hinge side. Is it even or does it get wider at the top? If its wider at the top then check that the hinge screws are nice and tight and they are properly seated in their check outs. If they are and the gap remains then try swapping the hinges around. Sometimes carpenters will crank a hinge which means the hinge is actually stretched open a bit. When you've pulled the hinges off to varnish the doors you may not have put the same hinges back in the same spot. If that doesn't change things then take the hinges off the door and then put it back in the opening. Wedge it up to the top and over to the hinge side. The door should fit tight against the top and side. If it doesn't either the frame has moved or you've got the wrong door in the wrong spot. If the frame has moved then you will need to refit the door. You never touch the frame, you always fit the door to the frame. If the frame has moved significantly then I'd be investigating why. Try that first and let us know how you get on. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Wooden screen door not closing 3Oct 29, 2014 4:32 pm Hi Chippy, Many thanks for that pretty comprehensive reply. I'll work my way through your list. I'm pretty certain the frame has moved because the French door has moved down 4mm. We are on clay soil and have had issues with a number of the doors. It is the right door but may not be the right hinges. Re: Wooden screen door not closing 4Oct 29, 2014 6:16 pm One thing - have a look along "track" - look for "splinters" - bits that stick out - however big ... also get some silicon spray for the tracks - that aren't wood. Then give the wooden tracks a bit of a rub - see if there are any rough bits. You may have a minor blip somewhere. Wood can catch on almost nothing. BUT - once you do this watch out - the door will fly along. I don't mean shove a chisel in and belt it about - but slide it along to see if it hits anything - carefully. As I said - the slightest thing can rub on the wood and make the sliding harder. Re: Wooden screen door not closing 5Oct 29, 2014 6:18 pm Sorry - if the doors are relatively new - ask the installers/manufacturers - they may send someone out. It is not an uncommon problem - but easily fixed. Perhaps the track might need an adjustment. They could be Stegbar. Re: Wooden screen door not closing 6Oct 29, 2014 7:01 pm Hi Saint Mike, Thanks for the suggestion but I'm going to have to stop you in your tracks (stupid pun) - they aren't sliding doors. They weren't made by Stegbar and, unfortunately, I doubt if the manufacturer can be any help. The most likely solution is that they are going to have to be refitted given there has been ground movement since we took them down but we will try different hinges. Chippy, the margin down the hinge side is perfect all the way down so that eliminates that possibility. On another note - I did notice on a couple of manufacturers websites that KDHW doors are not supposed to warp or twist. We haven't had this problem with the screen doors but we have had it with the French doors and they are KDHW doors. So is this just hype? Re: Wooden screen door not closing 7Oct 29, 2014 9:39 pm Hi Liliana. Is it just catching on the bottom? If you stand on a chair and look at the top margin how does that look? There's obviously been some significant movement. It would be interesting to take the hinges off and put it back in the hole to see just what has moved. In my experience any timber product can have movement. Just because the timber has been dried(either natural or kiln dried) that doesn't stop it reacting to moisture in the air. The odd piece or some types of tyimber will move more, eventually causing a problem. One of the most important things to do with any door is make sure it's completely sealed after it is fitted. That means the door should be hung, then removed to make sure you get a good coat on the bottom edge. You would be surprised at just how few people do this. I carry varnish and primer to seal the bottom of doors I hang. So many times I've been asked to fit a new entrance door because the bottom of the door is falling apart. When you take it off it is invariably bare timber. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Wooden screen door not closing 8Oct 30, 2014 7:09 am My fault L - I should have studied the doors more. Quality wooden doors are meant to be very good - but things happen. The slightest movement - expansion - however small can affect the door. I took a door off for painting and put it back exactly in the same place - I thought - yet it had problems. Sometimes a slight adjustment is necessary. I well remember once when we put in new carpet having to plane the bottom of the doors - just so they could open. If you've had movement then the floor/wall/frame may have moves a tad. My front door did this in the old house. I planed the "step" down a bit and it worked. When I lay down I could see a slight rise which the door "caught" on. Good luck. My door tends to rub against the frame during winter and I'm looking to fix it so it closes smoothly. Looking online on Youtube I'm seeing methods to fix the alignment and… 0 692 Old Home Restoration / Renovation To reduce noise transfer without compromising the aesthetic of your exposed I beams, consider filling the 100mm gap between the I beams and the floor above with dense,… 6 9143 You have no photo with your post. Best I can say is to remove an A&L flyscreen don't be afraid to distort the frame almost like a trapezium. It doesn't take a lot of… 1 7071 |