Repairing Loose Door Hinges
Repairing Door Hinges
Recently a client in Wellesley, Massachusetts asked us to change out her bathroom door with a new door slab.
When I removed the hinges to install the new hinges I found that someone had previously had screw hole problems and drilled out the holes larger and inserted plastic drywall anchors into the hinge holes. This article is about repairing loose door hinges.
These holes needed a tune up before installing new hinges.
It took some time to dig out the plastic anchors. Many times a door will start to sag, rubbing at the top of the door, as a result of the top hinge screws becoming loose or stripped in their holes.
To remedy this problem I ripped 1/4″ strips of poplar and then whittled them into a round plug. The plugs fill the hole and give the hinge screws something to “bite” into.
Many times this approach can fix a slew of door problems like sagging, wiggling or binding.
The wood plugs are then inserted into the oversize hinge screw holes with glue and tapped snug with a hammer.
I leave them long and let the glue dry.
Once the glue dries I use a sharp chisel to cut off the plug. I then install the new hinge and pre-drill the hinge holes with a self-centering bit.
