Top Door Hinge Not Lining Up

The first is the door hinge side is out of plumb.

Top door hinge not lining up.

The ideal is a 1 8 inch gap between the door and jamb at all points. Move the hinge away from the doorstop a little and screw it back up. Unscrew the top hinge from the frame only and fill the screw holes with matchsticks. If the screws have been stripped they will not tighten in the holes and you ll need new ones.

Door is uneven at the top. If your door rubs near the top or drags on the floor use a screwdriver not a drill to tighten the screws. You are talking about the none hinge top corner. The most likely cause is that the floor is not perfectly level.

Initially we just put all the hinges in exactly but on this particular door that we were sure didn t fit we hung it one last time and pushed it hard to the side a little and it opens and closes beautifully. Mark both sides of the door. If a door binds and a loose hinge is not the problem close it until it just touches the jamb don t force it closed and use a pencil to scribe a line where the door needs to be trimmed. Tighten the top hinge to make the latch hit higher on the strike plate or the bottom hinge to make it hit lower.

Then on the hinge and door top corner put a couple shims in the same direction in and pound it in with a hammer. For the door above try simply loosening the screws from the top hinge 1 4 turn or more. When you have an uneven gap across the top of door it can be caused by two common problems. Make sure the door clears.

Lift the door up to relieve the pressure on the hinges and tighten the screws. This will leave a little gap where the hinge is in the frame like the picture below and cause the doors edge to be sticking out from the hinge side of the frame a little when it s closed. If this doesn t work try tightening the screws into the hinges at the bottom. There are two doors that rub slightly but that s just a quick sand and touch up paint away.

Tighten the screws on the hinge plate that holds the door onto the frame. Step 4 add cardboard shims between the hinges and the frame on either the top or the bottom depending on whether you need to raise or lower the door. They flex or bend during installation or when in use allowing the door to become crooked or else it won t sit. To fix this make sure your top shims on the hinge side are very secure.

In that case take the hinges from the frame. This can be easily checked with a level placed on the jamb or hinges to check if they are correct. Make sure all the screws are tight tighten the hinge screws in the door and the jamb. If the door is sagging and will not line up with the latch check the door hinges.

If it s still not fixed you ll need to try shimming the door hinge.