Submitted by Dontknoworcare2 t3_y5gexa in DIY
I have a wrought iron front door with welded hinges. It was installed properly but my house has settled and now the door sticks when opening and closing. The only video online I could find was not helpful for fixing the problem. Any idea how to adjust the hinges so the door will stop sticking?
Easiest way to do it is with a hinge straightener/bender tool. Here in Sweden you can get them everywhere for under 10 bucks but idk about the rest of the world
Here are some pictures of what I'm dealing with. https://imgur.com/a/qledd6U
Is this a Pinky's iron door? Your hinges aren't sagging, the frame is out of square. The way to fix it is pop off the trim on both sides, pry up the hinge side of the jamb, put an 1/8" to 3/16" shim under the hinge side jamb to square it up then put it back together.
Is the door sticking on the frame or is it where the latch and striker meet? From your photo it looks like the latch is low on the striker. It also looks like the knob has slid down a bit from the paint around the escutcheon. If it is the latch try loosening the knob and lifting it up, or remove the striker and use a file to enlarge the hole.
The latch and striker. I have checked about adjusting the handle but it's fine and won't move up or down after being loosened. I have also enlarged the hole but no luck. I'm reluctant to enlarge it more as I will be cutting into the steel frame and not just the strike plate.
The door doesn't look crooked in the frame and the hinges don't look worn down. But if theres room at the top of the frame, you could lift the door by putting washers between the hinge parts. The decorative finials may be threaded into the hinge pin and need to be removed. But then the whole door should lift off of the lower part.
That's what I thought but those caps are welded into place. They won't unscrew or pry off. I had someone come out and fix it the last time this happened but I wasn't home to watch what they did and my wife only paid half attention. It just costs $600 to have them come out because it's iron and they can charge that much.
Put a thick screwdriver or metal bar under the door (on the latch side) and attempt to close the door on it. Lift up on the bar as you do it. Each time you force it will raise it up slightly. Basically prying the latch side up. Use sudden movements, not slow and gentle.
It's either that or lower the strike plate.
She said it was fixed within a few minutes and they never took the door off the hinges.
Looks like the hinge side needs shimmed up 3/16" or so.
Can the trim be removed? If so, attempt to square and plumb up the frame as much as possible. Bending the hinges on this door system should only be attempted as a last resort.
…or the latch side needs to come down. Can you figure out how the jamb is attached to the house? Before trying to bend or shim the hinges I would try to understand the work required to fix it correctly (that is, rehang the door).
Not sure how loose the hinges are, but you might be able to wrap a wire hanger around the hinge pin to lift the door vertically.
A diagonal cable stay with a turnbuckle from the top hinge side to the bottom latch side might be able to tweak the door slightly if it's no longer perfectly square.
Consider trimming back the contact area to reduce rubbing.
There's no slack in the hinges at all. I just posted some pictures of what it looks like.
Ok I misunderstood the door type. Seems like the frame is no longer square, too high on the latch side. Not sure how the frame is installed, but the hinge side needs to be shimmed vertically.
Shim the backside of bottom hinge out with a layer or 2 of a soda can. A few thou out at the bottom should rock the top corner back in.
You could hammer a wedge under the door to force it up a bit. Just make small adjustments to see if it works
The door needs to be moved rightward, get a block of wood and a small hand sledge and bang the whole hing set over to the right about a millimeter. (Both hinges) that should move the whole door and hinges rightward fixing your issue. May take quite a few wacks if the metal is strong but they don't look overly heavy duty.
It's a janky solution, but you might want to consider moving the strike plate down rather than trying to adjust the door frame.
You're going to have to dress the corners of the door and/or the frame with an angle grinder. Relieve them a bit so they don't touch.
ETA: or the flats, as the case may be. I've never seen a door like that.
muckpucker t1_isjiedx wrote
Big ass crescent wrench to bend the top hinge leafs over a little.