The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
First Aid For The Ailing Houses
Should there be no space between the front and back edges and the frame, the back edge should be planed down to fit. This will require the resetting of the hinges, a job which is simpler than the resetting of the lock (which would be required should the front edge of the door be planed).
Should the door shrink so that the latch does not catch, shims of hard cardboard or thin wood can be inserted between the hinges and the frame. To permit this, the hinges are unscrewed; in returning them, longer screws should be used to make up for the added thickness.
When a door sticks by striking the outer corners, for instance, when the outer bottom corner strikes the sill or the outer top corner strikes the top of the opening, the door can be tilted by setting a shim behind only one of the hinges. When the striking is at the sill, the cardboard should be placed behind the bottom hinge; when the striking is against the top of the opening, the cardboard should be placed behind the top hinge. The same effect can be obtained by setting one hinge deeper into the frame.
Sticking is often the result of the loosening of the hinge screws. Once or twice a year, an owner can well take the time to tighten these screws, for those of top hinges will loosen under the continual strain.
The usual cause of warping is exposure to damp air on one side and dry air on the other, as is the case with an outside door or a door between a kitchen and a passage or dining room. The door should be taken off and laid in a space where it can remain for several days. The door should rest on blocks of wood or sawhorses with the dry side up, that is, the concave side. Weights of 50 pounds or so should be placed on the ends; large books, for example, or pails filled with dirt or rocks; heavy iron door stops, etc. After some days the door will straighten and should be allowed to go slightly the other way. Before rehanging, the door should be well painted or varnished, especially on all edges, to prevent entry of moisture.
When a door is properly fitted, the latch should not slip into its hole in the metal strike plate on the frame until the door presses firmly against the moldings that form the stops. Should this not be the case, the door will rattle. To cure this rattle, the position of the plate should be changed by moving it closer to the stops. As the plate is usually set into the frame, this will require cutting, which can be done with a chisel; lacking this, a pocketknife can be used. To permit the screws to hold in the new position, the old screw holes should be filled with wood pegs, glue, or wood putty.
