Repairing or Replacing Loose Hinges

Do you have a sticky door? One that won’t close all the way? Well, doors will often stick or jam simply because the hinges are loose. Over time, normal use and the weight of the door will pull the screws out of the jamb. Simply putting in longer screws will sometimes fix the problem. Sometimes, however, you may just need to replace the hinges. Not to worry! Re placing the hinges is something you can do.

How to repair or replace loose hinges:

1. Remove the door from its hinges by unscrewing the hinges. If you have a helper, have them hold the door in place while you do this. Doors, although not typically heavy, can be cumbersome.

2. Use a flat-head screwdriver and a hammer to first drive the lower hinge pin up and out, and then the upper one.

3. Remove the door and set it aside.

4. Tighten any loose screws. If the wood behind the hinge won’t hold the screws, remove the hinges and go to the next step.

5. Coat wooden golf tees or wooden dowels with glue and drive them into the worn screw holes as far as you can. (Or, just choose a new place to drill fresh holes.)

6. Let the glue dry and cut off the excess wood with a utility knife.

7. Drill pilot holes into the new wood.

8. Reattach the hinges, using the new wood as a base for the screws.

TIPS:

• If the hinge plates are covered with paint, scrape away the paint and expose the screw heads. Remove the screws, and then tap the hinge with the hammer to knock it free.

• Instead of going to the trouble of finding golf tees or the right-sized dowels, try pushing a few toothpicks into the old screw hole and snapping them off flush. (You don’t need glue for this.) Reinstalling the screws should wedge the toothpicks in so that they’re sufficiently tight.

• Replace hinge screws with long (at least three-inch) wood screws. Sometimes these will pull a jamb back into alignment and solve the problem.

Pilot Hole

A pilot hole is a small hole that allows you to drill screws through solid wood easily and keep wood from splitting. I’ve tried to put a screw through hard wood without a pilot hole, and it wasn’t pretty. Depending on how- long your screw is, it will bend or break, kill your drill battery or split the wood. Sure, it’s an extra step, but it’s a very important extra step that will save you time, money, and frustration in the long run.

You can get pilot hole drill bits at any hardware store. They come in a variety of sizes. I typically use 1/8-inch because most screws (especially drywall screws) will work with that. If you need larger, however, they are available. Take the screw that you intend to use and hold it up to a pilot drill bit. You will want to choose a bit that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw.

How to drill a pilot hole:

1. Attach your drill bit to the drill.

2. Mark on your project where you would like the hole.

3. Take your drill and drill through the marked area.

4. Remove the drill.

5. Your pilot hole is complete and ready to receive a screw!