Hinge adjustment for a door's final fit

For finish carpenters, fine-tuning the fit of a new interior door offers plenty of bang for the buck. There’s a lot of easy gratification for little effort. The final fit mostly involves door-hinge adjustment after the painters have finished.

First, I check that the door is swinging properly on its hinges. If the hinge leaf fastened to the door is not set fully in the mortise because of paint, plaster, tape, or misalignment, the hinges will bind. This might cause the door to creak or to spring back from a closed position. If the mortise in the jamb is set too close to the stop or if the leaf on the door is not set far enough across the width, the door will bind against the stop. If this is the case, you will probably see telltale signs of scraped paint on the door where it rubs.

When adjusting hinges, I often have to adjust the location of screw holes. Rather than struggle with a hole in the wrong spot, I simply tap in a plug and drill the hole where I want it.

After I get the door swinging properly, I adjust the hinges so that there is a consistent gap between the door and the jamb. When making corrections to the gap or any adjustments to the door, I make incremental changes. Often, going forward by small degrees is easier than going back by any amount.

Secure the door to the framing

Secure the door with a long screw. Sometimes a door sags away from the hinge-side framing. To prevent this, I replace the short center screw of the top hinge with a 3-in. screw driven into the framing. Sinking this screw often changes the gap at the top and the opposite side of the door.

A proud hinge might creak or bind

Fine-tune the mortise for a good fit. A hinge leaf that stands proud of the jamb face can prevent a door from operating properly. Remove the screws to reveal the mortise. If the hinge leaf and the mortise were not aligned so that the hinge leaf fully seated in the mortise when the screws were driven, there will be a compression mark from the hinge. With a utility knife, carefully cut along this line to expand the mortise. Use a sharp chisel to remove the wood waste and to clear any paint, tape, or wood debris that might keep the hinge from seating fully in the mortise; then reattach the hinge.

Adjust the gap by bending the hinges

Open the hinge-side gap by spreading the hinges. I’ve seen shims used behind the hinge leaf to adjust the gap, but bending the hinge takes less time. I can widen the gap in small increments. Remember that when the gap is adjusted on one side, it affects the gap on the other side as well. Place the butt end of a nailset between the hinge leaves up against the pin eyelet, or hinge knuckle. When the door is pulled toward the closed position, the nailset spreads the leaves and widens the gap. This technique puts a lot of force on the hinge, so go slowly to avoid damaging the hinge or bending it too far.

Close the hingeside gap by bending the knuckles. Set an open-ended adjustable wrench, also called a crescent wrench, just larger than the size of the hinge knuckle. Remove the hinge pin, and bend the door-side knuckles toward the door handle. This will close the gap. Go slowly. A difference of 1/16 in. is easy to notice.

A binding hinge might require wood plugs

Correct offset screw holes. Sometimes, the mortise is in the right place, but the hinge wasn‘t set properly at the factory. This can cause binding or gaps along the doorstop molding.

To adjust the screw-hole locations, I whittle plugs from poplar. Poplar is a common hardwood for paint-grade trim material that holds the threads of a screw. Size the plug to fit snugly with a few hammer taps. Don’t overdrive it and crack the door.

Trim the plugs flush with a chisel. There is no need for glue. Friction holds the plugs in place when I drill new screw holes in the correct locations.