Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | May 11, 2011 11:17pm | #1

   Something has moved. Typically, with wood frames in wood walls, you remove one of the inner screws in each hinge and drive a long screw that reaches well into the framing. Finish nails may not hold a door frame. Each hinge should have a shim behind it to keep the jamb plumb. The strike side of the jamb should also have shims at the top corner and behind the strike plate. You can remove the strike plate and place a long screw in the corner where there is some meat and the plate will cover it.  By using long screws and adjusting the shims if needed, you can usually move things enough to work correctly, without removing anything. Make sure to pre-drill for the screws and use some screw wax. Minor adjustments can be made by placing a piece of thin cardboard under the hinge leafs.

2. 
   bduffin104 | May 11, 2011 11:26pm | #2

   Before you remove the door and jamb try taking out a couple of the upper hinge screws on the jamb and drive some 3" long throught the hinge into the framing. It might just straighten everything back up. Or make it worse, one of the two.

   Something has gone wrong with your initial installation. Those HD special doors have a very soft pine jamb which if you just used finish nails may have just woked loose or maybe the nails were too short  or the framing you nialed to was loose.

   I have installed many many doors in forty years. I've never had a door suddenly come out of alignment as you've described. However, the store bought units continue to decline in quality over the years. It is now just junk.

   I used to be able to buy good pre-hung door units now if I want a good pre-hung door I have to do it myself.

   Bret

3. 
   Jammersix | May 11, 2011 11:26pm | #3

   Seasons

   The seasons changed. It got warmer, colder, the humidity changed, and the moisture in the door and frame changed.

4. 
   zolton | May 12, 2011 07:19am | #4

   Unusual..

   It would be unusual for the jamb to move out of alignment after it is installed - especially so after foaming it in place. Once that stuff goes in the jamb is usually fixed in place. So, unless the rough framing moved, perhaps due to a strong wind storm or earthquake, the problem likely lies elsewhere.

   It sounds to me as though the hinge screws have come loose. Open the door slightly and then lift up on the edge that holds the knob. Does the door move upwards - or, more properly, tilt slightly toward the upper corner? If so, then open the door a bit more and look at the hinges at the same time you're lifting the door. You probably will see the hinges move a bit. Either tighten or replace the screws with longer ones to fix the problem and prevent it from happening again..

   Zolton

5. 
   timhorchler | May 14, 2011 09:50am | #5

   Solution

   Easier than I thought, and easier because I asked here.

   Removed top shim behind hinge.  Added 2 long screws thru hinge and into the rough opening frame and it pulled everything to my original position.  Bolts line up, door swings easy and latches great.  Just as it should.

   Thanks for  the help.

   Tim

6. 
   timhorchler | May 14, 2011 06:21pm | #6

   opps

1. 
   swenson | May 15, 2011 07:39am | #7

   FYI

   When I bought a new pre hung Stanley door for my shop I noticed that the hinges seemed to be spaced the same.  A quick measurement showed that this was true, in fifteen years Stanley was still using the same specs.  I pulled the pins from the old hinges in the old door and dropped in the new one.  New door hung in five minutes.  I took the new pre hung frame apart and added it to my scrap lumber bin to be used for other things.