Doors – Our door won’t close, is it a sagging door or a misplaced strike plate

doorshingeslock

We moved into a house with a custom wooden door and surrounding frame, the door is very heavy and has four hinges.

The door won't close properly unless I lift it up and on hot days this doesn't work.

Observations:

  • The hinge side gap is symmetrical top to bottom
  • The top gap is ~3/16th lower on the lock side
  • The door does not rub on the floor or the frame
  • None of the hinges seem sunken or loose from the frame
  • Both strike plates are ~2/16-3/16th higher than the lock

Things I've tried:

  • Hand tightening all of the hinge screws
  • Replacing a screw with a 3" in the top hinge
  • Bending the leaves on the top two hinges

What should I try next?

  1. Moving the strike plates down
  2. Adding shims to the two bottom hinges

#1 seems easier but the door will still sag and it will leave a visible cut out in the frame

Any other ideas?

Best Answer

How old is the house? If a newer home, uneven shrinkage in the floor framing may be the culprit. It seem rather than rehanging the door it may be best just to grind the hole in the strike lower rather than having a notch show where the strike is lowered. If you don't like the gap at the top, then resetting the jamb is the way to go, other than raising the door on the hinges and trimming the top.

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