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Door Repair

A well-fitted door should have a long and trouble-free life. If it does start tomisbehave, the problem is likely to bethe door binding against its frame and, in extreme cases, failing to shutproperly. There are 3 possible causes: a
build-up of paint on the door and frame surfaces after years of re-painting,expansion due to atmospheric conditions - the door sticks in dampzweather as moisture causes it to swell slightly, but shrinks and closes freely in dry weather; and hinge faults caused either by wear and tear or had fitting.

Where a paint build-up is to blame,the remedy is quite simple: strip off the old paint from the door edge back tohare wood, and re-paint from scratch. If atmospheric conditions are toblame, the solution is to plane downthe door edges slightly to increase theclearance between door and frame. Youwill have to take the door off its hingesto do this unless it is only the leadingedge that is binding.

Hinge faults that can cause bindinginclude hinge screws standing proud orworking loose, and hinge recesses beingcut too deep or too shallow. In eachcase the cure is relatively simple; thebiggest problem is often trying to undothe old hinge screws, especially if theyhave become encrusted with paint overthe years. Clean out the slots in thescrew heads thoroughly before trying toremove the screws; paint remover isuseful for this. Then position thescrewdriver in the slot and give thehandle a sharp blow with a hammer inorder to help free the grip of the threadsin the wood.

HOW TO REPAIR A DOOR

1. If the hinge screws show signs of pullingout, remove them, drill out the screw holesand hammer in glued dowels. Then drillnew pilot holes.

2. If the door is sulking the frame because ithas expanded over time, close it and mark apencil line on the door face against the edgeof the frame.

3. Take the door off its hinges, remove thehandles and the latch mechanism, andplane down the leading edge of the dooruntil the pencil line has disappeared.

4. If the door is binding either at the top orbottom, take this opportunity to plane oft alittle wood there too. Plane inwards fromthe corners to avoid causing splits.

5 If the door binds on the hinge side of theframe, the hinge recesses may he roo deep.Remove the hinge and pin some packinginto the recess.

6. Drill fresh pilot holes for the screwsthrough the packing piece, and drive thefixing screws back into place. Make surethat their heads fir in the countersinks.

7. Alternatively, re-locate the hinges in anew position. Chisel out the new recessesand re-fit the hinges.

8. If the hinge recesses are too shallow, thehinge leaves will hind and prevent the doorfrom closing. Remove the hinges and chiselour the recesses slightly.

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