Dealing with a loose or sagging door can be really annoying. No one likes to hear that repetitive noise while opening or shutting the door.
This would even resist closing. And you may also damage the door and the surface if you do not fix a loose door.
How to fix a loose door that is not closing?
To fix a loose or sagging door, you can follow any of the 3 methods. The first method you can try is fixing the hinge and the position. This one might be a bit lengthy but simple. Secondly, you can also inspect the door hardware. Finally, you may put hinges a bit lower for this.
This gives you an idea about how you can do it. But reading along you can get every detail to get started with the process.
Get into the main part now!
How Do I Fix A Loose Door That Is Not Closing?
A loose door is really annoying to bear. No one actually can bear the disturbance of a loose or sagging door. And with time, the door does not even shut off.
Thus, you need to fix this very quickly! And fixing a loose door is a very simple thing. It is as easy as fixing a door that doesn’t latch.
Yes, you read that right! And no, you would not need an expert or pro to get this fixed.
If you want to fix your sagging door, get ready! I have got here how to do that. There are 3 methods you can follow. And I covered them in a few simple steps! Take a look.
Method 1: Fix The Hinge And The Gap
This method is all about fixing the hinge and the gap. Although the method is lengthy but easy. Take a look at the steps I covered.
Step 1: Take out The Hinge Nail
Look at the side of your door. You would find the hinges of your door. The hinges might be either at the right or left of your door.
You would notice 3 hinges at the top, middle, and bottom. But you would need to leave the hinges along at the bottom and middle.
Because these do not have any issues in general. And then you go straight to the top hinge of your door. The top one is the one that gets most of the actions.
And this is the one that is responsible for your door to be sagging. Now, take a punch tool, maybe a nail or screwdriver.
Then put this under the hinge and use a hammer to hit it. This would take or pull out the hinge upwards. When the hinge pops up, take it out of the hinge case.
And then you would see the door getting close.
Step 2: Fix The Position of The Door
This time you need to fix the gap between the door and the doorcase. You know there is less space for which the door does not close. For this, you need to fix this.
Take something like a credit card or anything that is thin and long. You can also use wooden shims and that would actually be better for this.
Now, take two wooden shims together and stack them at the bottom gap. And then you move them all the way up to the top. You do it to get an equal distance in between.
After that, you need to use a pump air tool for your door. If you do not have one, get it here. I got my pickups for you. Take a look.
| Product 1 | |
| Product 2 |
Hope this helps!
Once you get this, put this underneath the door. And then pump the tool to release the air. When you do this, the air would push the door up.
And due to this, the door would slowly begin to adjust its position. The gap between the door and the doorcase would start to get normal.
You would notice the gap would start increasing. But this time, you would see that the hinges are getting misaligned.
Step 3: Align The Hinges
Now, you need to align the hinges. And keep the wood shims there when you are doing it.
To align the hinges, you need a crescent wrench. You may use any type of crescent wrench for this. Then use the wrench to align the hinges.
You just have to fit in the hinges and move right or left to fix them. Take a little bit of nudging to put them in place together.
Remember to place the wrench in the right direction. If you face it to the left, it would not be correct to align those hinges. And do not be hard when doing it but be gentle.
You don’t want to put too much force and just slip off to damage your door. In that case, you would need to fix the door scratches.
Step 4: Put Back The Hinge Nail
This time you can put back the hinge nail. Just take the nail and put it on the hinge. And then you hammer with a moderate force to insert it into the hinge.
And after that, you need to take off the wood shims from the gap. Even if you do not take them off, they would just fall off.
Because when you put the hinge nail back this time, the door is fixed! Thus, the gap is normal again. And your door is no more sagging or loose to close.
Method 2: Inspect The Door Hardware
This method is about checking the door and door jamb things. To get started, you need to take your screwdriver to check the screws.
See, if every screwdriver attached to the wood or the door is fit. Then you may be finding one or two loose screws.
And that is because there is less gap which makes them loose. Take the screws and put in 2 small pointy sticks. Then try to dig and make more space for the screws.
After that, you put in the screws again to tighten them. And that should fix your door!
Method 3: Put The Hinges A Bit Lower
This is a method that is not followed very often. But you may still consider this if you want. Well, to get started, you need a pencil to mark the position of the hinges.
All you do is just move the hinges about a quarter of an inch down. And you need to mark it with a pencil before you do it.
Then take off the screws out of the cases. Now, you need a drill machine to make new holes. There you put in the screws for the new position.
But be very careful when you are drilling. Because any disruptions may even result in a hole in the door. This would not be that easy to fix in that case. And it would even disrupt the current operation though.
Once you make the holes, you need to lower the position of the hinges. You know that there is the mark where you are going to put the hinge.
Put it accordingly and see if the holes are good to go with. Then you hold the hinge to insert the screws properly.
And then you can put back on the screws again. Make sure you tighten the screws properly. Again, do not over-tighten the screws though.
Because that can damage the door jamb. Although you can repair the broken door jamb, you still need to be careful.
Thus, you need to be careful when you are screwing the screws. And that is how you can get your sagging door fixed!
These are the 3 methods that you can follow to fix your sagging door not closing. Remember that you can always take help for any issues with your door.
And if you want then you may hire an expert to look at your door. Just make sure that you do not overlook the issues with your door.
Because this can deteriorate the condition of the door. And you would eventually need to set a big budget to fix this.
But it is better to fix this type of issue myself though! Because these are very simple to resolve. Good luck!
FAQs
Can the door of my room drop a bit?
Yes, any door anywhere may drop over time. But this does not always happen for no reason. That means you either shut it very hard or use it in a rough way. But fortunately, you can fix the height of the door if this happens. And you may also take professional help for this.
Is it too hard for an amateur to fix a loose door?
No, it is not hard at all for an amateur to fix a loose door. You can do it very easily. Because you would not need to carry out anything mechanical or technical. You just deal with the door. And this would be in fact one of the easiest home improvements.
Is it the hinge that is mainly responsible for a sagging door?
Yes, it is a hinge for a sagging door most of the time. But that does not mean it is the only reason. That means there are other issues as well that lead to a loose or sagging door. And do not forget that there may be reasons like a sudden change in temperature too.
The Final Words
Now you know how to fix a loose door that is not closing! There should be no more issues regarding this now.
But remember one thing about it. You should always try to close your door slowly. That means you must not close your door very roughly or hard. This would damage your door gradually.
Good luck with your door fixation!