Rehanging a door: now it won't close
 

We just finished painting a bedroom in our 1920s house, and in the process, removed the entry and closet doors in order to strip old paint from all the hardware, including the brass hinges and skeleton key locks. The doors are different widths, but the hinges appear to be exactly the same -- I measured them. They even have the same Stanley logo on them, which I initially thought meant that the hinges were not original, but upon visiting the Stanley website, I see they have been in business since way before the house was built.

Now that we are finished, the entry door does not close. (The closet door doesn't either, but it didn't before we painted.) It closed without any problems before. We DID NOT paint the edges of the door or the door jamb, so paint is not the problem. It closes to the point where there is about a 1" gap between the door and the jamb. It is hitting the top of the door opening (the lintel?) on the doorknob side -- it probably needs about another 1/16" or so of clearance to close.

There was a spacer behind one of the hinges. I tried the spacer in its original position and with it out, no luck. If I add it to the top hinge, I get more clearance up top, but then the jamb starts hitting the door. The bottom hinge is tightened up as much as it will go.

Incidentally, I did not keep the closet and entry door hinges separate when we stripped them. There are 2 hinges to each door, 2 parts to each hinge, so that's 8 different hinge halves that we mixed up. I didn't think there was going to be an issue since they all appeared identical, but now I'm wishing I had kept them separate for no reason other than I don't know what else could be the problem. The closet door had a dozen pairs of shoes hanging on it for the last 5 years, so I am wondering if those hinges were worn more than those on the entry door. Or maybe the entry door hinges are worn more because it's a larger door.

Any suggestions?

Many thanks,
Dave

You'll have to play around with the shimming to get it operating properly. As a last resort you may have to remove a little material from the door...However since it fit before, you should be able to get it without doing so.

do the doors look identical? perhaps you mixed them up? that would explain (and fix) everything!

DM

Thanks for the comments.

They definitely did not get mixed up. The difference in widths is probably about a foot. Not even close.

So am I hearing that mixing up the hinges isn't likely to be the issue?

Dave

are they all the same make/model hinges? the holes all line up the same?
i wouldn't think so if...

DM

All the holes line up perfectly. They are all Stanley hinges, and although there is no model number on them, they all look and measure the same (from the couple of measurements I took).

Dave

Try a shim (spacer) that is not as thick as the old one in the top hinge or remove a little material from the door.

that would not make sense, since the OP said he did not paint any edges that would cause it to hang up.
maybe the jamb warped or something? this is an odd one....
and the hinges are all the same? hence most likely not the problem.
hmmmmm

DM

How do you add someone to your buddy list?

left click their name and a menu will pop up. add them to contacts there.
although i'm not too sure what exactly it does!?

DM

Maybe he painted the door frame. Over time that paint builds up and eventually can cause the door to rub.
I would remove all the paint from the door frame. I doubt there's any paint on the door top or bottom. Nobody ever paints those.
If the door was in an unconditioned or moist space, it could swell. Especially if the top and bottom weren't painted.
There should be 1/8" clearance between the door and frame.
Ron

Neither the edges or the door (any of them) or the door jamb were painted. The only surface that was painted was one of the door faces.

While removed, the doors were in the hallway....about 5 feet from where they were hung. Environmental conditions were the same.

That's why I can't think of anything that has changed other than switching up the hinges. But since they are the same model, size, brand, etc., the only reason that would have made a difference is if they wore differently on one door vs. the other.

Dave

as old as they are, look for wear on the hinges. a couple COULD be worn more than others and sag a bit. maybe new hinges all around might be a good idea? also, the old hinges MIGHT be different THICKNESSES... that could cause problems....

DM

Yes, you mixed up the hinges. To fine tune a door after the install, you sometimes bend, slightly, the hinge leaf. You can also fix a self-closing door by bending the pin. They look the same but have very slight differences which greatly affects their operation. Even new hinges are different from each other. Be safe, GBAR

GBAR - Can you suggest any way of matching them back up again? Let's say I have all 8 halves laying in front of me, any idea how to identify the old pairs?

Thanks,
Dave