Front door issues

[TimG]

So I am having some issues with my front door.

This winter something has been shifting. I don't know if it is the door sagging opposite the hinges or the frame shifting up on the lock side.

Basically the deadbolt has become *extremely* hard to lock or unlock unless I lift the door knob up while moving the dead bolt.

I have gone in and filed down the metal lock plate by a few mm and removed some of the wood with a chisel so the deadbolt moves nice and smooth, but then within a few hours it gradually starts to feel tight again and then we're back to having to lift the door while locking and unlocking.

I have also tried tightening the top hinge but that didn't really do anything.

There are no signs anywhere else inside that the wall is shifting... No cracks in drywall seams or anything.

Any suggestions? Is my only option to keep making the hold for the deadbolt larger (I have only made it bigger by about 1 or 2 mm so far) or a I going to have to shim the lower hinge to re-angle the door?

This hasn't been a problem until this winter... Like the last 2-3 months. The house is about 13 years old.

If it makes a difference, the door is south facing and has an overhanging roof.

[codetrap]

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[AndyL]

Remove the 1 1/4" screws in the top hinge one at a time, replace with 2 1/2" long screws... 99% of the time this will cure the issue...

not that I know much about mandoors, but I've read of this issue a time or 30...

[ipeefreely]

Originally posted by AndyL
Remove the 1 1/4" screws in the top hinge one at a time, replace with 2 1/2" long screws... 99% of the time this will cure the issue...

not that I know much about mandoors, but I've read of this issue a time or 30...
+1

I had to remove my front door last year to get our new couch in and was surprised at how small the screws were! :nut:

I picked up some 2 1/2" for both my front and back doors. :thumbsup:

[TimG]

cool! i'll give this a shot and see if it solves the problem.

[Alterac]

You may need even longer screws depending on how much your door is shimmed (and how poorly it was installed in the first place, generally you try to shim the hinge side as little as possible).

I had to put in 3" ones in my front door to fix it.

[TimG]

so what's the deal with putting the longer screws in? does it allow you to pull the hinge in tighter to the frame?

[frozenrice]

The longer screws will grab onto the 2x4/2x6 stud and pull the top of the frame/hinge tighter. The shorter screws are typically only long enough to go through the jamb, but not long enough to grab onto the 2x4/2x6.

[AndyL]

As above... your shooting to screw into house framing, not just the doors 1x4 surround...

I was recently reading the manual (imagine that) preparing to replace my front door... and its actually in there, "hinge screws provided are for shipping purposes replace with screws of adequate length to reach studs at time of install"