How to Adjust a Door That Has Settled

Hinge Adjustment

• 1

  Determine which way to adjust the door. The gap between the door and the top jamb widens as it nears the latch-side jamb when the bottom hinge needs adjustment. The same space narrows on the latch-side if the top hinge needs adjustment.

• 2

  Place the point of the screwdriver on the bottom of a hinge pin and push up. A few gentle taps with a hammer will help if the pins stick. Remove all the pins and remove the door.

• 3

  Unscrew the hinge leaves from the door jamb with the screwdriver. Remove the bottom and middle leaves to adjust the door up, and the top and middle leaves to adjust the door down. It is rarely necessary to adjust both the top and bottom leaves.

• 4

  Trace the outline of the hinge mortise on the door jamb onto the cardboard with the pencil. Cut the outline out and place the cutout in the hinge mortise. The mortise is the space cut out in the jamb that the hinge leaf fits into. Make three cutouts to adjust the door -- two for the top or bottom and one for the middle.

• 5

  Place two cutouts in the top or bottom hinge mortise and one in the middle mortise. Punch the screw holes through with the Philips screwdriver. Place the hinge leaves over the cutouts and screw them back in place.

• 6

  Set the door back in the opening and fit the hinge leaves together. Press the hinge pins into place at the top of each hinge and check the door's alignment.

Jamb Adjustment

• 7

  Remove the pins that hold the hinge leaves together and remove the door. Slip the putty knife behind the door casing -- the wall molding around the outside of the door frame -- and gently pry it loose. Place a flat bar behind the molding and remove it completely. Remove the moldings from both the inside and the outside. Mark the side jamb locations on the wall above the door. Mark the height of the top jamb on the wall on both sides of the door.

• 8

  Cut the nails that hold the door jamb to the wall framing with the reciprocating saw placed between the door jamb and the shims that space the jambs away from the wall framing. Keep the jamb edges flush with the wall surface throughout the procedure.

• 9

  Place the two-foot level against the top of the jamb and raise the latch-side jamb or the hinge-side jamb with shims until the top jamb is level. Place the four-foot level against the hinge-side jamb to verify it is still level. Place shims between the hinge-side jamb and the wall frame near the hinges to adjust it if necessary.

• 10

  Place one finish nail though the jamb and shims into the wall framing near each hinge to secure the hinge side jamb. Check the latch-side jamb with the four-foot level and adjust with shims if necessary. Place one finish nail through the latch-side jamb and into the framing, but leave the head exposed for possible removal.

• 11

  Measure between the diagonal corners of the jamb, from the top right to the bottom left, and the top left to the bottom right. Measure the jamb pieces, not the opening. If the measurements are the same, the opening is square. If not, make adjustments to the latch-side jamb to make the opening square. Measure the distance between the latch-side jamb and the hinge-side jamb at the top and bottom of the doorway. Move the bottom the latch-side jamb in or out accordingly using shims.

• 12

  Nail the latch side jamb to the wall framing with finish nails once you are satisfied the door jambs are plumb, square and level. Place the door back in the opening on its hinges and check the door operation. Make any slight adjustments to the jambs using shims with the door in place. Reinstall the door casing with finish nails and nail the casing to the door jambs and to the wall framing. The door casings help keep the door jambs in proper alignment.