Reader Question: Interior Door Keeps Closing. What can I do?
0 Comments | Posted by armchairbuilder in Fix it!
If you’ve spent any time at ArmchairBuilder.com you know we are here to give builder tips and secrets when building and remodeling your home. But we’re also here to answer your questions on existing home repairs. Sometimes it helps to get an opinion from an experienced builder. Not only have we built hundreds of homes, but we’ve made thousands of repairs as well. And one other major benefit to asking us…our goal is to get the repair done as cheaply as possible. Recently we had a reader ask a good question about interior doors…
Sam asks…I am having a hard time keeping a bathroom door open. I am looking for a magnetic door catch with a short arm, or something of that nature. The door opens up to the side of the bathtub so I need something that I can attach to the tub (porcelain) with construction adhesive.
Sam doesn’t have much space between the door and the tub so it’s necessary to have a very short arm on the door stop…which has proven to be difficult to find. But rather than go out and spend money and time on a door stop and then spend time to drill through the porcelain to secure it (glue probably wouldn’t hold up), we let Sam know about an age old builder trick.
Problem: Sometimes interior doors just won’t stay open…and not necessarily just because of big breezes when the windows are open. Sometimes, interior doors will close on their own either because they are slightly out of alignment or the wall may be a little out of plumb. Of course a magnetic/mechanical door stop will hold the door completely open, but what if you want the door to stay partially opened? Or what if you don’t have space for a traditional door stop?
Builder Tip: One option for repair is to remove the hinge pins and put a slight bend into them. This creates a bind in the hinge that will create enough friction to keep the door partially open in most cases. The bend can be created by placing the hinge pin in a vice or by using two channel lock pliers. Don’t go too far with the bend. Take it slow…you may need to go through several tries to get it just right. This solution may not work when the windows are open and big breezes come through, but it can definitely help in calm conditions.
Sam sent us a follow-up message to let us know how it worked, Did the bending of the hinge pin. It worked. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
No problem Sam…glad we could help.
