Working with old doors and new hinges

[Android 07]

I have bought a house and none of the doors close properly.
I could buy new doors but old doors are solid wood and new doors these days are hollow. There is also the added hassle of sizing them with an angle grinder.

The hinges were all painted over (two hinges per door ) and painstakingly I have replaced the hinges and screws. I have used these hinges :
https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinc-plated-steel-loose-pin-hinges-76-x-29mm-2-pack/41763
and these screws :
https://www.toolstation.com/twinthread-countersunk-pozi-screw/p87435

The doors still don't close! What do I do at this point ?

Should I use longer screws ( I have these at home too - https://www.toolstation.com/twinthread-countersunk-pozi-screw/p11692 ) ; is there a way to screw the hinges - e.g. the top screw stays loose and the rest need to be tightened ; should I close the old holes with toothpicks and make new holes ; should I drill pilot holes ?

The surface is painted but uneven. Should I use wood filler on top to smooth these minor bumps out and then repaint ?

Thanks.

 

[foxhole]

First of all new door are not all hollow, only cheap rubbish.You don't touch a door with an angle grinder [very strange statement].
Simply replacing hinges won't solve door binding as they can't be positioned correctly if doors bind.

Take a few pics of the doors and post them.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

There is also the added hassle of sizing them with an angle grinder.,

Yikes! Are you Frank Spencer? Oooh, Betty!

The doors still don't close! What do I do at this point ?

Firstly, can you post a photo of the hinges. I wonder if your doors might be "hinge bound". Or is it that the lock/handle side of the door is striking the jamb of the casing?

 

[Android 07]

Will get you those pics shortly. What is that tool called that you use to shave off wood from a door to make it fit? I thought it was an angle grinder.

EDIT: Oh, it's actually called a rotary saw!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Circular saw or the other tool might be a power planer (or for the more traditionally minded a hand plane)

 

[Android 07]

Here you go

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Are the hinge leads flush to the edges of the doors? Are they also flush to the door casing jambs? If so the hinges recesses are the correct depth. If they sit proud you'll need to chop the recesses out to the correct depth (sharp, fairly wide chisel and a hammer). If they sit beneath the surface level of the door or casing they need to be packed up.until.y are flush. If the screws are loose, get some matches, cut the heads off,drip OVA wood glue into the holes then hammer in the match sticks to fill the holes. Leave 24 hours to set then pare back with a chisel. Re-hang the door.

Once you have the hinges sorted if the door is still catching, the leading edge of door needs to be planed in (hand plane empower planer). You might be lucky and get away with just putting a 2mm chamfer down the edge on the door casing side

 

[Android 07]

Are the hinge leads flush to the edges of the doors? Are they also flush to the door casing jambs? If so the hinges recesses are the correct depth. If they sit proud you'll need to chop the recesses out to the correct depth (sharp, fairly wide chisel and a hammer). If they sit beneath the surface level of the door or casing they need to be packed up.until.y are flush. If the screws are loose, get some matches, cut the heads off,drip OVA wood glue into the holes then hammer in the match sticks to fill the holes. Leave 24 hours to set then pare back with a chisel. Re-hang the door.

Once you have the hinges sorted if the door is still catching, the leading edge of door needs to be planed in (hand plane empower planer). You might be lucky and get away with just putting a 2mm chamfer down the edge on the door casing side

The hinges are flush to the door and the frame. The screws are also not loose. They haven't gone in completely straight as old holes are nearby. Have I used the correct screws? Should I replace the existing screws for the slightly longer ones?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Most door (butt) hinges use something like 30 or 32mm screws, generally 4.5 or 5.0mm shafts. That's what manufacturers supply because the standard thickness of door linings and casings is 32mm. If you have longer screws you probably won't gain anything because beyond the back of the door casing will be either a void or possibly masonry - but most often not something you'd be able to get a fix into.

The other thing I missed was to tell you to ensure that the screws were in straight and either slightly below the face of the hinge or dead flush. Screws put in at a slant can have a corner sitting high which will sometimes cause the door not to close particularly if two screw heads clash.

If all these things are good and the the next thing to look at is easing the leading edge of the door with a plane or planer

 

[Android 07]

Sorry to bump this thread guys.
I have decided to buy doors from Wickes or B&Q and replace all the doors.
How much would a carpenter charge me ?

The work would involve
Going to Wickes and bringing all five doors ( or Wickes delivers )
Sawing them down to fit
Fixing door hinges
Installing door handles ( the lock & key type )

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Get them delivered. It will cost less.

The problem about quoting a price without seeing the job is that you simply csnnot factor in the unknowns. You've already said that the doors needcto be trimmed so you can swing them, but not said by how much, or how good/bad the original casings are, etc. Makes it a bit if a "how long is a piece of string" type question, I'm afraid.

If it helps I'd expect it to take 1 to 1-1/2 days, but recently I had to sort out two front door on a new build where the frames were out of square, the jambs were barrelled and to make matters worse bulkheads had been installed tight above the door frames, so adjusting the tops of the doors required doors off completely. What should have been a 2 to 3 hour job (there's a big ironmongery schedule on these doors) took just under 7 hours...

 

[ETAF]

I have decided to buy doors from Wickes or B&Q and replace all the doors.
How much would a carpenter charge me ?

probably a lot more than asking same carpenter to look at the existing doors and why/where they are jamming. Unless the Gap you have is the same size as the new B&Q door , then every New door may need to be trimmed to fit, and the locks /door handles /catches aligned and refitted

just wondered if you have asked a carpenter to come and look and quote to a) cost to fix the existing doors and b) cost to fit new doors , and tell him/her what doors you buying from B&Q

 

[Android 07]

Get them delivered. It will cost less.

The problem about quoting a price without seeing the job is that you simply csnnot factor in the unknowns. You've already said that the doors needcto be trimmed so you can swing them, but not said by how much, or how good/bad the original casings are, etc. Makes it a bit if a "how long is a piece of string" type question, I'm afraid.

If it helps I'd expect it to take 1 to 1-1/2 days, but recently I had to sort out two front door on a new build where the frames were out of square, the jambs were barrelled and to make matters worse bulkheads had been installed tight above the door frames, so adjusting the tops of the doors required doors off completely. What should have been a 2 to 3 hour job (there's a big ironmongery schedule on these doors) took just under 7 hours...

probably a lot more than asking same carpenter to look at the existing doors and why/where they are jamming. Unless the Gap you have is the same size as the new B&Q door , then every New door may need to be trimmed to fit, and the locks /door handles /catches aligned and refitted

just wondered if you have asked a carpenter to come and look and quote to a) cost to fix the existing doors and b) cost to fit new doors , and tell him/her what doors you buying from B&Q

The doors in this new house we bought are warped. Hence, I want to replace them.
What I meant about trimming the new doors is that when I buy them at the 'supermarket', they won't be the same size as the current doors and will need trimming to size. I have not asked any carpenters to come round yet. Just wanted to know a rough figure from you guys so that I can budget accordingly.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

If it is a new house (or at least one built in the last 30 years or so) the doors should all be a standard size, so you shouldn't need to do much trimming.

I've tried to give you an idea about timescale. Location in the UK has a marked difference on hourly rates (and we don't know what area you are in), but one thing is certain - I'd expect most tradesman doing this sort of thing will either quote you a fixed price or they will look to do the job in full day, or perhaps half day blocks. Doing a 1 hour job and charging for only that when it effectively stops you working for the rest of the day is not in anyone's interest.

Consider this, though, site carpentry where you can expect continuity of work and have less overheads is currently paying £160 to £200 a day (8 hours) in the North West and Yorkshire for competent guys on agency. If you have someone asking for less than that then beware!