How to Brace Sagging Doors Yourself

After a door has been opened and closed thousands of times, the screws that attach the hinge leaves to the doorjamb can loosen, causing the door to sag and bind. If this has happened to one of your doors, first make sure these screws are long enough to extend through the jamb into the trimmer stud behind it. The screw should penetrate it by 1 1/2 inches.

You might need to replace screws that have worked loose. One old trick is to fill the screw hole in the jamb with toothpicks or wood matchsticks and glue, giving the new screw something to bite into. But on heavy exterior doors, you need something more substantial, such as a length of hardwood dowel. You don’t even have to remove the door to make the repair.

Start with any of the hinges, but work on one at a time. A tapered shim wedged between the floor and outside corner of the opened door will keep the door in place while you make the repair.

To remove a stripped screw that won’t back out, work a thin blade beneath the edge of the screw head and pry gently while you turn it with a screwdriver (wear safety glasses). With the screws out, flip the hinge leaf out of the way. Drill out the holes with a bit the same size as the dowel, in this case three-eighths of an inch.

Cut the dowels slightly shorter than the depth of the hole and coat them liberally with yellow carpenter’s glue before tapping them into place with a hammer. Although yellow glue sets up quickly, it’s best to let the dowels sit for an hour or two before you drill new pilot holes and drive in new screws.

If you use traditional wood screws (those with tapered threads and a thicker shank near the head), you should use a matching tapered bit so the shank doesn’t bind in the hole. Or, drill two holes, one for the threaded portion of the screw and a larger pilot for the shank. A dab of wax will make it easier to drive the screws.

Use large-diameter screws (12 or 14). Steel screws are strongest, but use brass if it matches the hinge. Brass is soft, so drive steel screws into the hole first to cut the threads and then replace them with brass screws. Avoid drywall screws. Their thin shanks are brittle.