Child Item

How to fix doors that dont fully open to sit flush with wall?

The doors on both bedrooms don’t fully open to 180 degrees in order to sit flush against the walls, which I believe is because of the door frames (please see photos). They are quite visually imposing and take up more space than necessary because of this. What are the best options to fix this?

Find more posts tagged with

Tools and Materials

Repairing

Doors and Windows

Accepted answers

TedBear

Hi @Almico ,

I suggest that you replace the existing hinges with broad butt hinges or Parliament hinges.

That will bring the pivot point further into the room, away from the frame and allow the door to swing back to the wall.

All comments

Noyade

"The doors on both bedrooms don’t fully open to 180 degrees in order to sit flush against the walls"

But any further and the coat-hooks and door handles will be striking the wall @Almico - ?

Almico

Hi Noyade, there is a 34cm space between the wall and the front of the door when it is fully opened. I would put a door stop in to stop the handles hitting the wall (and remove hooks if needed), but the handles and hooks aren’t any where near the wall at the moment; I have attached another photo of the hooks which might be at a better angle to show the space (there is over 10cm space between the wall and hook closest to the door hinge).

TedBear

Hi @Almico ,

I suggest that you replace the existing hinges with broad butt hinges or Parliament hinges.

That will bring the pivot point further into the room, away from the frame and allow the door to swing back to the wall.

Almico

Thanks @TedBear! I did not know these hinges existed and they look like they will definitely solve my door problem. 🙂

JacobZ

Hi @Almico,

It's fantastic to see @TedBear has already jumped in with some fantastic advice.

I think Parliament Hinges or Wide Throw Butt Hinges will be perfect for this.

Let us know how you go.

Jacob

TedBear

I'm glad to hear that it was useful information. In case you want to know, Parliament hinges are just a fancier looking hinge. They were used in the UK Parliament building to allow the double doors to be flung wide open, both for dramatic effect and to allow those wearing bulky regalia to pass through easily. The wide throw hinges will probably best suit the situation.

Almico

Thanks for that extra info @TedBear, I was curious as to why the parliament hinges had their name, and why they are the more expensive option. I’ll definitely go with the wide throw hinges!

Another two questions for you; what is the best way to determine the size needed to allow the doors to fully open? And if I cannot get a wide throw hinge with the same holes as the current hinges, I’m guessing that is going to make the job more difficult?

TedBear

Hi @Almico

Iyou need to measure how wide the hinge would need to be in order to ensure that the actual hinge pin will sit beyond the edge of the frame, into the room - just a little, so the hinge doesn't look ridiculous sticking out when the door is closed. It will then allow the door to clear the frame. Of course you'll need to buy the size that's available closest to the ideal (but not less than the width needed of course).

If you want the door to sit straight with those hooks and knob also clearing the wall then the hinges will have to be wider.

As for the holes, chances are the holes won't line up and you may even have widen the notch in the door and frame if the hinges are wider than those you have. They may be, because the load on them will be a bit more, due to the door hanging out further.

If you need to fill holes (sometimes holes almost line up, which makes things tricky) get some wood glue, matches and a hammer. Shove glue into the hole followed by matches, tightly packed, sharpen the last ones to hammer them in, then cut off with a knife or chisel. I find this enables a new hole to be drilled where there was once "half a hole". Drill those compromised holes after the hinge is held in place by the other screws that either lined up with holes or went into the wood. That will prevent the drill skewing off into the softer wood of the matches. I am assuming we are dealing with wooden frames, not steel.

Almico

Thanks so much for all of this info @TedBear, you’ve covered all my questions and things I hadn’t thought of yet!

Child Item