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How to open a jammed door?

We have a storage space under the stairs and accidentally a suitcase (I think) fell and slammed the door shut from the inside. It is now jammed so that the door can only open a crack (a little more at the top than the bottom, but still only a few centimetres). The hinges are on the inside. Does anyone have any ideas on how they would solve this problem?

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Comments

JacobZ

Hi @FeatherBlue,

That is certainly a head-scratcher.

I'm guessing there's not much depth to the room, but is a good shove at the bottom of the door out of question?

Can you remove the door handle from the outside?

If there's a decent-sized hole beneath the handle, you might be able to attach a hook to the end of a Cable Feeder, feed it through the door and hook part of the suitcase so you can shift it.

If it comes down to it, you should be able to flex the top of the door enough so that the hinge either breaks or the screws fail. Replacing a couple of hinges isn't the hardest thing in the world if it comes down to it.

Allow me to tag some of the brains trust to see if they've got any creative ideas, @Noyade, @Dave-1, @JoeAzza, @Nailbag.

Jacob

Dave-1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/51793#Comment_51793

Afternoon @FeatherBlue

Woooooo how to break in without breaking in to a room 🙂

So a couple of questions.

Q1 - Can the riser on a step (the back part of the timber step) be removed easily? And does the back of the steps have a covering on it? Potentially removing one of the risers so you can see inside the alcove area and then use a pole to move the suitcase/whatever

Q2 - Do you remember what the door itself is made out of? Forcing as @JacobZ might be an easier option for the top of the door and replacing the door if it fails.

Q3 - Do you know the shape/handle location or protrusions of the bag in question? Using a rope and one of these GRUNT 1.2m Tie Down Octopus Straps - 2 Pack over the top of the door and feed it length so it gets to the base of the door then slowly pull it back up, I find those hooks tend to catch on edgse whenever im tryingto do something with them (and dont want them to)

Q4 - Remove the door trim from stopping the door coming your way, It will overstretch the hinges but you may get more play overopening the door towards you. (use a paint spatula/thin wide flat blade screwdriver to lever the trim off door handle side (left side) ) Id start at the top of the door and work down levering gently.

Out of the options above id possibly try number 4 first.

Crossing fingers for you.

Dave

Nailbag

Yikes what a dilemma @FeatherBlue .

If you have no luck trying the ideas from both @JacobZ and @Dave-1 this one might be a consideration as a last resort.

Open up straight a wire coat hanger then bent it 90deg about 1/3 of its length. Holding the short end poke the tall end through and turn it right. Do this from the top of the opening and the bottom. This is used just to get and idea how and where the suitcase is resting against the door.

Use a 25mm hole saw and make a hole through the door in the middle of where you think the case is resting. Push a broom stick handle slowly through the hole with your right hand as you push your left hand through the door gap.

Fingers crossed you can manipulate the case forward enough to reach your left arm in and around to hold it away as you open the door.

Pull the plug out of the hole saw and use wood glue to secure it back in the hole of the door. Hold it in place with painters tape either side for a few hours. Then remove the tape and use a filler to fill the gap around the plug. Once dried, sand and paint the entire door.

Good luck!

Nailbag

JoeAzza

Hi @FeatherBlue , this actually happened at my daughters house where a large item fell at the back of the door and slamming it shut, luckily I got a thin piece of timber ( 1mtr x 2.5 cm wide piece of timber wiil do) that slid under the door and moved the item enough to open the door to allow to get my hand in around the door to move the item away to open the, might it wasn’t easy, just persevering and many attempts helped.

AlanM52

Buy a $5 dollar wi-fi camera:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007598165571.html?spm=a2g0o.order_detail.order_detail_item.3.5a40f19cCfHHbc

Similar to the one above.

I bought a few of them with built-in batteries.

If you end up with one without a battery just run it oss a power bank.

You can also buy a endoscope camera like this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006521203377.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.4.61ba76b7fW1GI5&algo_pvid=27267f06-90a4-40f2-ad7b-a5849bb06d52&algo_exp_id=27267f06-90a4-40f2-ad7b-a5849bb06d52-3&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2218871%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%7D&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21AUD%2110.19%214.79%21%21%2146.70%2121.95%21%402101effb17461879459235213e7e82%2112000038376191416%21sea%21AU%213570160852%21X&curPageLogUid=ENOy4swqWlix&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A

Happy fishing!

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