My basement exterior door will not close properly and looks like it is not square. Any good guides available for the best way to reshape it? Thanks!

 

That's hard to answer without seeing the door. Do you have a newer prehung exterior door- the type that has a wide aluminum threshold, and a steel door? And is there a gap above the door on the latch side, and it's hitting the frame as it comes closed? If so, you probably just need to put a couple 3" long screws through the hinge of the frame into the studs to pull the door back up where it will be square again.

If you have an older door frame, with perhaps a wooden door, and the door itself is starting to sag, where the joints start coming apart, then you likely need to take the door off it's hinges, apply glue to the joints, rack the corners until it is square again (bar clamp diagonally across the door from corner to corner) and then clamp the door together until the glue is dry.

 

Thanks for replying! It's a newer (okay 8 years) prehung steel door. So I should put 3" screws through the existing holes in the hinges?

 

Yes, you will probably only need to put one screw in to fix this problem. Remove one of the jamb-side hinge screws from the top hinge, preferably one of the two that are closest to the weatherstripping. You will replace it with a long 3" screw that will reach the studs. (I use the T25 torx-drive screws since the heads won't strip like a phillips screw might). Just tighten it down as tight as you can get it, and close the door. It should have improved measurably. Add one to the middle hinge if needed, but don't tighten it too much or it may be counterproductive.

In the event that the door is in a masonry opening with NO STUDS around it, only cement blocks, you will need to drill a pilot hole with a hammer drill and use a cement screw... For that, I'd recommend a 1/4 x 2 3/4 tapcon (#3 phillips drive).

 

Thank you for that tip. I had to run two 3" screws in at the top to get it completely done, but it worked like a charm. Since the screws originally holding it in were maybe 3/4", no wonder the door was sagging.

That was a great tip. I thought I had a lot of work ahead of me. Thanks again.

Joe