Remove an impossible screw from door hinge/frame

Hey all,

Really hoping some of you can give me some fresh ideas on this one.

I need to remove and replace an old (probably 30+ years) spring door hinge from my apartment front door. However, there is 1 screw holding the hinge wing to the door frame that I cannot for the life of me get to come out.

The screw is spinning freely, however does not seem to be getting any bite at all. I can spin it forever in either direction to no effect. However, it also cannot be simply gripped and pulled straight out so something is holding it in. The door frame it is screwed into is metal, I would guess aluminum but I suppose it could be steel.

Some (ineffective) things I have tried:
- Using a screwdriver! Duh
- Pliers of various types to grip the screw and pull it out. (The screw is too flush to the hinge to get nearly enough grip.)
- Pushing a screwdriver under the edge to apply outward pressure/prying while unscrewing (In spite of the increased pressure, the screw still just spins.)
- Just prying the whole hinge wing to rip the screw out with it (There is some kind of an overlap in the door frame where the hinge is locked in, so the screw has to come out first.)
- Drilling deeper into the screw to create a better grip. (The screw just keeps spinning, can't drill.)

The only idea I've thought of but not tried is just sawing through the whole thing with my Dremel, but... this would annoy my whole apartment building since I would basically be in the hallway trying to do this, and my rotary tool probably isn't strong enough to saw through the fireproof spring hinge to get to the screw anyway.

Help? Please?

 

Sounds like a threaded insert that was mushroomed on the inside of the frame to anchor the insert. Possible some one over torqued the screw and loosened the threaded insert. The insert is a tube with internal threads. Since any approach I can think of will destroy the hinge and hole in the door frame, is this your property? If not get the owner to fix.

 

It IS my property, co-op apartment here in NY. I have no trouble believing that "someone" - like an old, subpar super - did something like overtighten a screw and mess something up. I had to google about this threaded insert you mention... so I gather it's possible that the screw goes into that insert, there's good grip between them, but the insert itself is just floating in space on the inside. That could explain why the screw spins freely both directions, but does not come out or tighten.

How would I go about dealing with this? How would I verify if this is the situation before destroying anything? (lol)
What kind of damage are we talking, in terms of repairs?

 

I would use an oscillating saw with a metal-cutting blade, assuming there's enough room to slip the blade between the hinge and wall so that it cuts the screw. Should only take a couple minutes and as long as it's not too early or too late in the day don't worry about the neighbors.

Another more destructive way would be to slip a pry bar under the hinge and just use force and leverage to rip it out. If the sleeve is plastic it might give before the wall does and leave little damage.

 

If you have an impact wrench with a bit that fits the head of the problem screw, try putting pressure on the backside of the hinge wing, using the claw of a claw hammer, while trying to remove the screw with the impact wrench. Put some never-seize behind head of screw to lesson its resistance. May need a second person. Another possibility is to remove the door trim from the hinge side inside the apartment. Remove the drywall/ plaster, at the hinge location from the door frame back to first wall stud. Hopefully this exposes the threaded insert. Using vise grips, grab the threaded insert as gently as possible and try removing the screw. Again an impact wrench is best. If the threaded insert spins, increase grip on vise grip. Be careful as it doesn't take much force to distort the threaded insert. If successful, repair wall and reinstall door trim. Install hinge with 1 less screw unless you can find a replacement.