Hanging door on tilting wall

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Jmartin827

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I am trying to install a prehung door into a frame that is not square. The door I removed always shut by itself and after removing everything I now see why. There is not enough room to use shims to adjust for this. I know because I tried, I leveled the top, squared the hinge side and the door does sit fine but I don't have enough room to move the latch side jam over for the door to shut. In order to have the hinge side level I put the top of the jam tight against the frame and there is about a 1" gap at the bottom. What are my options besides tearing out the wall? Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
You really want the door to go in plumb and level. How much do you think you would have to trim the opening and or the jam to get to plumb?
 
With the door plum on the hinge side it his the jam about a .5 into it. Also when doing this method of having the hinge side level all the way down it will be very noticeable once the casing is put on because of the amount of drywall to the next wall is only an inch or two so your will be able to see the tilt. Can I put thicker hinges on the middle and bottom to push the bottom of the door out?
 
I would ether open up the rough framing on opposite corners and then shim the other two. Or shave some off the casing on opposite corners to cause the same effect. I know you are thinking about the trim making the wall look really crooked but it is crooked. You might want to use wider trim stock and cope it to fit all the way to the wall tight. That might make it look less noticeable if it’s only an inch away. Anything except level will make the door swing funky like the old one did.
 
Ok, thank you for the feedback!!! What would be the best way to get the hinge side rough frame square without disturbing too much of the drywall? (My mudding/tapping skills are not good). I'm thinking maybe using a power sander and sanding down the 2x4 at the top until that side is level? thoughts?
 
If you have a sawzall type saw that would work and a disk sander to clean it up maybe. I bought the $20 one from Harbor Freight and have been working the heck out of it for 8 months. Can’t tell you how impressed I am with it. You could plane the jam also if that would be easier its ¾ thick so you could taper it a ¼ inch without much trouble. You wont have to cut the whole side just enough to get it in plumb and then shim the rest. Sometimes I make a series of cuts about ½ inch apart and then take a chisel and chip out the stock between then finish with a sander if needed.

You haven’t mentioned the floor is it leaning with the wall or is it level?

Is your house just old and settled in or is there something structural going on causing the wall to be out?
 
The floor is level, I know because I put tile down in the bathroom when we bought the house 4 years ago. The house was built in 78 so I don't think I have any major issues. The was is leaning because of shaddy home builders in our area, I hung three other doors and all of the raw framing is pretty crappy, this time I don't have enough room to play with to make up for it. I guess it is time cut this piece out of the house and truly fix it for good. I do appreciate the your feed back and ideas.
 
Others may come along and offer some ideas if you can wait around a while. They built a lot of homes around here around that time frame and like yours they seemed to just throw them up without a level.

Glad I could help some I just happened to be hanging out today. Let us know how it comes out. Sometimes you can split the difference on something like that trim and trick the eye a little. Most of the time you will be the only one to ever notice it.

Good luck
 
There is a double 2x4 on each side of the frame. If you go over 2 1/2 inches from the opening and drive a nail in you will prove the second one is there. You can remove one, at the top cut over 1 1/2'". Cut the drywall back the inch and a half and remove that 2x4, sawsall will cut the nails or if they are exposed you can pull them with a framers nail bar (small crowbar) Take 2 2x4s and cut 4 full length wedges to make the hole square. If you pay attention to where it ends up all will be hidden with door trim. to bad about the wall looking out of level.
 
The nails on the top or bottom of the (non-load-bearing) partition may yield enough without cutting so you can hammer the wall into being plumb with a very large hammer, but the drywall corners will have to give way.
I have the same problem with my front door.

Another way to hide this is to slightly bend the hinge pins so the door binds but then you'd need to lengthen and enlarge the hinge screws or they will loosen after a short while.
 
Anytime I ever started prying and removing something like a stud like this I normally mess up the finished drywall in the process. His parallelogram doesn't need to become a rectangle he only needed to pick up 1/4 on each side on opposite corners. That's why I suggested trimming just that bit. Sometimes a stud will pop right out my luck is someone put a bunch of screws in from the back side. I think both methods will work. Not keen on the sledge hammer idea.
 
Projects are learning opportunities. If you want a door to behave, the jamb must be "plumb" (meaning perfectly vertical). Since the floor is "level" (side to side) you don't have to worry about it.

Temporarily removing the jack stud on the hinge side is no big deal. The header above the door can carry the load while you realign and/or shim the new jack stud to make it plumb.

Honestly, the drywall issue is minimal. If you don't know how to do it, here is your opportunity to learn how. As for the casing ... you might have to rip it down. Take what you can get and do your best!

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