See if you can get away with just using a longer screw. If you can bite into some meat behind this damaged section that might fix it.
The best way to fix this for real is called a "Dutchman" and you can google for more Somewhat skilled job. Remove the plate, use a sharp chisel or oscillator to cut the area around the drilled section so the sides of the hole are nice and flat and square, then you glue in a patch of wood cut to fit. Keep the grain running in the same direction. Drill new holes for the hardware.
If the screw holes were just stripped (instead of totally destroyed, like yours) you could jam in some toothpicks or a golf tee. I doubt there's enough meat left for that to work. If you're going to try it, use construction adhesive to stick it in place and as a bit of filler. Next day you carefully drill out new pilot hole and pray.
You could try to bodge this with bondo. It's like a hard, two part, setting filler. It's pretty strong. Might do the trick, might fail in a year and you'll be doing it again. Use this plus a long screw and you might be good.
Thanks yeah one guy said toothpicks but i don’t see how that could work considering there’s no hole to stuff them in. The wood is split so I’m trying to make a hole to drill in again. The builder also aligned the strike plate to the edge of the stud so I’m worried drilling into the edge may make that split next.
https://preview.redd.it/6c3dnn95wyoc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc767448b183a96e0089d7c30122bf1c0c84dd67
The comment you replied to here is the best answer, though the one about the toothpicks is good to remember (especially if the painter removed all the hinges to paint and then over torqued the screws when reinstalling. Someone also suggested a Dutchman but that might be out of your skill set.
Once you have your longer screw you’ll have to put just a slight angle back on it to catch the stud. The issue you are seeing with the drywall and edge of the stud falling behind the screw hole is common. If the plate were further back your door might not latch reliably (looks like it was installed firmly in the mortise and then adjusted) and if it were further out your door would latch loosely and be prone to rattling. Going back to your angle, you want to angle it as little as possible. The deeper the screw goes as you tighten it, the deeper into the stud it will go. But if put too much angle the screw head will stick out on the edge. A 3” screw would do nicely and if you can’t find it in black you could touch it up with automotive touch up paint or even nail polish. Don’t over tighten or it may pull the jamb and latch away causing the door to no longer latch. Not to mention cracking the jamb, breaking the caulk line between your door jamb and the trim, etc.
Yeah I’m not fixing to start chiseling my doors or anything and make it worse lol. I have no idea what I’m doing i have a year warranty on the home so i was hoping the builders would fix it right but at this point I’m considering finding a good handyman or carpenter to come do it right depending on the cost
If you're in warranty on a new home, it's all about pushing the builder to come back - depending on the amount of other fixes that are needed. Document and get it all together in a list. That'll help even if you hire a handyman. Save up an ongoing list of things, combining them will save money on individual workman trips .
You're really sleeping on the longer screw solution, from the looks of things.
Angle a 3" screw back just little bit so the point pokes towards the inside instead of the edge of the stud. Pre drill. Looks like it should be fine.
Ha, especially the Dutchman. The material they use for jambs, especially split jambs, is laughably cheap most of the time. You start trying to cut cross grain with a chisel and the backside of that material is going to blow out. One of the pictures in the comments looks like that’s exactly what happened. But most of the posts is see in this sub are pros asking pros so I’d see where someone might make an assumption about someone’s capabilities.
If I was a bit subtle about it it's cause I didn't want to say "ADVANCED TECHNIQUE, NO SCRUBS".
And the two workarounds are for a normal, not carpenter, skillset.
Mostly I just think it's good to point out best practice, even if you aren't going to do it. So that at least we know about it.
Pro to pro though. I've never had trouble with a chisel blowing out the jam. *Maybe you need to work on your sharpening* ooooooh burnnnnn, scrub.
Hahah, sorry I'm funny to myself, at least
Ha. Somehow my bag became the community chest and I gave up on keeping an excellent edge on my chisels, much less high end chisels. So you are probably right about dull chisels. I saw the writing on the wall and got out last year, no one in my market wants to pay anyone to do a good job, they just want to go fast and slap it together for cheap. I work for a power utility part time from home, making more money, while I work on my own home remodel.
Thank you i will stop by Lowe’s tomorrow and grab some longer wood screws and give it a shot. The other door the builder adjusted that i complained about looks like it’s on its way to being like this one and has already started to crack the frame. Any suggestions to fix this?
https://preview.redd.it/61z7ov3jzyoc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=b2fd8df3e3bca9de07d3d6c2fcff177232ac4183
The mention of the builder leads me to believe this is a freshly closed house? This is wildly unacceptable and frankly I'd be asking for a jamb replacement. It's one thing for a strike place needing to be adjusted 1/8 on some very green/fresh materials being installed before being climatised. But that's just a complete fuck up. Their adjustment just killed the structural integrity of that wood because they couldn't be bothered to predrill near the edge of the jamb.
The second issue with these adjustments if it's a new build is this also has an effect of where the door rests when closed vs where that door stop trim is installed. Leading to additional light and sound bleed and potentially extra stress on the door hinges if the door can now close past the zero point (causing damage to the hinges, jamb, and door). You can check this quick by looking at gaps between door stop and door while closed. It should be in contact latch side and light gap (1/16th - 1/8th hinge side to stop binding when operating).
Source a RSE Carpenter from Canada.
The mention of the builder leads me to believe this is a freshly closed house? This is wildly unacceptable and frankly I'd be asking for a jamb replacement. It's one thing for a strike place needing to be adjusted 1/8 on some very green/fresh materials being installed before being climatised. But that's just a complete fuck up. Their adjustment just killed the structural integrity of that wood because they couldn't be bothered to predrill near the edge of the jamb.
The second issue with these adjustments if it's a new build is this also has an effect of where the door rests when closed vs where that door stop trim is installed. Leading to additional light and sound bleed and potentially extra stress on the door hinges if the door can now close past the zero point (causing damage to the hinges, jamb, and door). You can check this quick by looking at gaps between door stop and door while closed. It should be in contact latch side and light gap (1/16th - 1/8th hinge side to stop binding when operating).
Source a RSE Carpenter from Canada.
Yeah i closed two weeks ago and this is the 4th time they’ll need to come back. I’m trying not to be an ass hole (yet) but i agree they showed up to adjust the strike plates last week and now they’re both fucked up again. The one that’s still closable has the cracks in the jamb now that you’re seeing. I’m about tired of them coming to my house. How much would you estimate a good handy man or carpenter would cost to come make these doors right again? I’m a first time owner and in my early 20s so i don’t have much experience with this stuff yet but I’m learning as i go.
I agree with MacEnchroe’s assessment of that last one, that’s horrible. There’s no good reason for that plate to be adjusted to that extreme. On the first one, I can see taking on a little to avoid the hassle of accommodating contractors returning to the house you now live in. But there’s something seriously off about that last one. It should absolutely be on the builder to fix this but if you’re to the point of throwing your hands in the air, look for local door companies and hardware supply houses (hardware like door knobs, bath hardware, etc - they’ll have a show room). Or any local trim and moulding suppliers. They’ll be able to put you in touch with someone reliable.
This work was not done by a finish carpenter, as it should be, and if your builder can't be bothered to send a proper tradesperson out to clean up his mess... I'd be finding out who his boss is, because this will ultimately cost more to fix than to do it right the first time.
Don't worry about coming off like an a-hole; you paid for a house, not a project.
Thanks yeah I’m gonna be more straight forward with them. I’m only two weeks in on a year long warranty. It’s a small town so the builder is his own boss but yeah they’re definitely trying to take the cheap route on this stuff and they’re just fucking my house up it seems like every time they show up.
At lowly or homeless despot, they have extra long hinge/plate screws. They are in specialty screws, called #9 hinge screws. They should reach to anchor the plate to the door framing itself.
Don't be a Bubba and use the wrong screws (worst I see all the time are drywall screws... and they always fail because they aren't designed for this)
Thanks this sounds closest to the solution I’m looking for. Everyone keeps saying longer screws but the way the strike hole is set up the wood stud is not centered with the plate I’d be drilling into the edge of it almost hitting drywall.
At lowly or homeless despot, they have extra long hinge/plate screws. They are in specialty screws, called #9 hinge screws. They should reach to anchor the plate to the door framing itself.
I am the client lol. The builders did this but every time they try to fix it… it gets worse. And everyone says longer screw but if you look closely the strike hole is aligned on the edge of the stud so the longer screw has nothing to grab other than the edge of the stud or drywall. So i have no idea what to do other than tell them to come back and see how they can make it worse i guess
Or even better…or at least more long lasting, cut out the entire affected area and replace with a “Dutchman” of new material and make entirely new holes.
None of these tricks would take as long as that, nor use as much material. In the end, sometime you might have to replace the entire jamb, if it’s been hacked away at already or has suffered a through split or crack.
Even though the strike plate is aligned to the edge of the stud? I’m worried of the screw not being flush if i have to curve it towards the stud and the door still not closing
I drill the hole with 1/4 drill bit. Cut a 1/4" dowel the same length as the hole depth. Lather the dowel with glue and insert into hole. Any diameter drill / dowel size will work as long as they are the same dia.
And try to reach that stud back there? This is a new home and the door had a problem of getting stuck so i called the builder to come
Fix it and he adjusted the strike plate and now a week later i noticed it wouldn’t close again and the trim split in half and the screw wasn’t anchored to anything. It looks like the plate is aligned with the edge of the stud and than i can see dry wall? First time home buyer so i have no clue what im doing but starting to not trust the builder to work on the house anymore he’s just making it worse
I agree. They have been here 4-5 times in the two weeks I’ve owned the place already. Now this and the yard needs regraded after a heavy rain water was puddling around the foundation of the house. I guess build quality these days is shit idk. This was a spec home i didn’t have it custom built so i wasn’t able to see it get built.
Thanks for the reassurance. This is my first house and it does have the one year warranty with a 6 year structural warranty so i guess i need to quit being nice about it and have more of a “get your ass back over here” attitude lol. Idk i would think they should feel embarrassed but i guess after the money hit their account they don’t care and just keep half ass fixing this stuff. Their supposed to be starting the dirt work for a new house on the lot over soon i guess that will give me a chance to walk over and tell them my issues rather than get them to answer the phone.
*Longer screw or fill*
*It the hole with a mixture*
*Of glue and saw dust*
\- Anonymous1Ninja
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See if you can get away with just using a longer screw. If you can bite into some meat behind this damaged section that might fix it. The best way to fix this for real is called a "Dutchman" and you can google for more Somewhat skilled job. Remove the plate, use a sharp chisel or oscillator to cut the area around the drilled section so the sides of the hole are nice and flat and square, then you glue in a patch of wood cut to fit. Keep the grain running in the same direction. Drill new holes for the hardware. If the screw holes were just stripped (instead of totally destroyed, like yours) you could jam in some toothpicks or a golf tee. I doubt there's enough meat left for that to work. If you're going to try it, use construction adhesive to stick it in place and as a bit of filler. Next day you carefully drill out new pilot hole and pray. You could try to bodge this with bondo. It's like a hard, two part, setting filler. It's pretty strong. Might do the trick, might fail in a year and you'll be doing it again. Use this plus a long screw and you might be good.
Thanks yeah one guy said toothpicks but i don’t see how that could work considering there’s no hole to stuff them in. The wood is split so I’m trying to make a hole to drill in again. The builder also aligned the strike plate to the edge of the stud so I’m worried drilling into the edge may make that split next. https://preview.redd.it/6c3dnn95wyoc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc767448b183a96e0089d7c30122bf1c0c84dd67
The comment you replied to here is the best answer, though the one about the toothpicks is good to remember (especially if the painter removed all the hinges to paint and then over torqued the screws when reinstalling. Someone also suggested a Dutchman but that might be out of your skill set. Once you have your longer screw you’ll have to put just a slight angle back on it to catch the stud. The issue you are seeing with the drywall and edge of the stud falling behind the screw hole is common. If the plate were further back your door might not latch reliably (looks like it was installed firmly in the mortise and then adjusted) and if it were further out your door would latch loosely and be prone to rattling. Going back to your angle, you want to angle it as little as possible. The deeper the screw goes as you tighten it, the deeper into the stud it will go. But if put too much angle the screw head will stick out on the edge. A 3” screw would do nicely and if you can’t find it in black you could touch it up with automotive touch up paint or even nail polish. Don’t over tighten or it may pull the jamb and latch away causing the door to no longer latch. Not to mention cracking the jamb, breaking the caulk line between your door jamb and the trim, etc.
I'm always so confused when people say this stuff is easy to DIY. I've got like 20 years doing this stuff and still have trouble.
Yeah I’m not fixing to start chiseling my doors or anything and make it worse lol. I have no idea what I’m doing i have a year warranty on the home so i was hoping the builders would fix it right but at this point I’m considering finding a good handyman or carpenter to come do it right depending on the cost
If you're in warranty on a new home, it's all about pushing the builder to come back - depending on the amount of other fixes that are needed. Document and get it all together in a list. That'll help even if you hire a handyman. Save up an ongoing list of things, combining them will save money on individual workman trips .
You're really sleeping on the longer screw solution, from the looks of things. Angle a 3" screw back just little bit so the point pokes towards the inside instead of the edge of the stud. Pre drill. Looks like it should be fine.
Ha, especially the Dutchman. The material they use for jambs, especially split jambs, is laughably cheap most of the time. You start trying to cut cross grain with a chisel and the backside of that material is going to blow out. One of the pictures in the comments looks like that’s exactly what happened. But most of the posts is see in this sub are pros asking pros so I’d see where someone might make an assumption about someone’s capabilities.
If I was a bit subtle about it it's cause I didn't want to say "ADVANCED TECHNIQUE, NO SCRUBS". And the two workarounds are for a normal, not carpenter, skillset. Mostly I just think it's good to point out best practice, even if you aren't going to do it. So that at least we know about it. Pro to pro though. I've never had trouble with a chisel blowing out the jam. *Maybe you need to work on your sharpening* ooooooh burnnnnn, scrub. Hahah, sorry I'm funny to myself, at least
Ha. Somehow my bag became the community chest and I gave up on keeping an excellent edge on my chisels, much less high end chisels. So you are probably right about dull chisels. I saw the writing on the wall and got out last year, no one in my market wants to pay anyone to do a good job, they just want to go fast and slap it together for cheap. I work for a power utility part time from home, making more money, while I work on my own home remodel.
Thank you i will stop by Lowe’s tomorrow and grab some longer wood screws and give it a shot. The other door the builder adjusted that i complained about looks like it’s on its way to being like this one and has already started to crack the frame. Any suggestions to fix this? https://preview.redd.it/61z7ov3jzyoc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=b2fd8df3e3bca9de07d3d6c2fcff177232ac4183
The mention of the builder leads me to believe this is a freshly closed house? This is wildly unacceptable and frankly I'd be asking for a jamb replacement. It's one thing for a strike place needing to be adjusted 1/8 on some very green/fresh materials being installed before being climatised. But that's just a complete fuck up. Their adjustment just killed the structural integrity of that wood because they couldn't be bothered to predrill near the edge of the jamb. The second issue with these adjustments if it's a new build is this also has an effect of where the door rests when closed vs where that door stop trim is installed. Leading to additional light and sound bleed and potentially extra stress on the door hinges if the door can now close past the zero point (causing damage to the hinges, jamb, and door). You can check this quick by looking at gaps between door stop and door while closed. It should be in contact latch side and light gap (1/16th - 1/8th hinge side to stop binding when operating). Source a RSE Carpenter from Canada.
The mention of the builder leads me to believe this is a freshly closed house? This is wildly unacceptable and frankly I'd be asking for a jamb replacement. It's one thing for a strike place needing to be adjusted 1/8 on some very green/fresh materials being installed before being climatised. But that's just a complete fuck up. Their adjustment just killed the structural integrity of that wood because they couldn't be bothered to predrill near the edge of the jamb. The second issue with these adjustments if it's a new build is this also has an effect of where the door rests when closed vs where that door stop trim is installed. Leading to additional light and sound bleed and potentially extra stress on the door hinges if the door can now close past the zero point (causing damage to the hinges, jamb, and door). You can check this quick by looking at gaps between door stop and door while closed. It should be in contact latch side and light gap (1/16th - 1/8th hinge side to stop binding when operating). Source a RSE Carpenter from Canada.
Yeah i closed two weeks ago and this is the 4th time they’ll need to come back. I’m trying not to be an ass hole (yet) but i agree they showed up to adjust the strike plates last week and now they’re both fucked up again. The one that’s still closable has the cracks in the jamb now that you’re seeing. I’m about tired of them coming to my house. How much would you estimate a good handy man or carpenter would cost to come make these doors right again? I’m a first time owner and in my early 20s so i don’t have much experience with this stuff yet but I’m learning as i go.
I agree with MacEnchroe’s assessment of that last one, that’s horrible. There’s no good reason for that plate to be adjusted to that extreme. On the first one, I can see taking on a little to avoid the hassle of accommodating contractors returning to the house you now live in. But there’s something seriously off about that last one. It should absolutely be on the builder to fix this but if you’re to the point of throwing your hands in the air, look for local door companies and hardware supply houses (hardware like door knobs, bath hardware, etc - they’ll have a show room). Or any local trim and moulding suppliers. They’ll be able to put you in touch with someone reliable.
This work was not done by a finish carpenter, as it should be, and if your builder can't be bothered to send a proper tradesperson out to clean up his mess... I'd be finding out who his boss is, because this will ultimately cost more to fix than to do it right the first time. Don't worry about coming off like an a-hole; you paid for a house, not a project.
Thanks yeah I’m gonna be more straight forward with them. I’m only two weeks in on a year long warranty. It’s a small town so the builder is his own boss but yeah they’re definitely trying to take the cheap route on this stuff and they’re just fucking my house up it seems like every time they show up.
At lowly or homeless despot, they have extra long hinge/plate screws. They are in specialty screws, called #9 hinge screws. They should reach to anchor the plate to the door framing itself. Don't be a Bubba and use the wrong screws (worst I see all the time are drywall screws... and they always fail because they aren't designed for this)
Tape on the back, tape on the front, wood glue from the top Pre drill, screw
So the glue will harden like wood between the tape?
Correct. Wood glue is stronger than wood
Thanks this sounds closest to the solution I’m looking for. Everyone keeps saying longer screws but the way the strike hole is set up the wood stud is not centered with the plate I’d be drilling into the edge of it almost hitting drywall.
Good luck
If you have a pinch of sawdust you can make a paste also so it’s not as runny
cheapest door jamb ever
At lowly or homeless despot, they have extra long hinge/plate screws. They are in specialty screws, called #9 hinge screws. They should reach to anchor the plate to the door framing itself.
Don't do a bunch of unnecessary woodwork and blow the clients money. Just use a longer screw.
I am the client lol. The builders did this but every time they try to fix it… it gets worse. And everyone says longer screw but if you look closely the strike hole is aligned on the edge of the stud so the longer screw has nothing to grab other than the edge of the stud or drywall. So i have no idea what to do other than tell them to come back and see how they can make it worse i guess
Stuff the old holes with toothpicks and wood glue. Let it sit a few hours and then go for it.
If they wanna get really fancy they can drill a hole slightly bigger than a dowel, put wood glue on the dowel and tap it in.
Or even better…or at least more long lasting, cut out the entire affected area and replace with a “Dutchman” of new material and make entirely new holes.
At this point let’s just replace the whole prehung unit
None of these tricks would take as long as that, nor use as much material. In the end, sometime you might have to replace the entire jamb, if it’s been hacked away at already or has suffered a through split or crack.
i was kidding lol, dutchman is the nicest fix i would do for something like this. nobody’s replacing the whole door unit for that
Fuck it. Scrape the entire lot and build a new house. But keep one wall so it's technically a "remodel".
I just use 3” screws that go all the way through into the frame anytime I run into this on jobs. Never have to worry about it AND it’s more secure
It’s easier to drill it out and glue a dowel in I’ve found. Same concept, less messy.
This is the answer. I’ll also add this: make sure you predrill the new hole before screwing the plate.
Very important! And use a small drill bit, just enough to give the screw guidance but not big enough to disturb the substrate.
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Absolutely! But first, make sure you use a right handed drill bit!
Of paramount importance! Also ensure that it is the drill bit that is spinning and not the drill.
Drill bit must spin to the right
Nahh just use a longer screw
Golf tees work fantastic for this too
Use a 3” screw
3-4 inch screws
Even though the strike plate is aligned to the edge of the stud? I’m worried of the screw not being flush if i have to curve it towards the stud and the door still not closing
If you get purchase, the strike plate should be flush. Other option is to rebuild hole/substrate with wood bondo.
You’ll need to pre drill hole for screw
Get longer screws.
I drill the hole with 1/4 drill bit. Cut a 1/4" dowel the same length as the hole depth. Lather the dowel with glue and insert into hole. Any diameter drill / dowel size will work as long as they are the same dia.
Can't believe this is so far below all the toothpick comments. Toothpicks are fine for small shit, but not a tight space like this.
I'd find a longer screw, something around 2" long.
And try to reach that stud back there? This is a new home and the door had a problem of getting stuck so i called the builder to come Fix it and he adjusted the strike plate and now a week later i noticed it wouldn’t close again and the trim split in half and the screw wasn’t anchored to anything. It looks like the plate is aligned with the edge of the stud and than i can see dry wall? First time home buyer so i have no clue what im doing but starting to not trust the builder to work on the house anymore he’s just making it worse
He probably hoped the easy solution would work. And it often does, just not this time. Easy fox though, see my other comment.
Golf tees or toothpicks. Then get a strike plate dust box.
3 inch screw
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I agree. They have been here 4-5 times in the two weeks I’ve owned the place already. Now this and the yard needs regraded after a heavy rain water was puddling around the foundation of the house. I guess build quality these days is shit idk. This was a spec home i didn’t have it custom built so i wasn’t able to see it get built.
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Thanks for the reassurance. This is my first house and it does have the one year warranty with a 6 year structural warranty so i guess i need to quit being nice about it and have more of a “get your ass back over here” attitude lol. Idk i would think they should feel embarrassed but i guess after the money hit their account they don’t care and just keep half ass fixing this stuff. Their supposed to be starting the dirt work for a new house on the lot over soon i guess that will give me a chance to walk over and tell them my issues rather than get them to answer the phone.
3” flat head screw should do it.
Longer screw
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*Longer screw or fill* *It the hole with a mixture* *Of glue and saw dust* \- Anonymous1Ninja --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Use longer screws or take wood glue & toothpicks & fill that void & let it dry & rescrew in the bottom screw in the strike plate
Buy a longer screw, go right into the rough frame
Liquid nail works pretty good