From This Old House.
In this video, carpenter Nathan Gilbert helps a homeowner restore the integrity of her front door’s hinge. After finding the stripped screw holes, Nathan installs wooden dowels and longer screws for a perfect fit.
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Heavy wooden doors create stress on their top hinges. In older homes, decades of stress can strip the screw holes, allowing the screws to pull out of the wall and the hinge to come loose. While there are a few solutions which involve wood glue, golf tees, or toothpicks, Nathan’s preferred method is a dowel and epoxy. Here’s the process.
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Materials
Two-part epoxy [https://homedepot.sjv.io/gOgD95]
¼-inch dowel [https://homedepot.sjv.io/AP2mrR]
Sandpaper [https://homedepot.sjv.io/DyRoOd]
Longer screws [https://homedepot.sjv.io/Vx2PAE]
Wax [https://homedepot.sjv.io/3JmQmd]
Screw lubricant [https://amzn.to/4c8dcN9]
Tools
Door jack [https://homedepot.sjv.io/LK4nJa] or shims
Self-centering drill bit [https://bit.ly/4cIunoL]
Screwdriver [https://homedepot.sjv.io/m5MxR7]
Drill [https://homedepot.sjv.io/anv2bZ]
Drill bits [https://homedepot.sjv.io/Xm2kWX]
Wet/dry vacuum [https://homedepot.sjv.io/gOD03r]
Dowel cutter [https://homedepot.sjv.io/vPEMWv] or sharp pliers
Oscillating tool [https://homedepot.sjv.io/YR2eLP]
Where to find it?
Nathan used a clamp jack [https://homedepot.sjv.io/LK4nJa] to stabilize the door in place while working on it. Drill larger holes in the existing screw holes with a drill and 1/4” drill bit.
Use a quarter inch drill bit to create the pilot holes. Use a self-centering drill bit [https://bit.ly/4cIunoL] to drill the hole perfectly centered. Be sure to keep your arm square while drilling.
Use a vacuum [https://homedepot.sjv.io/gOD03r] to remove sawdust from the holes. Cut dowels [https://homedepot.sjv.io/AP2mrR] to an inch before mixing up the two-part epoxy [https://homedepot.sjv.io/gOgD95]. Dip the dowel in the epoxy mix and insert into the hole. Allow the epoxy to harden. Use an oscillating tool to cut the dowels flat to the surface. Use 120-grit sandpaper to hand sand the dowels smooth.
Apply wood screw lubricant [https://amzn.to/4c8dcN9] to the 2-1/2” brass screws to help decrease resistance between the screw tip and wood fibers. Use a screwdriver to screw in the brass screws to avoid stripping.
Stripped Hole Repair Kits Available:
Wood anchor kit [https://amzn.to/3DS4XIa]
Security and strip screw repair kit [https://bit.ly/3YafeX9]
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How to Repair a Stripped Screw Hole | Ask This Old House
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