How to Quiet Squeaky Hinges
Hinges make noise because of friction, which is caused by a rusty
hinge pin or out-of-alignment hinges. You can silence that annoying
noise with a quick fix.
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Things You'll Need
- Oil Or Spray Lubricant
- Painter's Masking Tape
- Touch-up Paint
- Putty Knife
- Sandpaper
- Wood Filler
- Drill And Bit
- Hammer
- Nail
- Screwdriver
- Wood Chisel
- No. 0000 steel wool, fine emery cloth or abrasive cleaning pad
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Instructions
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Tap a nail into the hole under the hinge pin to knock the pin partially out. Place the tip of a screwdriver under the pin's head and tap on the screwdriver with the palm of your hand or a hammer until the pin is loose enough to pull out.
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Use No. 0000 steel wool, a fine emery cloth or an abrasive cleaning pad to scrub dirt and rust off the hinge pin and leaves.
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Lubricate all parts with an oil or spray lubricant such as WD-40 and wipe off any excess.
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Reinstall the hinge, tapping it in with a hammer. Repeat the procedure for the remaining hinge(s).
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If you still hear squeaking, remove all the hinge pins and then remove the door and hold it against the hinges to see if any hinges are misaligned.
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If the misalignment is minor, tap the hinge leaf up or down as needed to align it with the leaf on the door. You should also tap the leaf on the door so you move each hinge a little rather than moving one a lot. Reinstall the door.
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In extreme cases you may need to remove the hinge and then chisel out the mortise to move the hinge. If this is the case, plug the old screw holes with wood filler. Mix a two-part wood filler according to the manufacturer's instructions and press it into the holes with a putty knife.
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When the filler is hard, position the hinge and drill new pilot holes. To avoid the tendency for a drill bit to wander off center, use a self-centering bit or self-centering punch to start the hole. Its convex surface fits into the concave recesses in the hinge.
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If moving the hinge results in a noticeable gap along one edge, mask the face of the hinge with tape to protect it, and apply additional wood filler to fill the gap.
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When the filler dries, remove the hinge, sand and touch up with paint, and reinstall the hinge.
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Tips & Warnings
When removing a door, start with the bottom hinge and work your way up.
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Comments
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yellowrex
Jun 09, 2010
WD-40 is not a lubricant. It's only designed to displace water and prevent corrosion and clean. You should use an actual lubricant, such as motorcycle chain lubricant, plumber's grease, or special-purpose door hinge lubricant. All of these will last much longer than WD-40. -
Feb 23, 2006
If you want to do an official job of re drilling, drill the old hole out with an oversize drill that is a major fraction, like 1/4" or 3/8". Hardwood dowels in major fractions may be purchased from any hardware or home building supply. Get one the same size as your drill, and push the end of it in the new hold and mark it with a pencil. Use a fine tooth saw, preferably in a miter box, to cut it square on the short side of the pencil line so the dowel is just a fraction shorter than the drilled hole depth. Apply glue and push it in flush with the hole. You may need to tap it gently with a hammer. If your original screw came loose because your door jamb is weak or split, fill the cracks with glue and apply rubber tipped clamps to squeeze it back together. Let this dry before doing anything else. Neither a jam that has been split nor a jam for a secure door, like your front door, should depend only on screws in wood for either the hinges or the lock strike plates. If extra metal is not part of the design for these things, drill out the wood to accommodate a threaded steel spacer. Use flat head stainless steel machine screws the right size for the spacer rather than new wood and wood screws. Hot melt glue or the newer polyurethane glues work well for bonding the metal spacer to the door jamb. Use blue or green threadlocker (Loctite) when you put the screws in. Spacers (sometimes called standouts) and screws are usually available from well-stocked hardware stores, industrial suppliers and electronics suppliers. Your local hardware may have them in a catalog, if not on hand. The hex shaped threaded couplings for all-thread rod may be used, but the glue will need to be one that fills the gaps around the edges of the hole. The foaming polyurethanes (Gorilla Glue and Titebond's version) will work well, but you have to prevent the foam they create from getting into the threads and filling them. A piece of tape over the bottom works. If glue gets past the tape, you can clean the hole out with a thread tap.
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Dec 16, 2005
Along the same thought process as the golf tee in the hole, you can use wooden matchsticks. Dip one in glue, shove it in the hole, then let it dry. Break it off and drive the screw in. I do it without drilling and it seems to work fine.
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Nov 22, 2005
If you drilled your holes wrong, or if you need to redrill the holes, you can put wood glue on an old golf tee, and then press it into the hole. Let it dry, and then you can redrill your holes. It works better than wood putty since you are replacing the hole with real wood.
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Nov 22, 2005
If you drilled your holes wrong, or if you need to redrill the holes, you can put wood glue on an old golf tee, and then press it into the hole. Let it dry, and then you can redrill your holes. It works better than wood putty since you are replacing the hole with real wood.
