Football Season

Like it or not, it's almost autumn and that means football season. Millions of dads are preparing to hunker down on the couch and give an enthusiastic, "Yes!" to the question, "Are you ready for some football?" The National Football League and NCAA College Football games are the most popular spectator events in the country.

I have to admit that it's pretty easy for a guy to get carried away with this, and this usually doesn't thrill his better half. It's not too cool to blow off your family to get some quality time watching your favorite team, so I have a suggestion. Dads, if the kids are old enough to color, print the drawings from the rulebook at NFL.com. They have pictures of football referees and all of the hand signals for penalties. During the game, just lay them out on the coffee table with a handful of crayons and start coloring with the kids. You will be able to teach them about the rules, give your wife a little break, and watch football. Who said guys can't multi-task?

Question: My bathroom door is difficult to close and gets stuck towards the top edge. What can I do?

When a door is difficult to shut and is rubbing on the top side of the door jamb, this could be the result of a few different circumstances.  First, check to see if the top door hinge has come loose either on the door itself or the jamb. If it has, you are in luck because this is the easiest thing to fix. If not, the door may have expanded due to moisture from the bathroom or your house foundation has settled a bit.

If it is the first scenario mentioned above, you need to reinforce the hinge to the door and the jamb. You could do this a couple different ways. Take out the screws that appear to be loose and can no longer grab the wood. Replace them with a screw that is a bit longer that can go deeper into the wood. You could also try to get a wider screw, but it may not make it through the hinge hole. A 3" long drywall screw works really well through the jamb side of the hinge. It could go right through the jamb and grab the 2x4 behind it to really tighten up that top side of the door's framing, pulling the top of the door over. Just make sure the head of the screw sets flush on the hinge.

A trick of the trade: If you can't get a longer screw to work or a wider screw won't fit through the hinge, stuff the stripped out hole with wood shavings, shims, or toothpicks. This will allow the old screw to grab better inside the hole.

If you assume the door has just expanded due to moisture, you need to plane it down. Pull the door closed until it hits the jamb. Slide a pencil down the side of the jamb making a line on the door where you need to trim it back. You may be able to leave it hanging to plane it or sand it down to the pencil mark. However, if you live in an older house the paint may contain lead. You would need to make sure you didn't create any dust inside, especially if there are children around. Just take it off the hinges and take it outside. Be careful not to breathe that nasty stuff, so use a dust mask. After you test it out and it shuts properly, be sure to prime and paint it really well (including the top) so it doesn't expand again.

If you are convinced that your foundation is settling, contact a repair specialist. There are some companies that can jack up your foundation without having to replace it.

Please send home improvement questions to John, our resident carpenter, and creator of Via Toy Box. He will answer each question via email and post one question and answer every week.