Door Hinge Replacement — Fix a Sagging or Dragging Door at the Hinge
The door drops at the latch side, drags on the carpet, and lifting it is the only way to close it. The hinges are worn, the screws have let go, or the mortise is chewed out. We fix that side of the door.
JMB Builders does door hinge replacement on sagging and dragging doors across the Twin Cities metro. Worn, bent or paint-caked hinges come off, stripped screw holes get plugged with glued hardwood dowels, a chewed mortise is filled and re-cut, and new hinges go on with long screws through the jamb into the stud so the door hangs where it was set. Priced per door, quoted from photos within one business day.
- Priced per door; whole-house hinge swaps at a house rate
- Stripped holes plugged, chewed mortises re-cut
- Long screws through the jamb into the stud
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A door sags for one of three reasons, and all three live at the hinge. The screws were short and have pulled out of the jamb, so the top hinge leans away from the frame. The hinge knuckles are worn and the pin has play in it, common on a heavy solid door that has swung for forty years. Or the mortise was cut too deep, or too shallow, or someone chiseled it out twice, and the hinge leaf rocks in the pocket. Each one drops the latch side of the door until it drags on the floor and misses the strike.
The fix is not a longer screw and hope. We pull the hinges, plug every stripped hole with a glued hardwood dowel, cut the mortise back to a clean flat pocket the leaf sits in flush, and put the hinges back with screws long enough to reach the framing behind the jamb. If the hinges themselves are worn or bent, new ones of the same size go on. Then the door is checked for even margins on all three sides and adjusted until it swings free and latches without lifting. If the problem turns out to be the strike or the stop rather than the hinge, that is a different, smaller fix and we do it on the same visit.
What you supply
- New hinges if you want a specific finish: three per door, same size and corner radius as the old ones (send a photo of one with a tape)
- A list of the doors: which drag, which have to be lifted to latch, which have a hinge pulling away
- Nothing else for a repair with the existing hinges; we carry standard interior and exterior hinges on the truck
What JMB supplies
- Removal of the old hinges and the pins, and cleanup of paint built up in the mortises
- Stripped screw holes drilled out and plugged with glued hardwood dowels, then re-drilled
- Hinge mortises filled and re-cut flat and to the right depth on the jamb and the door edge
- Long screws through at least the top hinge into the stud behind the jamb
- New hinges in a standard finish when you did not buy your own, matched in size to the old ones
- Margin check on all three sides and the strike adjusted so the door latches without lifting
- Hinge-side jamb repair or a shim behind the jamb when the frame has moved
- Photos of the finished door in your job folder
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Screws and plugs only vs. hinges that also have to be replaced
- A mortise that needs filling and re-cutting on the jamb, the door edge, or both
- Hollow-core interior door vs. a heavy solid-core or exterior door that needs ball-bearing hinges
- Number of doors in the visit; a whole-house hinge swap is priced per door at a house rate
- A hinge-side jamb that is split or has pulled away from the stud and needs to be repaired first
- Matching a hinge finish you supply vs. the standard finishes we carry
Send a photo of the top hinge with the door open, one of the gap at the top of the door when it is closed, and a note on whether it drags or has to be lifted.
How long it takes
One door: about an hour. A heavy exterior door with a mortise re-cut: two hours. Every interior door in the house on new hinges: most of a day.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Stripped hinge screws
The most common one. The top hinge screws spin in the jamb and the door leans out at the top. Holes plugged with glued dowels, re-drilled, and long screws driven through into the stud. The door comes back up the same day.
Chewed or wrong-depth mortise
The hinge leaf rocks in a pocket that has been chiseled too many times, or sits proud because it was cut too shallow. We fill it with wood and glue or a hardwood patch, re-cut it flat, and the leaf sits flush so the door hangs plumb.
Worn or bent hinges
Knuckles worn oval, a pin with play in it, or a hinge bent when the door was forced. New hinges of the same size and radius; ball-bearing hinges on solid-core and exterior doors that have worn plain hinges out.
Whole-house hinge swap
New hinges on every door to match new levers in black, nickel or bronze. We swap them one door at a time, plug and re-drill any loose holes as we go, and adjust the strike on each door so they all latch the same way.
Door Hinge Replacement — Fix a Sagging or Dragging Door at the Hinge: questions, answered
Why is my door sagging and dragging on the floor?
The latch side of the door has dropped because the hinge side is no longer holding it where it was hung. Usually the top hinge screws have pulled loose from the jamb, sometimes the hinge knuckles are worn, and sometimes the mortise is chewed out so the hinge leaf rocks. Open the door halfway and lift the handle: if the door moves up and you can see the top hinge shift, the hinge is the problem. The fix is at the hinge, not at the floor.
Can you fix stripped hinge screw holes in the jamb?
Yes. Toothpicks and glue hold for a season; a proper fix is to drill the hole out, glue in a hardwood dowel, cut it flush and re-drill for the screw. On the top hinge we also replace two of the short screws with long ones that go through the jamb and the shim space into the stud behind it. That is what holds the weight of the door.
Do I need new hinges or just longer screws?
Look at the hinge with the door open. If the knuckles are tight and the leaves are flat, the hinge is fine and the screws or the mortise are the problem. If the pin has play, the knuckles are worn oval, or a leaf is bent, the hinge is done and new ones go on. We tell you which from a close photo of the top hinge.
What size door hinges do I need to buy?
Measure the hinge leaf height and width with the door open, and look at the corners: square or rounded, and if rounded, whether the radius is a quarter inch or five-eighths. Buy three per door in the same size and corner radius, and the swap is straight. If you send us a photo of one hinge against a tape, we confirm the size before you order.
Can you replace all the door hinges in my house to match new levers?
Yes, and most homeowners do it at the same time as the lever swap. Buy three hinges per door in the same size and radius as the old ones, in the lever finish. We swap the hinges door by door, plug any loose holes while we are in there, and set each strike so every door latches with a push. A house of interior doors is a day.
Will a heavy solid core door need different hinges?
Often yes. Plain steel hinges wear out under a solid-core or solid-wood door and the door starts to drop again within a few years. Ball-bearing hinges in the same size carry the weight without wearing, and on a taller or wider door a fourth hinge splits the load. We recommend them on solid doors and exterior doors and carry them in standard finishes.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
Where we work
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Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: