We just finished a bathroom budget remodel. The last thing for me to do was repaint the door and change out the hardware. I set the door on some sawhorses, put on 2 thin coats of paint with a roller and brush, and took the hinges to Lowes to be sure the replacements were exactly the same size.

And now the door does not close. The original hinges were not flush, the new ones fit just the same. But I went and got a chisel to make both sides of both hinges flush. Still does not close, the bottom third of the door is just barely hitting the frame on the strike plate side. There is no room at the bottom hinge to move the door.

What should I try next? It's the same door and the same size hinges that fit fine when I took it down. Could the paint make that much of a difference? I took out much more wood in the hinge area than the thickness of the paint.

Any suggestions?

Still holding out hope there is another answer. I'd rather not have to shave the door, there has got to be some reason it all of a sudden doesn't fit. I must have overlooked something.

The hinges are the problem. Just how the hinges are the problem is the question.

Are the new hinges the same thickness as the old ones?

Is the closed thickness the same? Sometimes hinges look the same, but have the pin set differently. Those hinges will not close completely and the halves be parallel. There is a gap when the hinge halves are parallel.

Those hinges will not replace flat closing hinges. They will push the door away from the hinge side towards the striker side.

The cure is to make the mortices(the cut out part of the frame/door in which the hinge sides are installed) deeper to allow the parallel when in the closed position. That means you have to actually cut out more material to allow the hinges to be below the surface.

Paint can make a difference but only if the door was fitting tight to start with. One thing you can try is to remove the center screw on the lower hinge and replace it with a 3" wood screw. This will draw the hinge, and door, a little closer to the jamb and give you a little more clearance on the strike plate side. It's possible the hinge screws aren't stable so you may have to add a 3" screw to all the hinges.

This is what the door looks like when pushed against the frame:

When closed, from the inside...notice the near lack of an air gap near the bottom, but it gets wider as you move up the door:

And the new, installed hinge, compared to the old hinge when the door is forced closed (yes, I know the pins is not quite in all the way, i've had the door off and on so many times I am digging up the pin top with the pliers quite a bit and don't push it the last little bit now):

The best I can tell, these hinges look the same as the old ones, and when closed have the same spacing as the ones on the other doors in the house. So which fix might help? I'm really starting to think little gnomes came in the night and changed out the door!

Now, look at your last picture--the one with you holding the old hinge next to the door.

See the gap between the hinge and the door frame? That gap should not be there. First thing to try is the 3" screw idea in the bottom hinge. That should make a difference.

The original hinges were not flush, the new ones fit just the same.

Check your door opening. See if it is square. See if your actual door is actually the same dimension top and bottom. Just wonder, since there was no mortised area that you have the door installed upside down. Did you mark the top? If it is upside down your new mortised areas are on the wrong side.

I did not mark the top, but all the rest of the doors have the same orientation with the small panels at the top, and there was a spot cut out for the hinges, they just weren't deep enough hence the new chisel. If the hinges are in the same spot as before, would it be possible to not put it on the right way? To keep the knob on the correct side, wouldn't that make the hinges face the wrong way? Well, i'll have to think on that in the am. Too late to be flipping doors around in my head, not a good visualizer normally, let alone right before bed!

I think I am missing something?

Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions! I'm really hoping longer screws do it, I have had them in and out several times for this project trying to figure this out. I just keep thinking it HAS to fit, there's no logical reason it shouldn't fit. Very frustrating as this door is the only thing keeping me from declaring this remodel DONE!

Good luck. It's always the little projects, that you think will be a snap, that seem to cause the most problems.

Hopefully the screws will work. Make sure both hinges are mortised the same. Obviously if one is deeper that will affect the way it hangs.

I was certain the chisel would fix things, so it was very demoralizing to see it did not. Just need a break to regroup and recharge. I know it's not a huge problem, but after having the whole room ripped apart and being so close to completely finished, it was just more frustrating than it should be.

Will update when I resume the battle, I sincerely appreciate all the help. Hoping the third times is the charm!

Around the beginning of this year the door actually started to close with some force, though it was rubbing on the hinge side. So it must have needed to dry out. Called in my Mom for back up to finish this once and for all!

Checked the hinges. Checked the frame. Checked everything we could think of, could not figure out why the door wasn't fitting right anymore.

So I learned how to use a hand plane to plane a door. While it relly wasn't that much that came off, I was surprised at how much had to come off to close right. More than the depth if the paint. And on both sides of the door from the bottom hinge down. Puzzling!

But now it closes! And the hinges match. New knob assembly is in too. I was so excited, I popped the assembly in and pushed the door closed to make sure it would still close and latch properly before I had the doorknobs on! We both realized almost instantly that I had just locked us in! It only took about 3 seconds for me to stick the knob in and open the door, but boy we busted a gut laughing!

Now I just have to paint the newly exposed wood...