# Frost heaving affecting door well



## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

With the recent rain and cold snap immediately following I had some heaving that has affected my garage entry door frame and whatever has heaved appears to have pushed the door up on the latch side by 1/8-1/4”. Enough to where the latch won’t engage the catch on the frame unless I put weight on the handle to force it into place. Needless to say it’s pretty annoying.

Guess I’m wondering how I should attack the issue? Should I try to shim something? The latch side? The hinge side? Not really sure where I should start. 

It’s closed now but If I don’t do something about it I foresee coming home to an adjacent door or it simply left open all day because the wife and kids don’t have the oomph to force it to close. 


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## hommer23 (Nov 20, 2012)

Adjust your strike plate so the backseat catches is the easiest. 

If the gap is off you can take the inside screw out of the hinge and add a 3.5” #9 screw-in the hole and draw the jamb in to straighten the reveal. If you add the screw to the bottom hinge it will draw the bottom over and lower the backseat but also increase the gap on the top of the door.


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

I live on clay. I hate clay. The side door on my garage does that every few winters and gets so bad it cannot be opened. When spring comes it is back to normal. If you can just hang in for another four or five weeks....


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## brewster (May 30, 2010)

d_rek said:


> With the recent rain and cold snap immediately following I had some heaving that has affected my garage entry door frame and whatever has heaved appears to have pushed the door up on the latch side by 1/8-1/4”. Enough to where the latch won’t engage the catch on the frame unless I put weight on the handle to force it into place. Needless to say it’s pretty annoying.
> 
> Guess I’m wondering how I should attack the issue? Should I try to shim something? The latch side? The hinge side? Not really sure where I should start.
> 
> ...



I always try to go back to the beginning. Seems like you recently had this house built.

Is the door setting on a concrete floor that sits on a concrete foundation the goes below the frost line?

Is it a slab on grade with just a rat wall?

Can water get between the threshold and the concrete and then cause heaving?


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

brewster said:


> I always try to go back to the beginning. Seems like you recently had this house built.
> 
> Is the door setting on a concrete floor that sits on a concrete foundation the goes below the frost line?
> 
> ...


Door is framed into garage which is on concrete block foundation that goes below frost line. 

There is slab inside the garage and I recently had a sidewalk and apron poured. 

Can water get between threshold and concrete? Possibly. I’ve had issues with the weather sealing in the past. It’s entirely possible there is moisture between the threshold and concrete. 


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## brewster (May 30, 2010)

d_rek said:


> Door is framed into garage which is on concrete block foundation that goes below frost line.
> 
> There is slab inside the garage and I recently had a sidewalk and apron poured.
> 
> ...



I've seen many times where a sidewalk that was poured up tight to the bottom of the threshold had heaved causing the threshold to twist enough to bind the door.

I've also seen where water, during a snowy freeze, got under the threshold and raised up one side or the other. When it gets warmer/dryer the door may settle back down. When it's settled or forced back down longer screws through the jamb into the framing should hold it in place; if you make sure water can't get under the threshold and the sidewalk isn't heaving up.

That is, if the those are the problems.


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## 98885 (Jan 18, 2015)

d_rek said:


> With the recent rain and cold snap immediately following I had some heaving that has affected my garage entry door frame and whatever has heaved appears to have pushed the door up on the latch side by 1/8-1/4”. Enough to where the latch won’t engage the catch on the frame unless I put weight on the handle to force it into place. Needless to say it’s pretty annoying.
> 
> Guess I’m wondering how I should attack the issue? Should I try to shim something? The latch side? The hinge side? Not really sure where I should start.
> 
> ...


Happened alot on my service door also until I heated my garage. It still happens when frost gets too deep in the ground. Our water table is high. Water around the footings freezes and then swelling causes this to happen. I just never used my service door when it happened. I bought the Strikemaster door pro II to replace my strike plate. Offers a larger opening and also a forced entry proof (reduced anyway) home access. For us it was water around the footings and once it froze, heaved the door upwards. Attached garage in my case. Think it could still happen in an older slab garage floor without footings if water was under the slab.


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## Chessieman (Dec 8, 2009)

How about something easy like using a grinder and tale off 1/8" the top? The weight of the door will keep it down to the cement in the summer.


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## 98885 (Jan 18, 2015)

Chessieman said:


> How about something easy like using a grinder and tale off 1/8" the top? The weight of the door will keep it down to the cement in the summer.


That's what I did. I opened up the strike plate opening. Took out another inch of the opening. Just a bandaid. I eventually bought that security plate so have both better security and more adjustability of the door. The first wasn't needed but I wanted it anyway. Piece of mind. To the OP, that simple removal of material on the existing strike plate is the easiest fix.


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

A pneumatic door closer and removing the door strike will take care of it until the frost leaves the ground.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Are you sure the frost heave is what the problem is? I would try driving a long screw in the top hinge. remove the top hinge screw on the jamb and drive a longer screw in. sometimes as wood shrinks and expands it can pull the jamb nails out causing the door to drop.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Im assuming the latch is hitting below the strike


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

brushbuster said:


> Im assuming the latch is hitting below the strike


My mistake I read your post wrong.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Look for how much room (clearances on door edges) you have to change the doors position before looking to change an angle.

Multiple things could be out of spec following contraction from the hold. Hinge screws could be off center on a screw or two , or crooked.

Strike plate or bolt hole could be at max (or minimum) height during warm weather and off in cold.

Threshold could be swelling or ice shimmed underneath. I'd be tempted to pull the threshold if it is heaving upward before changing much else unless a hinge screw or two are not setting in thier countersinks ,or loose.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

Well the door is now latching properly and catching on the strike plate. I did make sure to clean the area around the threshold and sweep all snow out of there. I'll keep an eye on it though as this is the first time that's happened. Regardless sounds like there are a couple easy fixes I can make if it happens again.


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