sagging screen door

[hotrod53]

My screen door is sagging and seeming to get worse. The hinge seems good so I guess it's a leveling issue??? It also just happens to be sagging towards a section of floor that just went bad, related??

If it were a leveling issue, which end needs jacked?

[JD]

Hi Hotrod,

This could be a problem with the floor in that area. If this area has stayed wet for weeks on end, you may have water damaged the rim joist. If this is the case, it will be obvious when looking at it.

If this is a leveling problem, the home has to be leveled as a whole. Most times decks and steps and landings cannot be raised or lowered. When leveling, you do not want to lower the home to the point where the doors are below a deck or landing. This could make a tripping spot or hamper screen and outswing doors. You also don't want to raise and area so high that the skirting falls out of the top track or otherwise gets messed up.

When I level, I check the level at each pier, and record the amount of difference, + or -. on a sheet of paper. On the paper, I draw lines to represent the beams, with circles representing the piers. After putting all the + and - amounts in the circles, I have bascially a topographical map of the I beams (or C beams). Now I can find a median level where I find which part of the home will raised and maybe part of the home lowered. Usually you wouldn't be lowering piers much, unless the home was improperly set to begin with. Use your map to be sure you don't cause problems at doors, add-on rooms etc.

Now the big disclaimer. Any home can be set to near perfect level. But if this going to cause you to modify decks or install new skirting, then a perfect level may not be feasible, in which case you level as best as the home will allow. When a home is 3" out of level or more, there is not a lot you can do without spending more money. In these cases, it helps a lot to be sure you are level from side to side, even if you can't get perfect level from end to end.

When leveling your home. always be safe. Move the home in small amounts, keep your body in the cavities and not under the beams and always have someone with you in case of emergency.

Hope this helps.

JD