Should I attempt to gently bend my steelclad hollow-core door back in my workshop, or is it time to replace both the door and jamb altogether?
Asked by Jeremy Hamilton 
2 months ago
Last Updated: September 24, 2024
A few weeks back, I mentioned the gap between my front door and the frame. I managed to fix the side-to-side gap by adding a thin strip of pressure-treated wood, but now I’m dealing with a gap along the depth axis. I suspect the door jamb might be slightly bent inward.
Since it’s a steel-clad, hollow-core door, do you think it’s worth trying to gently bend it back in my workshop using vises? Or should I just bite the bullet and replace the entire door jamb (and maybe the door while I’m at it)? 
What does the gap around the door look like? How is the gap on the top, bottom, and both sides?
Start by adjusting the hinge side, then move along the top, and finally down the latch side until you reach the knob. The gap begins to widen approximately six inches below the knob.
Take off the trim and readjust the jamb. Either push the bottom right corner out or bring the top right corner in…the jamb is currently uneven.
Totally agree with on this point. The hinge side and the strike side of the jamb are not aligned.
Ok, so here’s a silly question: We recently redid the kitchen (this is the exterior door next to my fridge). Everything was taken down to the studs. Obviously, this issue arose during the renovation, as it was never a problem before. But I’m curious about how it happened.
Specifically, how did they manage to do that without (a) creating a gap between the frame and the aluminum on the outside, and (b) adding any new fasteners? The only work done around the door was replacing the threshold.
And it’s clear they had some difficulties with that: you can see they had to cut it and fit it in, in pieces. (The hinge side shows a similar seam from cutting the threshold.)
I’m assuming that the force from that pushed the lower half of the jamb out of alignment.
Yeah, I think the bottom half of the latch side is sticking out compared to the top, because the gap is only visible below the knob (and it’s not unusually tight above the knob).
For the white piece in question (indicated by red arrows), please take it out and swap it with a broader trim that includes foam insulation along the edge and is sloped to fit correctly.