How do I adjust hinges on a uPVC door?
The three axes of adjustment, finding which one you actually need, and the small movements that fix a door catching or letting draughts in.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 1 hr
- Read
- 5 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Most uPVC hinges adjust in three directions — height, side to side, and compression against the seal. Work out which by looking at where the door touches, then adjust in quarter turns, counting them, and test after each.
A uPVC door that catches or lets in a draught is usually within a couple of millimetres of being right, and the hinges are designed to be moved.
Safety
What you'll need
- Allen keys, commonly 4mm and 5mm
- Torx bits for some hinge types
- A pencil and a helper to support the door
Step by step
- Diagnose before adjusting anything.Close the door slowly and watch where it touches. Rubbing at the top of the lock side means it has dropped. Rubbing at the bottom means it needs lifting or moving sideways. A draught means compression.
- Use the paper test for compression.Shut a sheet of paper in the door at several points and pull. It should grip evenly all round. Where it slides out easily, the seal is not compressed enough at that point.
- Identify the hinge type.Flag or butt hinges on most uPVC doors, with adjustment via grub screws under plastic caps. Rebate and T-hinges differ. Take the caps off gently — they crack when levered hard.
- Find the three adjustment screws.One for height, usually at the bottom or top of the hinge body. One for lateral movement, which swings the door towards or away from the hinge side. One for compression, which moves the door in and out against the seal.
- Count every turn.Write it down. Adjustment is cumulative across three hinges and it is very easy to lose track and end up worse than you started.
- Work in quarter turns.A quarter turn moves the door a surprising amount. Adjust, close the door, look, repeat. Large adjustments overshoot and bind the door in a different place.
- Fix height first.If the door has dropped, raise it at all three hinges by roughly equal amounts. Height affects everything else, so getting it right first saves redoing the other two.
- Then adjust lateral position.This is what closes an uneven gap down the lock side. Adjust the top hinge to move the top of the door and the bottom hinge to move the bottom.
- Adjust compression last.Once the door sits square, use the compression screws to set the seal. Too little and it draughts; too much and the handle needs real force and the mechanism wears.
- Check the keeps as well as the hinges.The plates on the frame that the locking points engage often adjust too, usually via slotted screws or a cam. Moving a keep a millimetre often fixes a stiff lock without touching the hinges.
- Test with the lock, not just the latch.Lift the handle and turn the key at every stage. A door that closes easily but locks stiffly is not adjusted correctly, and forcing it wears out the gearbox.
- Lubricate the mechanism while you are there.A dry PTFE or silicone spray on the locking points and a little grease on the cams. Not oil, which attracts grit. Twice a year keeps a multipoint lock working.
- Recheck seasonally.uPVC expands in heat, so a door that binds in July may be fine in January. Small seasonal stiffness is normal; adjusting for it in summer can leave it draughty in winter.
- Know when it is not the hinges.If the frame has bowed, the threshold has dropped, or the glass unit has slipped inside the door, adjustment will not fix it. A slipped unit is a common cause of a suddenly dropped door.
Tips
- Count and record every quarter turn. Adjustment across three hinges is easy to lose track of.
- Height first, then lateral, then compression. Doing them out of order means redoing them.
- Check the keeps on the frame — moving one a millimetre often fixes a stiff lock on its own.
Common mistakes
- Making large adjustments at one hinge — It twists the door in the frame, so it binds somewhere new. Small equal adjustments across the hinges keep the door square.
- Over-tightening compression to stop a draught — It makes the handle stiff to lift and puts constant strain on the multipoint gearbox, which is an expensive part to replace.
If it doesn't work
Door catches at the top of the lock side
Cause: Door has dropped — Fix: Raise it at all three hinges by equal amounts, a quarter turn at a time.
Uneven gap down the lock side
Cause: Door not parallel in the frame — Fix: Lateral adjustment — top hinge for the top of the gap, bottom hinge for the bottom.
Draught along one edge
Cause: Insufficient compression at that point — Fix: Increase compression at the nearest hinge, checking with the paper test.
Handle very stiff to lift
Cause: Too much compression, or keeps misaligned — Fix: Back the compression off slightly and check the keeps. Lubricate the mechanism.
Suddenly dropped with no warning
Cause: Glass unit slipped inside the door, or hinge failure — Fix: Not an adjustment. The unit needs re-toeing and heeling by a fitter.
Questions people ask
Which way do I turn the screw?
It varies by hinge type, so make a quarter turn, observe what happens, and reverse if it went the wrong way. Counting turns means you can always get back to where you started.
Why is my door fine in winter but sticks in summer?
uPVC expands with heat, particularly on a south-facing door. Mild seasonal stiffness is normal, and adjusting it out in summer usually leaves the door draughty by winter.
Should I adjust the hinges or the keeps?
Hinges for the door's position in the frame; keeps for how the locking points engage. A stiff lock with a well-positioned door is usually a keep, not a hinge.
What if the door has dropped suddenly?
That often means the glass unit has slipped inside the door frame, which shifts the weight. It needs a fitter to re-pack the unit — hinge adjustment only masks it briefly.