If you have a door hinge that's feeling a bit wiggly and loose, odds are the hinge screws are stripped. Removing a stripped screw alone can be tricky, but then how do you go about replacing securely in an existing hole? North Carolina based Grainda Builders shared a quick and clever way to tighten up a door hinge without much fuss.

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First, remove the stripped screw, either with a screwdriver or a good set of pliers. Next, squirt some carpenter's glue into the hole, insert the pointed end of a golf tee in, and tap the tee into place with a hammer.

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Using a sharp utility knife, cut off the exposed extra part of the golf tee so that its flush with the doorframe. This will give you a fresh piece of material to drill a new screw into.

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Finally, drill a new pilot hole directly into the golf tee, and simply re-insert the screw through the hinge. The hinge should feel much more stable and secure.

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Multipurpose Painter's Tape

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Comments

Rosa Frazier If you don't have a golf tee, but do have tooth picks or wooden match sticks, this works well. I've used this with sliding, wood doors. The mechanism gets loose, and I fix with toothpicks.

20 months ago · Like

tsudhonimh Be careful! Many golf tees are plastic, not wood, and they won't hold.

20 months ago · Like

myhouselookslikeher What about a dowel?

20 months ago · Like ·

Kit Murphy But how do you get a stripped screw out w/ a screwdriver? And if it's really in there, you can't get purchase with pliers...

20 months ago · Like

coppertops i love this tip

20 months ago · Like

fritantech Fritan Technology has a product called Fringe Screw that can be used as an alternative repair for loose or stripped door hinge screws. It features a standard size #9 head and oversize threads. This allows the screw to sit flush in the door hinge but also embed in the enlarged screw hole, resulting in a tight, sturdy door.

10 months ago · Like

makeup_drawer Now, that's brilliant. Now I know what to do with my too tall Texas tees! Can u use a sligthly broken teeThanks, jeanann

8 weeks ago · Like