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Just realized wax paper beats metal shims for those stubborn double doors in old houses
I used to swear by those metal shim packs, always had a stack in my truck. But last week I was hanging a set of double doors in a 1920s house over in Richmond and the frame was so out of whack I couldnt even get a full shim in there. Buddy of mine walked by, grabbed a sheet of wax paper from his lunch bag, folded it over a few times and handed it to me. Said try this. I thought he was messing with me. Slid that thing in, tapped it down, door gap came out perfect. No rattling, no fighting the metal. Did both doors with that one sheet. I still carry metal for big gaps but for those tight final tuned spots where you only need 1/16th or less, wax paper stacks way better and it doesnt scratch the jamb either. Anyone else ever used something weird like that when the usual stuff just wont fit?
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lisas7829d ago
Feel your pain on those old Richmond houses, the frames in those 1920s places are never square and the metal shims just make it worse when you're fighting a gap that tight. I've used cut up playing cards before when I ran out of shims on a job, but wax paper is smart because it's thin and it won't chew up the jamb like metal does. That trick with folding it to dial in the thickness is the kind of thing you only learn from somebody who's been doing it thirty years. Gonna throw a roll in my bag for the next stubborn door.
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