9 Ridiculously Simple Ways Remove Self Closing Door Hinge


self closing door hinges

How To Remove A Self Closing Door?

  1. Use a door stop to prevent accidental closing
  2. Open the hinge
  3. Adjust the tension adjustment device with Allen wrench
  4. Clamp the hinge
  5. Remove the hinge screws
  6. Disengage the clamps
  7. Remove the door stop
  8. Remove the door
  9. Replace the screws, hinges, re-attach the door

Doors mounted with spring hinges are preferred as they automatically close without having to push or pull. This means that you only need to exact some tension to move the door. The amount of tension required therefore depends on the weight of the door as light doors would only require some little tension as heavy doors require much tension.

Sometimes the door may not be closing properly and hence you will have to adjust the spring hinges. Removing the spring mounted door hinges may be a simple task but you however need to be careful to avoid incurring further damage. If you need to make proper hinge adjustments, you will therefore have to remove all the hinges.

This article provides a clear guideline on how to safely remove and make proper repairs and adjustments on a door that has self-closing hinges. 

Follow these steps to adjust & remove doors with spring loaded hinges.


1. Use a door stop

A door stop can be any plastic or wood piece to insert into the door opening to prevent it from closing while you are adjusting the hinges.

2. Open the hinge

Use a pliers to remove the plate covering the hinges in order to easily remove the screws holding the hinges on the door. You can use a hammer to remove the hinge pins after removing the cover plate but you will also need to be careful to avoid damaging the trim.

Use small taps on with the hammer to remove the hinge pins. You don’t want to smash them out as you will likely break them and damage the door.

3. Adjust the tension

There is a device is responsible for the amount of tension used to move the door called the tension adjustment device.

  • It is located near the top or bottom of the hinge pin and is small and round.
  • After locating it, look for some holes that enable adjustment although they are not found in all device types.

If the holes are present, using an Allen wrench to adjust the tension to the minimum would be great. Adjusting the tension to the minimum will be important to reduce the noise and force in case hinge closes.

4. Clamping the hinge

Use either a C-clamp, a hammer or crowbar for this particular task. While using either a crowbar or a hammer, carefully wedge the tool of your choice against the hinge to avoid avoidable injuries. While using a C- clamp, hold the hinge open in such a way that you can easily access the screws holding the hinge to the door. 

5. Removing the hinge screws.

Carefully remove all the screws with the center one being the last and take the hinge off. For this task, you will need an appropriate screwdriver such the Phillips head one. An extra clamp is necessary to safely remove screws from the opposite side. 

6. Disengagement of the clamp(s)

This depends on whether you use one or two clamps. If you had involved one clamp, remove the last screw and the hinge will tightly snap and suddenly close. In case you had used two clamps, you will have to remove the two clamps in succession. After removing the first clamp, the hinge will behave the same as when you used one clamp but after the hinge closes, then you can remove the second clamp.

Adjustment can also be done on the spring hinge itself. You can either loosen the or tighten the hinges in order to adjust the door appropriately. This means that you should test the kind of adjustment you need to make on your door in order to know the kind of a move to make.

  • Before implementing the adjustment, it is vital to understand clearly what adjustment you want to make, and then proceed. You can try shutting the door to know whether to loosen or tighten the hinge based on how violent it shuts. If it shut violently, then it should be loosened. This means that the tension pin should be moved downwards. To tighten the hinge, the tension pin should be moved upwards. This will enable shutting the door at a safe and convenient force and speed.
  • Sometimes the spring-loaded hinges just need to be removed or replaced. To remove a spring hinge is only the best fit when the door is closed. You will need a pair of pliers, a hex wrench and a screwdriver. Use a hex wrench to open the spring and view the tension pin. Afterward, use the pliers to eject the tension pin. Disengage the hex wrench from the spring to unroll it and then use a screwdriver to remove the screws. The hinge should come off easily without any struggle if you followed all the steps keenly.

How to remove swinging door hinges 


A swinging door hinge is also known as a butler door and you need to occasionally remove the hinges for adjustments and repairs. A swinging door allows pushing in or out of a room but still returns to the closed position when stationary. This can only happen with the help of spring loaded hinges. At some point, these doors require to be removed depending on individual needs such as privacy, convenience, space, and child and pet safety.


The following simple steps can be followed while removing swinging doors. 

7. Remove the pivot screws. 

The screwdriver is the best tool for the task. The screws are four in number and they attach a cover plate to the floor. They are located where the lower corner of the door turns. Lift the cover plate. If there is another plate with another set of screws which connects the lower hinge to the floor, remove the screws and lift that cover plate too. 

8. Remove the door 

Grab and pull the door towards you from the top turning point and place it aside for reinstallation later or replacement with another type of doors. 

9. Replace the screws & door

You can reattach the door by reversing the steps.

  • Put the hinges back in place.
  • Screw them on.
  • Use a helper to align the door correctly so it doesn’t fall down when you are attaching it to the hinges. This is the hardest part of the process.

I hope this article will be of help to you and if possible you could use the help of an expert close to you. The steps have been carefully tested and proven so if they are carefully followed, they can yield desirable results. All you need to do is simply follow each step carefully to avoid causing further damage. You also need to cover the flow as you work on the door to avoid causing cracks on the tiles.

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D. Hahn

DIY guru, dad, husband, blogger. When I'm not creating life hacks I'm teaching my kids how to fix stuff after their dad breaks it.

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