Freakishly Quick and Easy Door Hinge Replacement

We just remodeled our bathroom and it annoyed me that the door hinges didn't match. The old ones are brass and everything in the bathroom is sliver colored. Changing the hardware is an easy fix, so that's what I did.

However, I really, really didn't want to go through removing the pins and then the door. The pins had paint on them (because I'd planned on replacing the hinges already) and would have been a little difficult to remove, not to mention that I'd have to find somewhere to lay the door and then put 6 different parts on, line up the door by myself, and set the pins while holding the door in place. Could I have done it by myself? Sure. But I figured out an easier way that will take all of 10 minutes if you work slowly.

I decided to replace all of them in place.

Step 1: Materials

You only need 3 things:

• Hinges that need replacing
• New Hinges
• Screwdriver

NOTE: Not all hinges, while standard for the screw holes, are shaped the same. Some are more rounded and some square. I got what I thought were rounded, but they weren't rounded enough, so I had to take out some material from the door and frame. Why?

Because hinges are set flush with the door and frame so that the door closes. I did try to attach the new hinge without removing any material and screwed it in as far as I could, but nope, door wouldn't close.

If you have new hinges that don't quite match the old ones, you'll have to chisel out any wood in the way of the new hinge sitting flush. In that case, line up the screw holes with the new hinge and trace around the outside. Now you know how much wood you'll have to remove for it to sit flush. It took me about 5 minutes per hinge (both door and frame) to remove the tiny bit of material I needed to.
OR ...
You could be smarter than me and buy ones with the same shape.

Step 2: Remove the Old Hinges and Replace One at a Time

Start by opening the door so that you can remove the old hinge easily once you unscrew it. They should fit easily between the door and frame and you'll be able to pull them out without a problem. Don't bother removing the pins on either the old or new hinge because it's unnecessary.

Start with the middle hinge so that it's supported by both the top and bottom hinge. Unscrew the old one.

Make sure the new hinge is opening the right way, slip the hinge through the space between the door and frame (the part with the pin), set the new hinge in the recesses of both the door and frame where the old one was (it will likely sit still all by itself), and then screw it in.

Repeat with both the top and bottom hinge and, voila!

Replaced without removing the pins or the door. You'll look pretty smart too if anyone's watching :)