How can I fix screen door with broken pop rivets on the hinge?

[Mirkwood]

This might be an incredibly dumb question but I've been unable to figure it out myself or with Google.

The rivets holding the hinge on my screen door have broken, what's the best way to fix this?

I'm assuming the hole left behind is too big to use pop rivets to fix it. I'm also assuming I'll need to remove the one broken rivet still there somehow.

I think I can't just screw the hinge to the door because the metal on the door is too thin for the screw to grab securely.

What should I use to reattach the hinge?

I've included a photo of the broken hinge, as well as one of a still-intact hinge.

[JacobZ]

Hi @Mirkwood,

Thank you for your question and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

You are correct that the hole caused by the rivet pulling out is no longer usable. The solution is moving the hinge up or down by about 10mm on both the door and the door jamb. This will give the hinge solid metal on the door to connect to, and depending on the size of the hinge, it will likely still conceal the now redundant holes beneath.

You'll need to drill the rivet out to remove it. I'd suggest having a look at How to remove pop rivets for the advice @TedBear has offered.

Once the pop rivet has been removed, you can use 10G x 16mm Gold Passivated Wafer Head Metal Screws to attach the hinge to the door 10mm above or below its current position. To ensure you get good alignment of the screws, I'd suggest predrilling the metal with a Sutton Tools 3mm Viper Jobber Drill Bit. Ensure the pilot holes are situated directly above or below the existing holes. The vertical line on the door is a good indicator to use. 

When predrilling the metal, start slowly applying a small amount of pressure. Once the drill starts to cut the metal, speed the drill up while applying the same small amount of pressure. When you start to feel the metal deform like the drill bit is about to go through, ease off as it is very easy to snap drill bits when pushing through metal like this. Don't feel disheartened if you do snap the drill bit, I have done it hundreds of times.

You will then need to do the same with the screws on the door jamb. Predrill pilot holes using the same drill bit ensuring they are perfectly in line vertically with the existing holes. You can then reinstall the same screws and test the door.

Let me know what you think and if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob