My basement door where the electric/water hookup is has busted out where it's riveted to the hinge. I will take it to a boat repair near me to see if they can fix the broken edge. What size rivets will I need for repair or should I go with bolts? I was also thinking I would see if a reinforcement piece of metal strip could be attached at that lip? Thoughts?
Here's a couple of pictures, the left side has obviously been a problem given the number of rivets vs. the right side
Check to see if the air struts are too high pressure, which can break hinges
I have repaired two doors with the same damage. If my memory is correct, I used 3/16" rivets. I did line the inside of the fiberglass angle with an aluminum strip (1/8" thick x 3/4" wide), cut length to fit. Fastened strip to fiberglass with JB weld before drilling. So my rivets were longer than factory installed rivets.
jk
I used a piece of flat aluminum as a backer for the new 3/16" rivets. I first filled the damaged holes with jelly resin and drilled some new holes. Didn't have enough good fiberglass left without some filling. I took the belt trim off to remove the entire door and repaired it on a work table. An extra set of hands was helpful. Followed up with a quick coat of white paint.
I had to redo the strut arm brackets too as they also pulled out. I used a metal plate to spread the load for the strut bracket and used expanding rivets as the door has a gap or air space. Didn't know if it would work but has held up to full time use for three years.
I used stainless screws with nuts.