How to remove automatic door-closing hinges

Many dorm rooms, such as those in Currier, Fitch, Thompson, and probably elsewhere, have doors which swing shut automatically. This can be a pain, especially when you want to leave your door open but don't have a doorstop and the contents of your recycling bin don't yet have enough mass to hold it open, or when you go to take a shower but realize, just as your door swings closed, that your door is locked and you are in a towel in the hallway without your keys. If you want to solve this problem and are willing to exert a little effort, read on.

But first, a disclaimer: automatic door-closer-thingys are probably Fire Safety Equipment or something like that. So you're probably not really supposed to take them off. And you could conceivably be fined if you do. You have been warned. But I have this... uh, friend... who had his automatic door closer off for an entire school year, and no one ever said anything about it, probably because no one really noticed.

The automatic closing action is caused by a special spring-loaded hinge in the center (vertically speaking) of the door. The hinges at the top and bottom are normal hinges which swing freely. Therefore, detaching the center hinge from the door is all that is needed.

CAUTION: the spring in the spring-loaded hinge is VERY STRONG. Try closing a door just by pulling/pushing it right next to the hinge and you will get an idea of the force that is needed. If the spring-loaded hinge were to snap shut on your fingers it would be VERY BAD. So use the utmost caution while working with the hinge.

First, you will need a standard screwdriver (check which kind is required; probably Phillips) as well as a hammer, crowbar, or other strong object which you can use to hold the hinge open. The hinge is held to the door with three standard screws; WHILE PUSHING FIRMLY AGAINST THE HINGE PLATE with the hammer/what-have-you to hold it open, carefully remove the screws from the hinge plate, being careful to keep your fingers far away. After removing the screws, slowly and carefully remove the hammer. At this point one of two things may happen: the hinge may simply close when you stop holding it open, OR it may remain stuck open if it is tightly wedged into the rectangular hole cut for it in the door. In the latter case, simply use the hammer to give the door a good firm tap a few inches above the hinge plate, while keeping your fingers far, far away. This should be enough to pop the hinge plate free, which will probably snap shut quite violently.

Keep the screws in a safe place; when the time comes to reattach the hinge plate to the door, you can do so with the same tools. Getting the hinge open is the tricky part: making sure you have a strong screwdriver, insert the blade of the screwdriver in the small gap between the hinge plates at the top of the hinge. You can then use the screwdriver as a lever to pry the hinge plates open a bit. Once you have the plates separated far enough using the screwdriver, you can use the hammer or other strong object to push the hinge plate open the rest of the way, and push it into the hole in the door. DO NOT USE YOUR FINGERS for any part of this operation! Once you have the hinge plate inserted in the door, it is a simple matter of reinstalling the screws while continuing to hold the hinge open with a hammer.