Door Hanging Tips
Related Articles: pre hung doors, door hanging instructions
Are you ready for a challenge? Well hanging an interior door is definitely a job that will test your rookie carpentry skills to the max. It is not too hard to hang a pre-hung door, but it can indeed be frustrating if you don't do things in a certain order.
Minimal Tools & Materials
You surely don't need many tools to hang a door. I use just a hammer, razor knife with new blade, nail sets, several levels (a 2 and 4 foot model), a framing square, a saw and a step stool or small ladder. The materials are simple as well. You will need a bundle of shims and a pound of 8 penny finish nails.
A Good Rough Carpenter
Let's hope that the door opening was built by a good rough carpenter. Do you want to be a superb rough carpenter? If so, work as a finish carpenter for six months first. You will see all of the nightmares that happen when rough carpenters cut corners.
If you want your door hanging job to start off smoothly it is imperative that the rough opening is:
- The right size
- Square
- Plumb
- In the same plane
Just how do you size a door rough opening? For interior doors I add two and one quarter inches to the width of the actual door and 2 and one half inches to the actual height of the door. Example: If you are going to install a 2' 8" door that is a standard height of 6' 8", then the rough opening should be: 34 and 1/4 inches wide and 82 and 1/2 inches high.
Check the Door First
The quality of many pre-hung doors coming out of the factories is fine but the workmanship of the people who hang them in the factories leaves a lot to be desired. The mortised or recessed areas they are creating for the hinges simply are not deep enough in many cases. The hinges are sometimes tilted and they don't fit well. If this happens it will cause the gapping of the door to be off and the door in some instances can bind.
The hinges should be perfectly flush with either the edge of the door or the surface of the door jamb. If for some reason the hinge mortise is too deep, you can fix that by unscrewing it and sliding a thin wood shim or stiff piece of thin cardboard behind the hinge.
Stripped Screws
I have also found that the factory workers sometimes strip the screws that hold the hinges in place. Use a hand screwdriver to see how tight the screws are. If you can turn them when they are already in all the way, the hole is stripped. Fix this by removing the screw and glue into the hole a small round peg of scrap wood. You can make a quick one with a razor knife. A golf tee also works well sometimes.
Lockset Hole
If you order your door from a traditional lumberyard you may be able to specify the backset of the door knob. This is the centerline distance of the lockset with respect to the edge of the door. Commonly it is 2 and 3/8 inches for interior doors. I prefer to use a backset of 2 and 3/4 inches. The locksets you buy often have adjustable latches that will work for this deeper backset. The deeper backset prevents rubbing your knuckles up against the door stop when opening or closing the door. If you have big hands, you know this is a problem!
Patience
Be sure you are calm before you start to hang your first door. Don't expect perfection the first time. It is important to screw the door jamb to the rough frame for long term performance.
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Comments:Welcome! I, Tim
Carter, don't answer questions
here. If you post a question here in the Comments Area,
perhaps another visitor will help you. You need to go to the Ask
Tim page if you want a question answered. Once there, look
closely at how many weeks behind we are. Please be patient as you use
this free service. If you have an emergency and need to talk to me,
there is an option there for you.
Lyndon Smith 05 Mar 2008, 12:47
I have a door that swings shut. how do I prevent that?
AsktheBuilder 09 Mar 2008, 08:35
Lyndon.
I have a column on this website that tells in detail how to solve this. You bend a hinge pin.
Jim Arnold 10 Apr 2008, 04:03
Pre-make your shims from toilet roll tube.
Pierce the shim using a hinge as a template then cut from one side to give a comb effect. Now when you finally adjust the door you just need to partially indo the screws and then slide the shim between the hinge and the door. Tighten the screws and you have made a very small adjustment to the way the door hangs. Use as many shims as required. - Easy!
Greg Smith 01 Jun 2008, 12:53
My door is not plumb. There is about a 1/4 " gap from the door jam at the
top hing and a 6/16" gap at the top of the door farest away from the hing.
The screws of the hing are about 1/2 " long and all seem to be stripped.
Should I get longer screws to make sure I an screwing into the frame or just fit the stripped screw problem.
Chris Warren 21 Jun 2008, 11:19
What about a door that swings open by itself?
shannon 30 Jun 2008, 17:53
I have a interior door which is 30inches wide the problem is the doorway is
32inches wide how can this be fixed my husband says to put a 2inche piece
of wood at the hinges isay an 1inche each side can u help us
Paul Burks 23 Nov 2008, 10:03
I would like to know the best way to adjust a door so that the reveal is
equal all around. I have a larger gap at the top right, but the rest of the
gaps are fairly even.
Grant Stradley 11 Mar 2009, 21:51
I have a door that swings shut; I can't find your column that describes
what to do to prevent it?
Can yoy tell me how to locate the column please. Thanks
Roger 19 Mar 2009, 09:26
Grant,
Here is Tim's column you are looking for ... http://www.askthebuilder.com/Door_Closes_on_Its_Own.shtml
avril moore 26 May 2009, 14:49
I am fitting a wooden external door into an existing frame,I have recessed
the 3 hinges but when it its almost closed flush, there is resistance and
it wont fully close - HELP!!!
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