HOW TO HANG A DOOR

Step 1: You will need

- some hinges
- some screws
- 1 tape measure
- 1 pencil
- 1 panel saw
- 1 plane
- 1 narrow chisel
- 1 medium-sized chisel
- 1 hammer
- 1 battery drill kit with drill bits
- some sand paper
- some wooden wedges
- Safety goggles
- some supports to rest the door on
- some narrow strips of wood for a doorstop

Step 2: Measure the door opening

Before you buy your new door, use your tape measure to measure the height and width of the door opening. Purchase a door that is either the right size or slightly larger than the door opening.

Step 3: Apply measurements to the door

Remember that you will need to leave a little space between the door, the frame and the floor. The recommended clearance for the top and sides is 2mm (1/16 inch). For the bottom the recommended clearance is 6mm (1/4 inch) but if you have particularly thick carpet you may need to leave a little more. However, be extremely careful not to overestimate the clearance needed.

Mark the door for trimming

Use a pencil to apply the measurements. Generally, allow for a 2mm (1/16 inch) space between the door and the top and sides. The bottom of the door should be 6-12mm (1/4-1/2 inch) up from the floor (consider whether the door is going to have to go over carpet or a wooden floor). If your measurements were 1992 mm (83 inches) high and 768 mm (32 inches) wide, for example, mark the door so that it's 1984 mm (82 2/3 inches) tall (1992 mm minus 2 mm for the top and 6 mm for the bottom) and 764 mm (31.8 inches) wide (768 minus 2 mm for each side).

Trim the door

Saw or plane up to the pencil marks, then sand the edges until they are smooth. Keep in mind that you're better off trimming too little rather than too much.

You don't need a helper to hang a door. I always secure the hinge jamb first to the rough opening. After I have made sure it is plumb and before I drive the first nail, I open the door and slide a few shims under the far end of the open door to keep the door from tipping out of the opening. Once open like this, the door and frame are highly stable.

To test the door operation, drive one nail in on the other side of the door stop opposite the top hinge. Be sure you leave enough of the nail exposed so you can pull it out if necessary. Do the same opposite the bottom hinge and carefully close the door to check the backside gaps. The door MUST be attached to the rough frame at or behind the hinges for the best results. Do this after you check the gaps.

"I started out using little more than a hammer, a chisel, and a screwdriver," says This Old House general contractor Tom Silva. In those days, he'd assemble the jamb, hand-cut the hinge mortises, and hang the door separately. "It took a good long time and lots of patience," he says. A prehung door does simplify and speed up installation, but the term "prehung" is really a misnomer. These doors and jambs must still be carefully adjusted to account for shortcomings in the wall frame. "It requires accuracy to put in one of these," Tom says. "If it's not installed right, it won't hang well."

Years ago people had to hang doors from scratch. There were many tricks of the trade and various tools needed to build the jambs, install the hinges, and make sure everything was plumb and square. Homeowners really did need a seasoned, professional carpenter for door hanging. Those days have passed. Now, you can buy a pre-hung door and anyone can install it with EZ-HANG™. It’s like having a contractor hanging your door for you!

Cutting the new door to size

- Hold the new door in the doorframe to see if it needs adjustment.

- If the old door was a good fit then use it as a template by laying it on top of the new door and marking where to plane or cut. Make sure you take an equal amount of wood from both the top and the bottom of the door to keep it in balance.

- Use a panel saw if you need to take more than 6mm off the height of the new door, then sand it smooth (fig. 1). If you need to trim off less than 6mm, use a hand or power plane.

- Ideally, there should be a 2mm gap on either side and at the top, between the door and the frame, when the door is in place - a 2 pence piece is a good gauge for this (fig. 2).

- Allow 5-10mm at the bottom of the door if you have a thick carpet.

Prehung doors are the easiest to install. These doors come already set in a frame, and one side of the frame has been trimmed with molding. Usually, the hardware has been installed, too, making the process even easier.To buy a prehung door, you need to know the size of the rough door opening. There are approximately 3 inches at the side jambs and 11/2 inches at the head jamb for fitting purposes.

Once the shims are adjusted you can begin to nail the frame into the rough opening using 8d finish nails. Use two nails and spread them as far as possible without getting too close to the jamb edges. Make sure the finish nails go through the shims, and are long enough to pierce the framing member to hold the doorframe stable. Start with the hinge side first and set the nails after all the nails have been installed.

- Put one screw into each hinge to check the door fits neatly.

- If required remove the door and deepen the space for the hinge on the frame with a chisel and then refit. Do this gradually.

- When you are satisfied the door is hanging neatly you can fix the remaining screws onto the door. Ensure all hinge screws on the door and frame are tightly fitted.

Double Doors

When you hang double doors or French windows the technique is exactly the same as for a normal door. Most double doors come in standard sizes which is a great help. Always try and match a standard door to a standard frame size to make life easier. Finally, it’s best to have any glass fitted to your door after you have hung it. Fitting the door to the frame will be much easier if you add the glass later.

Make sure the gap at the bottom of door is 3/4 inch. If not, you must pop the hinges to release the door and trim the bottom so you have a 3/4-inch gap.

Reinstall the door if necessary. Then caulk the door frame casing and putty the nail holes. You are now ready to paint your door.