When installing interior doors, it is crucial to ensure that the door opens without scraping past the floor material. This typically means maintaining a gap of no more than half an inch (1.27 cm) for finished floors. The standard is 1/2″ over finish floors, but 3/4″ is acceptable. To fix the issue, the doors need to be removed, and the bottom of the jambs should be cut and reset.
The gap between the door and the floor should be between a half-inch and three-quarters of an inch for optimal functionality. For proper clearance, interior doors should be elevated ¾ to ½ of an inch above a finished floor, except in cases of uneven flooring where a greater threshold height may be necessary.
The standard height of a door is 80 inches, but the width can vary from 24 to 36. To size a door opening for not prehung interior doors, consider standard door dimensions, proportions, and rough opening requirements. Pay attention to the overall size and feel of a room, as a massive and ornate door may overwhelm tiny rooms.
One critical aspect to emphasize is the gap between the door and the floor, which should be between a half-inch and three-quarters of an inch for optimal functionality. The standard is 3/8 max from the top of the finished flooring to the bottom of the door. To fix the issue, the doors need to be removed, the bottom of the jambs cut and reset the door, and doors shall be undercut to a minimum of 1/2 inch above the surface of the finish floor covering.
A well-fitted door should have a 2mm gap on either side and at the top, with the gap at the bottom depending on the thickness of your flooring/carpet.
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What is a comfortable door height?
Interior doors typically have a standard height of 200-203 cm, with a common height of 210 cm. This height creates space and comfort in rooms. Standard frames are 6 or 8. 6 cm wide and are commonly used in new buildings. Measuring the door opening correctly is crucial for choosing a new door, as errors can lead to unnecessary costs and installation issues. To measure correctly, follow these steps:
What should the gap be at the bottom of an interior door?
The gap between the door and the floor is crucial for optimal functionality. Following the installation guide ensures smooth operation, effective air circulation, and proper clearance to prevent flooring damage. Interior doors, such as bathroom, bedroom, and closet doors, can be premade or painted over. However, exterior paint should not be used on interior doors as it releases harmful chemicals and may not be suitable for most homes due to inadequate ventilation. Premade doors can be painted over, but it is not recommended for DIY projects.
What to put between a door and a floor?
The door threshold has a gap and height difference between the two levels, which can be addressed by using quad moulding to cover the gap and prevent toe damage. Quad moulding can be used anywhere, and rectangular moulding can be used if desired. Ram trims may not be suitable due to the door threshold’s elevation. While filling the gap is an option, covering it is preferred as it is difficult to find an appropriate colored timber filler.
How do I close the gap between my floor and door?
A door sweep is a barrier designed to close the gap between the floor and door, thereby maintaining an airtight seal and preventing the ingress of insects and dirt. The most prevalent variety is the screw-in door sweep, which can be affixed to the door’s internal surface. To utilize a screw-in door sweep, one must adhere to the following steps:
How high should a door handle be from the floor?
The standard door handle height is 34 inches from the floor and 48 inches from the floor for doors without pre-drilled holes. This allows for wiggle room in the placement of handles. It’s important to measure from a finished floor and consider the thickness of the flooring you plan to install. Installation of a door handle is simple, with only a screwdriver, safety glasses, and the hardware for the new handle. It’s crucial to keep safety glasses on throughout the installation to protect your eyes. Consult an online guide for guidance on installing door handles.
What is the rough in height for an interior door?
The rough height of door openings is calculated by adding the height of the doors, jamb, flooring, and leveling. For example, a 32″ wide door with a 96″ tall opening requires a 34″ wide x 98-1/2″ tall rough opening. To determine the space needed for a door in a hallway, it is crucial to account for the casing on each side of the door. Most homes use 2-3/4″ 2x4s as an “EAR” on each side, allowing for the thickness of drywall and the width of casing. This results in a total width of 43″ and 98-1/2″ in height for rough framing.
These rough opening requirements can be punitive to design, as they require more space than the door slab would indicate. Design professionals often have never hung a door or watched one being framed on a jobsite, leading to errors on plans and required changes in the construction process. Door widths are also important in various cases, such as wheelchairs, laundry rooms, elevators, and entry doors. Therefore, it is essential to consider the specific requirements and space requirements when designing doors.
What is the ideal interior door height?
Standard interior door height is 80 inches, with some codes allowing for 78 inch doors. These doors are known as “6/8 doors” and are 6 foot, 8 inches in measurement. Standard exterior door width is typically 36 inches, although smaller sizes like 30 or 32 inch can also be found. Standard exterior door height is 80 inches, with options up to 96 inches. Custom doors can be even taller. Both interior and exterior doors are crucial for safety and aesthetics in a home.
What is the gap between the floor and the door?
Trim the door to size and ensure a 2mm gap on either side and at the top. The gap at the bottom depends on the thickness of the flooring/carpet. Plane the door using an electric plane or sand for a smooth finish. If the existing frames aren’t square, buy a doorset with the door already hung in its frame to reduce problems and time.
Check if the new hinges fit the old ones in the frame. If not, mark the location and remove extra wood. Screw each hinge in place with one center screw, sticking the hinge knuckle out from the frame edge. Prop the door in the frame using wedges to ensure the correct gap at the bottom. Note that moulded, real wood veneer, foil, hardboard, and MDF hollowcore doors should have 2 hinges, while feature and primed doors should have 3 hinges.
What is the thumb rule for height of door?
Residental buildings should have doors between 0. 9m x 2. 0m, with larger doors at the main entrance for aesthetic appeal. Minimum-sized doors are recommended for bath rooms and water closets, with a minimum size of 0. 75m x 1. 9m. The door height should be 1m higher than its width. Windows provide light and ventilation, and should be located at a height of 0. 75m to 0. 90m from the floor level. In hot and humid regions, the window area should be 15-20% of the floor area. It is recommended to have at least two openings in two different walls. For every 30m3 inside volume, there should be at least 1m2 window opening.
Various types of doors are used, including battened and ledged doors. Battens are 100mm to 150mm wide and 20mm thick wooden boards connected by horizontal planks called ledges, usually three at the top, bottom, and mid-height. These doors are the simplest and cheapest, and are secured by tongued and grooved joints.
How high off the ground should an interior door be?
Shaving the bottom of a door can be a challenging task, but it can be done by removing the door from its frame, clamping it on a workbench, marking the desired amount of shave, using a knife to score the surface, and placing masking tape on the bottom to prevent chipping. Use a circular saw with a fine tooth blade to cut the door, then sand it with fine sand paper or a power sander. If necessary, re-stain the door to match the rest of the door and allow it to dry before re-hanging it. This guide provides a step-by-step guide on how to shave the bottom of a door, ensuring it remains structurally sound and not damaged.
What is the rough in for interior door height?
A single door rough opening is 2″ wider and 2 ½” taller than the actual door size, resulting in a 32″ wide and 82 ½” tall door. The same formula applies to a double door unit, with the exception of double door units with astragal, which require an additional 2 ½” in width and height. French doors require a slightly different calculation, multiplying the door’s width by 2″ and then adding 2″. For a sliding door, the rough opening requires no formula and can be manually measured using a measuring device. To get the width, run a tape measure across the door, stud to stud, and the height by placing a tape measure between the seal or the bottom and the head jamb.
To get the right measurement of rough openings, it is essential to know the basic and standard sizes of doors. This knowledge will help you measure an interior door rough opening and discuss door measurement and sizes further.
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All this is great, thanks, BUT what I ( and I assume others ) would love to see, is, you do a door on poorly framed opening . Yes, you basically kind of pointed out what to do in some of those cases, but it would be nice to actually see it for real. One LEARNS far more from the difficult things in life, then the easy ones ! Thanks Kindly Bob from Calgary
My new ‘The Funny Carpenter’ t-shirt came in the mail the other day (super comfy btw..) So I decided to wear it today as I we are remodeling our kitchen. When my husband came home from work I was sanding our cabinets & he noticed the shirt and just starts cracking up! But then he was like “WTF Jen, where’s my shirt!?” 😂😂 Looks like I’ll be ordering him one as well! Ha!
Pro tip, add 2.5% on to cost of the install for every score years of age for the house. If it’s over 200 years old, let another contractor do it! If the house is like mine, pre-Revolutionary War, fix it with gasoline and matches. 🤣My Dad, brothers and I remodeled an early 1800’s home in Boston years ago. We literally could not use a level on the doors and widows; everything needed to be done by eye to give the appearance of level. This house should have been turned into one of those road side attractions where water runs uphill.
Great baseline method and easily translates to bigger and more complicated installs. When I do heavy solid core or double doors I put two pieces of rip strips (casing, ply strips, etc) across the jamb high and low, then plumb them. Once the door is set into the opening you can open the doors and shim at the door bottom corner. This keeps everything in place and makes adjustment very easy. On small or hollow core its not necessary but for the bigger stuff it makes install a breeze.
Very important to figure out the proper height off the floor! Know exactly what the finished floor will be if it’s not installed. If it’s an exterior door, you’ll usually need to set it on plywood. You may have underlayment, tile, hardwood, LVP, engineered wood, linoleum, carpet, etc. Set your door too low and you might not have clearance for a door mat or rug. If your floors aren’t perfectly level from one door to another, or have differentfloor finishes, you might end up with your door tops at different heights as well. I always tack small blocks to the opposite side of the opening so the door won’t fall through, and automatically sits flush to the drywall. I’ve also used my three-plane laser instead of my 78″ level, but I’m not entirely sold on it… Thinking to try the door-hanging clips as well.
Great stuff. A little tip for leveling the door. If you put a level mark on each side of RO then measure to floor it will give you the height difference to cut your bottoms. Where you put the mark doesn’t matter you just need the difference. If the hinder side is 1/4 more than the latch you cut an extra 1/4 off the latch side. Then when you place the door it is level.
I have installed doors before but it’s always good to see what other ideas there are. I’m installing a lot of 8’ interior doors the next few days so I’ll be using these methods. I was doing all those except I don’t always pre install my shims and don’t just use the shim in one direction. I’ll be experimenting. Your correct multi tool is the best for cutting shims. Thanks for sharing!
I have had issues using a multi-tool for trimming off the excess shims. You generally need more than one screw or nail into the shim to hold it so that it doesn’t move with the multi blade. Even with multiple fasteners I’ve had the multi-tool split the shims and they fall apart. So now I generally use the utility knife method and maybe clean it up with the multitool.
good informative article, I would disagree with the hing bind though, if you place a shim from both sides of a door their tapered angles cancel each other out, no matter if you push the hinge side shim in further than the other side shim, you could get the result you are looking for by adding 2 shims on the hinge side and one shim on the opposite side thereby giving the slight angle to eliminate hinge bind
How come you never see a door install article where the door framing isn’t plum and level, the “brand new” door your installing is slightly tweaked in some way, hinge screws are not properly screwing hinges in their mortise as they should, hinge mortise is not even throughout, etc…? These are not just happens once in a blue moon problems. These are “industry standard” door headaches simply because that’s what you get for your money. I’m not criticizing dudes methods, I’m just saying the conditions presented for instruction are not realistic 99% of the time. How about some articles showing that door that will not cooperate for you at all. Again, not criticizing-just wondering if anyone will ever show the door from hell install how to article. I think that might be more helpful.
Very clear and easy to follow but question, why do you need shims immediately if the frame is perfectly plumb? On the hinge side, why were they preinstalled to the frame, what does that do (since you nail them and can’t adjust them one the door is placed, seems you could install direct to the frame)?
Trim carpenter for 20 years. This is exactly how I self-taught myself after thousands of doors- except a few details. I cut a shim pack in half with my miter saw, removing about 3/4″ of the shims. This way I get double the shims out of a pack and never have to cut the shims when I’m done, because you get thick and thins ones. I also nail my shims exactly where the screw is on the hinges. (usually 13″ and 72″ from ground) This way I don’t even have to put nails in my jam that I have to putty later, I just replace one short screw with a long one (keep it loose so you can tightening later if the house shifts). One screw through the strike plate is plenty.
The top and bottom are the “set”hinges. The center hinge is a “carrier” hinge. (Only carries the door weight from the jamb). You do not want to shim the center hinge. It should just free float. You can use a shim on the hinge side only (not stacked from opposing sides) in the center just to adjust the margin. This is the biggest mistake that even the most experienced carpenters make. Thanks for posting.
I’ve installed a lot of doors and not sure when I started pre-plumbing the shims on the hinge side. I think it started with installing windows by myself. Why didn’t your shims end up under the hinges? On exterior doors you can drive long screws through the hinge and never have a problem with it sagging when the shims are behind the hinges. I’ve also ripped shims on the table saw that are the right size and that makes things really easy if you have an accurate level. I’ve seen it all, walls out of plumb from one side to the other, wrong size openings, walls flopping around on concrete floors. It’s funny how the superintendent on the job thinks it is the finish carpenter’s job to fix all this horrible framing.
I have hung thousands of doors finding that there are ways unique with the rough opening and wall being off plumb. and also hanging doors on finish flooring. I just automatically pop the hinges so i can cut the bottom jambs to level. Then secure the hinge side and put the slab back and finish the latch side.
MASTER CLASS! On pre hung door. I’ve been doing these for years and still learned some tips/fixed some small details I’ve been doing wrong. Namely shim below but not on hinge, then follow thru w screw thru door frame and shim. Also like the trim screw tip! My #10 screw was overkill. OMG and the 6’ level pre shim tip! Thanks funny C.
First of all nice job. You were very thorough. Unfortunately when I seen all the tools on the counter I was appalled. NO Proffessional would ever place his tools on anything the customer owns without some sort of protection. Secondly the bathroom door you installed was taller than the door beside it. The frame and door should have been cut to match the surrounding doors. Good job otherwise. If it was that easy everyone would do it 😊
Some good stuff. I’ve hung a lot of doors too and I would add, instead of a 6′ level, get yourself a 78″ level. Most standard doors are 80″. The 78″ level is specifically designed for this purpose. Also, as mentioned previously, I use 1 long screw (long enough to grab framing) into the inner most screw hole (closest to the center of the jamb) in the upper hinge. One last recommendation, I use “trim head” screws through the jamb and shims, usually where the stop will be in order to cover the holes left by the screw heads. It makes adjusting simple. I only use nails after everything is swinging properly.
I’ve installed a bunch of interior doors you have some pretty good tips the only one that I wouldn’t use is not putting shims on both sides of your door in so many cases I’ve found when using one and tightening the screws down will cause the door to twist and can cause problems with door reveal not looking good or door rubbing
Nice article. Been using this procedure for 30yrs. One thing for sure you want to do first in our part of the country is pay attention to the type of door and the time of year your installing it. I’ve seen doors work perfectly until July when the humidity is high and the door won’t close. If you’re using using screws use Cedar shims, pine ones will split.
Your Dad knew his stuff. Ive written down every procedure in homebuilding as a reference to check as my memory isnt what it used to be. This is exactly how I install prehung doors. I would add 1 tiny detail – trim head screws after 16 gauge tac nailing – the trim head screws- you want the ones with the reverse threads up near the head. Use 2 1/2″ length screws so that b4 you add casing you close the dr & check reveal all around between dr & jamb. Micro adjustments are now done with trim heads either in or out for a perfectly uniform gap all around between the 2.
Great article, overall. A few notes, however. On the left coast (CA) you almost never see interior single-rabbeted jambs, which because they’re more meaty and solid are easier to hang. And if you have a heavy solid-core door you may want to remove the door and hang the jamb first. In such case, how to get the legs in the same plane, so the door equally contacts the jamb’s door-stop and with no gaps? Run a screw into the edge of the jamb at 3 of 4 corners, then string a line in an X pattern. Set the hinge-side jamb first, then the upper corner of the strike side. Then move the bottom of the stike-side jamb in or out until the strings just touch in the middle. When the strings touch, the legs are parallel and the door will then equally contact the door stop all the way around the jamb.
Very similar to how my dad taught me to install doors. Only difference he showed me was he “pre cuts” some roughly 3.5″ long by 1.5″ tall shims cut from 1/4″ underlayment scraps or 1/8″ underlayment scraps. We then use those to plumb the opening similar to what you did with the shims, just eliminates that taper that the shims have. Then we shim with taper shims from the “inside” of the door as needed to set the gaps/reveals. Good article tho!
Wife: Honey, what’s going on? Why did you take the bathroom door out? Him: Uhh, I’m going to put it back. Wife: Was something wrong with it, or something?? Him: I’m trying to make more content babe, for my YouTube website. Wife: Nice…. Just don’t make a article about installing an oven until after I’m done making dinner.
Very well thought out article. I like to watch others and see if anyone has any better ways of doing things. I have been a joiner for 30+ years. If I was to add anything of importance would be, how to align a door frame. Dont rely on a level for this. Use your eyes. Stand back to one side of the door. Eye up the outside edge of one leg against the backside edge of the other leg. When both edges align all the way down both legs are aligned to each other. Now there can be situations where you can’t get your head in a place to see. So in this situation use a very old school method and that is to screw 4 screws or tack 4 pins 2 in each leg on the wall face top and bottom and the same on the other side. Then use some string and make a cross in the center. Then when the 2 strings touch in the middle both legs are aligned to each other.
I also plumb the jamb hinges with a level before installing the door jamb much as you show . I align the shims directly in line with the hinges though, same as your latch side and especially if using a hinge screw that goes thru the jamb into the framing. I also shimmed at the head. This way once the jamb is in I could lock it in place by setting both sides of the header shims tight. I strongly disagree with not using 2 stacked opposing shims. It only takes a second to tack up the first and then overlay the second not doing so can twist the jamb especially if a novice. Even more so if the rough opening is more than 1/2″ bigger
You should have established a level reference line on the door. Never shim up the jamb legs. You should be cutting them so they sit on the finished floor. So instead of shimming the one side you should have cut the other. This isn’t a bad method, but it limits your ability to make any real adjustments. You should also check the door on the inside not the outside and make adjustments.
The out takes are the funniest part….. good job and well done! I have a suggestion for another article. I’m often called upon to install a new door in an original opening and retaining the door jamb. This means making certain that the hinge mortices are routed out (or chiseled out) in the right location AND making certain that the door handle and latch line up perfectly with the strike plate. As you know, this is a little trickier than it sounds…. time for a new article? Not for me of course, but I bet there are loads of people who could benefit from this. Maybe you already did one?
Excellent article. I feel like an idiot all the doors I’ve installed and never thought to pre-install the shims on the hinge side.. Good tip about the hinge bind as well, nice and clear. And the finishing head screws. 👍 Painters will love us. Btw- I’d be the first one in line to sign a petition to drop the useless word plumb from the English language. Everyone knows what we mean when we say level or they wouldn’t think to ‘correct’ it.
I had never hung a door in my life 2 years ago. I replaced 7 interior doors in my house with solid core pre-hung doors. I finally figured out the pre-nail the hinge side shims to the framing on door number 7. It’s an awesome method. I highly recommend. I had to deal with twisted studs which made me have to shim the doors uneven in order to get the door jamb to not torque out of the rough opening when securing the jamb to the framing. I also had a lot of situations were the thickness of the studs + drywall seemed overly thick compared to the width of my jambs. I had to do quite a bit of “splitting the difference” and “drywall surgery” to make sure I would be able to install the door trim somewhat straight without huge gaps. Even then I still ended up having to take a hand planer to the back side of the door trim to thin it down on the drywall side so it could make it to the jamb side. The doors in the house previously had split jambs. Buying replacement doors with split jambs would have made my life a bit easier I’m sure. Also the solid core doors are much heavier than hollow core doors too.
Great article. You really make this look easy. I bought a couple of frosted glass doors from a big box store that were on clearance. They were too good of a deal to pass up. I thought I would attempt to install them myself. I removed one of the existing doors that I wanted the new frosted glass door to go. I worked on that sucker for a good 2 or 3 hours and became completely frustrated. I ended up contacting the box store to see if they offered door install which they did. It took several months for the guy to come out and then he installed one of the doors so far out of plumb with the drywall that I ended up having to chip away a lot of drywall so my new wider door casing that I’m installing through out my home would sit flat on the door casing. What a friggin nightmare. The other door I don’t believe he installed correctly as it “popped” when I’d open and close it. I called him back out…again took like a month and a half and then he tells me that the door jamb is bad. I was like why didn’t you tell me this before you installed the door??? Had to go back to the box store and tell them what’s going on. They ordered me a new door which was considered a custom door because they no longer carry the doors that I bought on clearance. Again took almost 2 months for the guy to come back out. He removed the previously installed frosted glass door and then goes to unwrap the new frosted glass door and the door is damaged. He took both doors back to the store which added to the nightmare because I didn’t get all my money back AND I still have a rough opening in my home.
This is helpful. I need to remove an old door that is broken (hollow core– dogs busted a hole in it) and replace it with a prehung. Pretty sure nothing is level. I do recommend having the knob installed so you can see if it catches properly because when we did my friend’s door, even though the sides were plumb, the door wasn’t catching properly. I live in an area where drywall was not common in old houses. We don’t have any drywall. Just have thin wood paneling. Do you have any articles on installing exterior doors.
Ok this is embarrassing, I am a GC and specialized in service and repair to electrical/plumbing/hvac, for 30+ years, but since my biggest clients were property managers I always got stuck with doors. I Hate Doors, at least I did, your simple advice of installing the shims first, and from the hinge side has cut my install time by 60%
you did fine. not dumb . its very difficult to teach someone how when most people these days have trouble operating a standard screwdriver . you are giving me great incentive to get on with my next business. teaching home owners how to do these things on their own . after 30 years doing, its time to get paid for what i know, NOT, WHAT I DO..
It might be less steps/easier to first place the door in the frame and shim the top, placing shims on either side, right at the corners. This puts enough pressure to hold the door in place. Next you can shim the header across, making sure things are level and flush. Lastly, you shim the sides all the way down, also making sure everything is straight, flush and so that the door can open/close without issue. Then you just nail the door in place.
Just wanted to say “thank you” for this article. My wife and I hung 7 interior and 3 bi-fold doors. I watched this article about 8 times before trying it and a couple times during. It was nice to understand the process. Suggestion, put out a article on hanging bi-folds. There is not a good one out there. I used things for this article to do it. A couple minor mistakes and I dare any one to point them out.
I prefer non rabbeted bucks with nail on stops because you can use full size construction screws where the stops go. If it’s a solid core door you’ll need to full shim the buck behind the hinges particularly the top hinge and put a long screw through that hinge to keep the door from racking the buck. Nail on stops allow you to accommodate door wind without shifting the buck. I also screw on a couple sticks across the buck stick out on both sides to register on the drywall and hold the bottom of the buck parallel.
First thing you should check where your opposing interior wall is so you can get a good rip on trim and not at an angle your door can be out of level by 3/8″ and not effect the door . You should buy a 78″ level if your going to set a lot of doors . Every door is different. When you get metal doors this method will work great but I don’t think this is the best for wood frame doors . Not bad info if things are perfect…
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Absolutely agree with your reply to a comment from @chrisford8403 from a year ago / historical allure of an old house. Any articles on how to hang older door into existing opening? Do same priniciples apply ? How about framing windows (interior) new were installed into exisiting framing which now sit proud to drywall where plaster & lath used to be.
Another quick tip, if you’re buying an Empire level, be sure to compare all the units available at the store. Professional tool stores will usually have an area that’s perfectly level and another that’s perfectly plumb, where you can check the accuracy of the lower quality levels at. In Illinois, Berland tools have these. Not sure in other states. If you’re a professional, just spend the money and buy a Stabila or other high end level.
Took carpentry for 2 years . had to hang 70 wooden doors . and do everything with primitive tools .. Hand plane, hand cranking drill that was not electric, used a chisels for cutting out hinges, and a hand saw .. Learned from some old time Italian carpenters .. They said after learning how the primitive tools work, then they let me use power tools, that was 35 years ago .. and today, I look at how differently doors are prefabbed today, Back then we had to make the door Jam as well .. They are put together totally different today, Used 8″ nails, and 4″ nails .. Also learned how to install metal Jams before the block wall is put into place, then hang metal door to the metal Jam after block is done .. You can have a old house, or even a trailer, and you have to rig it to fit with the newer product of today .. Worked on a trailer made 25 years ago, and they really didn’t give much play for a door jam at all, the drywall thickness was 3/8, that’s pretty thin . I believe they are doing most trailers with 1/2 now .. Crazy thing, not one plug was hooked to a stud ..they were all floating electric boxes that hooked to the drywall by tabs and arms .. Ended up getting house hold boxes that hook to studs .. when redoing rooms ..
Why waste time using trim screws in the jam that you have to fill in? Just use a #6 or #8 (sometimes #10 or larger for commercial hinges) 3″ screw that matches the finish of the hinge screw and replace the closest to center of the jam w your 3″ screw? So many long paths to the end… production isn’t just spitting out the product but doing it correctly, effectively and saving unnecessary steps. Like wasting time pre shimming the opening. But hey…. You made a youtube article so you got that going for you
Nothing wrong there. It’s easy to see that you’ve set plenty of doors, and you also did a great good explaining the process. This us a great method to use, especially if you want to be efficient without sacrificing the quality of your work. Im not sure if I can set a door as fast as I used to, cuz my body won’t let me anymore. Doing piece work years ago, I’d use this same method and set anywhere from 20-25 doors and trim them out, in one day. Not a bad days work at $35 per door.
Fantastic content and article, but is anyone going to mention how painful it is to see steel tools, or any tools for that matter, placed directly on a finished solid surface countertop without any thought to protection? Wouldn’t fly with any of my clients, nor would I expect it to. A simple tarp, towel or even some cardboard as a small gesture of respect for others personal property if nothing else. A little lesson that goes a long way and will separate you from the all dreaded “Industry standard” that is seemingly on a downward spiral. Keep up the great articles! Extremely valuable, informative and practical eh 😜
I still enjoyed perusal this, but I have installed doors : you cheated, as your door was already in a doorframe, which was nice and squared off. I have had to hang doors into frames that are solidly fixed and immovable, but NOT square or plumb. in fact, I don’t think any of the houses around here come with vertical or straight walls.
I work with stain grade solid core doors almost daily, 8 foot and heavy as hell. Throw door in and take out the screws from the jamb that go into door, open the door to 90 degrees and use air shim to bring door up to line up, shoot mail below top hinge and then start leveling the door at 90 degrees, once I have it plumb I throw in another tack about bottom hinge, go to my strike side and line in up with my opening and throw in two tacks, one top, one bottom, close door and make sure my strikes are lined up so I don’t fuck the hardware guys, so now it’s just tacked and swinging I close my door as far as I can and use my level to see where I need to go, shim above bottom hinge and below top hinge till plumb, once plumb I throw two nails in each shim top and bottom now my hinge side is locked in, header with 95% of the time set itself, move to strike side and start working my reveal, then do shims on hinge side again shim the top of every hinge, draw straight line with 48’ level on floor outside the door with level against dry wall, shim outside till my jambs line up on the line with my speed square, shim other side, use square on my hinge side to get my 1/4 gap on my door stop and use 18gauge to secure, adjust header stop to match, adjust strike side my eye so door is flush with stop and flush with jamb on inside. Good day for really good guys is 7-10 doors, if the framing wasn’t so fucked in Arizona the really good guys would get 12-15 a day. I’m 23 and been lucky to work with great door setters so I average 6 doors a day, on new contruction always keep a sawzall just in case your opening is too tight, pre hung stain grade oak doors are not fun but after you do them everyday, Home Depot doors are a joke lol, Great article never seen that tech before.
Or, lay the door down with pin side of hinges up, cut the jamb length to fit, nail the side trim pieces to the sides of door (don’t do the top and stop nailing about 12″ below the top of the door. Using the trim as a mounting flange, pick the door up and put it into the hole. Center the door and plumb and then nail the trim to the king and jack studs. Shim the door, verify the jambs are flush with the wall, nail through the shims, then trim the other saide (jamb extension if needed, of course) cut off the shims, then trim the rest of the door. The trick is using the side trim as a mounting flange – makes the job incredibly fast. Here’s a link to doing it fast and consistenly – youtube.com/watch?v=8H69AfPbSZQ
I like to prenail my casing on one side of my jam then I use the casing to nail it all level and get everything sitting nice. I have a tote of precut shims (flat not tapered) of various sizes. After I nail the casing off I shim with my precut shims and cedar shims (tapered) if required. I’ll preassemble casing on the ground using miter bond, then nail it to my jam. This helps in keeping the jam square during install which just makes installing it that much easier. I use a cross line laser shot up the hinge side and top of the casing when I’m leveling. Don’t even use a level anymore.
LOL…I was just going to tell you the difference between plumb and level, and then I say the ending. Good article. I always place a little dab of white glue on the shims, so they stay in place over the life of the door. I remember renovating a hotel with my dad when I was a kid, and my job was to remove the doors. I noticed that half of the shims were near the base of the doors because the cedar cracks, splits and falls to the bottom of the gap between the wall and the door. Cheers.
I took my bedroom door off to reverse it’s opening swing because it was opening into the room and I wanted it to open toward the wall and now It’s mashed, wont close at all, I’m pretty sure I have the hinges in the correct places and everything but I don’t know. Moral of the story, if you don’t think you can hang a door, don’t even try. LOOOL
I’m looking at 7:07. It looks like the door you’re installing is a good inch + higher than the closet door right next to it. That’s going to look terrible when cased. I made that mistake when first hanging doors back in the 80’s. Did a perfect hang, stood back to admire my work and realized the door next to mine was a bit lower. Crap! It came out and I did it all over. I never made that mistake again and visualize that error every time I hang a door now!
This is a good article, thanks. What would make it a great article is if you went in to new construction where the door layout wasn’t perfect and had to work around it. I know, carpenters always make things square lol but when they don’t it’s a pain to install a door or fix one that isn’t installed correctly.
soooooo i am just wondering why, on the hinge side, wouldn’t you just pull out one of the inner screws to not have to put any screws in the face??? A good production guy can trim one side of the door, set it with the trim then shim up and secure hinge side with screws.. Then the latch side gets nails only, besides the knob catch, it gets 2 1/2 screws that hold that side securely. I can literally do a door in 15 minutes tops with the precut trim kits
How do you know how much of the shim to put in place before the door is in. I don’t get how you can do that if you nailed it up before the door is in. That makes no sense and your the only one I’ve ever seen do this out of nearly a thousand I’ve seen. It worked and looks good but I’m fun fused. Thanks looks good….
So I am the greatest carpenter in the world and have made lots of money due to my carpentry skills but folk with social media skills are rich while the “lots” of money that I make barely pays the bills. When the chips fall where they may, one can only hope that those of us that know how to use a compass are ahead of the curve.
Sorry but I think this article should have been how to not install a door, One thing’s for sure if you’re taught wrong you will always do it wrong But thank you’re doing it right. For the life of me I don’t see where these guys think they should make a article on how to do something that they do not know how to do
I use almost the same method except I don’t use screws on interior doors unless they’re big heavy solid core or custom 7 and 8 foot. In that case or for exterior security doors we use 4 inch screws with matching color heads and replace one of the hinge screws or with exterior doors you can also remove the weather strip and hide grk headless screws behind there. Bondo can always be used to hide the screw holes of course but just requires more time which is more money. Nothing wrong with the method in the article just throwing out a couple alternatives that may be easier to get professional results for someone with no experience hiding screw holes. Another detail for them to consider is that the casing is also going to add to a lot of the holding power once the door is finished out so no need to go crazy with the nail gun.
Just to be clear he is not hanging a door he is fitting a door set,the door is pre hung, I have hung thousands of doors in my time from light weight flush panel to large heavy oak doors and if I faffed about and took as long as he does to fit a door set I wouldn’t have lasted half a shift, the guy is a DIY hack, no professional joiner works like this.
I’m an interior trim carpenter of 30+ years, and consider myself far above average.What I don’t agree with is pre shimming, it is necessary for some situations like some exterior doors. If you set the hing side of the jamb you can see if the 2×4 is twisted by checking how the head jamb follows the wall above the door and then you can adjust your shims accordingly.
Could you do a article using old door frames like my 1970’s era duplexes. Somehow they used odd size doors, that fit odd size framed openings rather than even. The framing is almost always off every possible way both sides, leaning in or out a bit, and side to side, sometimes framing shattered at top or bottom and the custom made doors are not normal height so doos from Home Depot are too high, especially fun on front door install.
I have hung tens of thousands of doors in my trim career. Your method works perfectly fine, but it is the most difficult method I’d ever seen. Hanging a flush mount should take around 60 seconds to hang in a new build, 10 minutes if you are replacing an existing door… for a pro. Even if you weren’t walking your viewers through the install, this method would take a lot longer due to unnecessary steps.
I have a different method to share and perhaps more traditional or at least the way I was taught many years ago. I don’t pre shim the opening. I first start by taking the pins off the hinges and popping the door off, then unscrew the hinges. Place the jamb into the opening and do a quick check for level on top and sides to make sure the opening isn’t out of whack before I begin shimming and fastening. Once that’s done, I begin shimming at the top and nail it in to hold the jamb, then proceed down the bottom hinge. Once that’s set, I plumb up the rest of the hinges, shimming and nailing. After that, I predrill one hole per hinge and screw it in. I then screw the hinges back in and pop the door on and using the door and reveal to set the lockside and shim and nail only. This method is for solid core doors. Typical time it takes to install using this method at a reasonable pace is about 20 to 30 mins.
Notes for later: 1. Check plumb of rough open 2. Mark shim height, Pre-install shims 3. Set pre-hung door in, shim top outside corner, add a screw at top 4. Make sure jam is flush with drywall 5. Check door reveal, may need to shim knob side. 6. Check that the store is hitting flush against the jam 7. Check reveal, make sure door doesn’t swing open or close by itsself 8. Screw jam into framing behind latch and add final screws 9. Cut off shims with multitool Not following why the fat side should be on the inside of the door exactly?
Yeah, you are setting yourself up for failure shimming the hinges first. Always shim the very top and the very bottom, then set the door and then set the shims to create a good reveal on the hinge jamb. Also use 1/4″ plywood not shims on the first four shims spots on the top and bottom of both sides. If you shim the bottom hinge you remove the ability to adjust the hinge jamb spacing under the bottom hinge.
In every door install – I always remove TOP Factory Screw from hinge to casing. Using 3″ screw through the hinge to the stud. The factory screws are too short and always end up allowing door to sag – and now the latch misses the striker plate over time. And for fact,, you all have doors with this problem throughout Right Now. Especially Entrance Doors to the Home. Simply remove the Top Screw of TOP Hinge,, drill a pilot hole for 3″ screw, problem cured. If necessary, remove a second screw from TOP Hinge, and repeat. Also,, if you want to give the Hinge a good five years of zero wear,, apply a good quality Teflon Lube, like used on bicycle chain. It’s the toughest and cleanest wearing lube there is. Also,, when driving 3″ screws into older timber, apply bees wax to entire length of threads, and the screw will penetrate with ease. Go with less torque on clutch to prevent screw from snapping off when in low gear. Tip: Those who keep using High Gear for Long Screws,, will simply end up ruining their motors. When I hear someone forcing motor to struggle,, that’s the last time they ever use my tools again. When a quick flip to low gear is zero strain on motor. My Commercial Cordless Tools are Sony. No other tool has surpassed it in over 26 years. Starting Kit at $250,, it has paid for itself 40 times over. Then purchased a second set in Europe, that stays at friends house,, so when I visit two three times a year,, I always have the best at hand. There is no pine used in any doors or windows in Europe, It’s all Solid Mahogany as hard as steel.
Dude throw the level away and don’t shim until after hanging. Pre hung doors are built so sorry nowadays. Use your eyes. Stick door in hole adjust till reveals look even. Shoot face of hinge side first. Look at reveals again and shoot when right. Shim hinge side first. Check reveals after each shim. Your way is great but the level just causes to much time delay. In the end your eyes are the level.
Another good idea is to paint the exposed end of the door with a sealer primer or something like that, to prevent or slow down moisture absorbing into the exposed timber, causing it to swell and potentially creating the same problem again. Especially on bathroom doors, where there is always going to be a higher moisture level in that area.
OR just put shims on lower hinge. WHERE to add the shims makes a huge difference. 1) on the bottom hinge, obviously 2) Door scrapes floor a) …within first 45 degrees of opening swing i) shim between hinge and door b) …beyond 45 degrees of opening swing ii) shim between hinge and jamb (framing that hinge is mounted to)
I just took down a door that is rubbing and checked the underside, pre finding this article. I wasn’t sure if it was the door or a toy. Sure enough it’s the door. My intent was to do something similar to what you’ve shown, however… my underside is shedding. It’s like the inside of the door is pushing out the bottom rim and is very very dry but fluffy substance. I shaved off a bunch anyway. I’m deciding if the door needs replaced or if I need to paint the underside to keep the insides in. Your door insides still look like plywood but smooth. Do you know what do do with dry smooshy bottoms? Is that a combo of heat expansion and water damage? Hugely possible in a household with kids.