Installing an
Interior Door is
a relatively easy task. First, I recommend buying pre-hung doors with extension
jambs. These are interior doors that have the trim already attached. Using
Pre-hung doors makes the task of installing interior doors relatively
simple.
When unpacking the
door you will see that the door can be separated into two pieces. The first
section you will want to install is the section that contains the door itself.
Installing Interior Door
Place the door into the opening. The rough opening of the doorway should be
about 2-3 inches wider than the door frame that you are installing.
Then put a
1/8th or 1/4" shim under the door, on the side where the hinges are. This will
help in the leveling process.
Put a nail about one foot off the ground on the hinge side. The side that you
just shimmed. Do not sink the nail, just in case you have to remove it later
when squaring the door.
Then using a level, place it vertically up the side of the
interior door frame that has
the hinges. Adjust the door so that the level shows the bubble fully centered in
between the two lines of the level. While maintaining this level, put a nail
into the door frame about a foot from the top. Again on the hinge side of the
door.
Now place the level on top of the door frame and adjust the non-hinge side of
the door up or down to get the top of the door level. While maintaining the
level position put a nail on the top of the frame about 3 inches from the
non-hinge side of the door. Do not sink it.
Finally, place the level on the non-hinge side of the door and adjust the frame
so that it is level. Put a nail into the top and bottom of this frame. Do not
sink it.
Installing Interior Door - Testing Phase
Now try opening and closing the door. It
should swing freely and close nicely with about a 1/8 inch gap showing between
the door itself and the non-hinge side of the door. If not, you may have to make
some minor adjustments. That's why you don't want to sink these initial nails.
If the door works smoothly then sink these nails and add 2 more nails to each
side. You should also ensure that you have 3 nails across the top.
Once this is done, the other half of the door frame (the trim piece for the back
side of the door) should slide into the grooves easily of the portion of the
door frame that you just installed. Simply sink some nails into this half and
you are ready to install the door hardware and interior door trim.
For information on
Installing Interior Door Trim, see the
Installing Interior Door Trim Ebook from
HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Installing Interior Door Trim Ebook
provides easy to understand, step-by-step instructions, on how to install
interior door trim around an interior or exterior door. Pictures are included
for every key step in the process.
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- How to Install an
Interior Door : Installing Interior Doors -
