Doors - Cleveland Ohio, Oh

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Doors (Interior) - Install or Replace
Doors - Repair

Installing and Replacing Doors
This section explains the how-to steps for taking out old doors and installing new ones. When buying new doors, most people get prehung units with the door already square & plumb with the jambs.

Installing a prehung door is usually easier, but not always possible. We'll take you through the steps of installing a door and jambs separately along with the hardware details.

Hanging a door can be a frustrating process the first time or two. Taking time to check for plumb/square/level throughout the project will prevent frustration and achieve good results.

Removing an Existing Door
1. Take the door off the hinges or tracks.
2. Remove the door casing (trim) on both sides.
3. With a reciprocating saw or mini-hacksaw, cut through nails holding the jambs.
4. If the door has a threshold plate, pry or cut it loose.

Framing a Rough Door Opening
On exterior and load-bearing walls you'll be removing a few existing wall studs that support the house. Therefore, the door's rough opening framing must take over the load.

In most cases, 2x4 or 2x6 lumber is used for side framing and two 2x10s (or larger) lumber makes up the header. Mark the outline of the doorway
If you're putting in a prehung door, fitting the door into the jambs is already done for you. You just need to shim the jambs correctly into the frame. Whether you're installing each jamb separately, or installing a pre-hung door, getting the jambs in place is done basically the same way.

Shim the side jambs plumb/square with the opening and tack them in place. Test fit the header jamb and when it's square secure the side jambs.

NOTE: Place shims behind hinge and strike plate areas for secure fasteningrol the door while test fitting and handling. (For more on that, check out our Door Knob Tips.)

When the door and the jamb frame are square to each other, adjust the gaps between the door and jambs

Fit the door, block it with shims and check the gapsLocate the hinges to stick out slightly from the jamb so they won't "pinch" when opening/closing.Fasten the hinges to the jamb. Then fit the door and trace around the door hinge pieces (hinge leaf). Mortise out the door and fasten the hinges.
TIP: Don't completely tighten the screws to allow the hinges some "play" while getting the hinge pins in.

Tap the door pins in and test the door. If it opens/closes freely, you're ready to put on the door stop and latch hardware.

Shimming Door Hinges
A newly hung door may bind or sag a bit, due to a jamb being out of plumb. Or accidentally making the hinge mortise too deep creates an uneven gap along the latch side of the door.

Both of these problems may easily be corrected by shimming a hinge or two with a cut piece of cardboard, thin flooring scrap, or in some cases a shim cut out to fit behind of the hinge.

Close the door and check the gaps. If the door sticks at the top hinge, shim the top hinge and snug the bottom hinge, and vise versa for a door sticking at the bottom hinge.

If the door sticks at the top knob-side corner, tighten the top hinge and shim the bottom hinge, and vise versa for a door sticking at the bottom knob-side corner.

Remove the hinge across from the gap you wish to close. Place the shim in the mortise and reattach the hinge over it. Note how much the door gap changed and shim other hinges accordingly if necessary. However, shimming out too thick will often make the shim visible.

Door Knob Tips
Do not try to install a door knob without an appropriately-sized hole saw. Go buy oneWith the knob on, locate the strike plate location by transposing the knob location measurements. A less conventional method is to "color" the knob latch point with pencil lead, turn the knob to retract the latch, position the door shut, and release the knob to mark the edge of the strike plate on the side jamb.