How to Install a Pre-Hung Door

New doors to replace old scratched and badly battered ones will greatly add to the look and value of your home. You can just buy what are called slab doors; also, they are cheaper as it is only the door itself. You do have to remember that slab doors will need to have holes for handles and lock sets cut in them. Plus you will also need to apply hinge areas on the new door; this is a inset which receives the hinge on the doors edge. It always sounds cheaper to go this route, but many uncommon tools are needed for slab doors. I tell people this first when giving them advice on installing pre-hung doors as this question is asked a lot. It is not always cheaper to install just a slab door. Color matching to the old frame is also a problem sometimes.

Now, picking your doors out is the first step in this process. If you are updating for a sale of your house, you may not want to pick solid wood doors as this would be more expensive route to go. Also there are different styles to pick from. The flat doors are a plain look or a more formal look would be a raised 6 panel door. Oak 6 panel doors can really enrich the look of your home. Make sure to pick out a matching stain to the rest of the wood work in your home. You don't want to go through all this time and money to find out you stained your doors the wrong color. Test the stain on a outside jamb or on the bottom. If you are planning on painting the doors, it is suggested to go with a man made door as no will know it is pine or oak if it is coated in paint anyway. A very important aspect when ordering doors or picking out of stock doors, is to make sure you get the correct swing for the door you are replacing. Most of the following process will apply to any pre-hung door type style. A quick tip, stain or paint the door before installation, on for say, a pair of saw horses. Laying flat on the saw horses will make the job faster and easier.

Measuring your existing sizes is a important factor when picking up or ordering your new doors. You can measure just the door itself and provide this to the home improvement sales person at the point of purchase for your doors. If you are changing the opening of a door or adding a door opening to a remodel or update, make sure you have the correct rough opening for the door and frame work. Failure to do this will cause a lot of added work and time on your part. Again if you are adding a door or changing a size, make sure you know how to frame the door opening correctly. Now, that your doors are picked out you need to make sure you have the correct tools for the job.

You will need the following tools for the job. Cordless drill / driver, assorted drill bits, counter sink drill bit, Phillips head bit for the cordless drill / driver. 5 ft. level or longer and a carpenter square. Some materials which will also be needed will be the following: wood filler, screws approx. 2.5 inches in length, wood shims. Now, if your lock set does not have adapters for latches and deadbolt, you will have to router the door on the edge to allow inset for these. Many hole cutting kits will come with a special bit to do this job. Many times a carpenter will use a wood chisel to create an inset. The striker side will normally have the insets for the strikers already done so all you have to do is screw in the strike plates. I suggest a pre-drilled pilot hole, just make sure to use a 1/8 th inch drill or smaller as these screws are not very big. The handle set will be one of the last tasks to be done.

We will go with the fact that you have removed all of your old trim carefully if you plan on re-using it and all of the old door frame and door are gone. Remove all packing and packing stops on the door. It is of great help to have two people to help set the new pre-hung door in the rough opening. Place the door in the opening making sure to have even spacing on both sides of the door in the rough opening. Now, place shims into the opening space on both sides. Placement by each hinge, close to the middle of the hinge. Place shims on the striker side, placing a shim in this area will help secure that area. Then place shims close to the top and bottom of the door frame about 3-4 inches up and down on the striker side will be enough. These areas will also be were you will drill your pilot holes for your screws. It was always nailed in the past, the screws can be very helpful if the door needs to be repositioned if it is not quite correct in the opening.

Once all the shims are in place, double check spacing on both sides of the door. Do not force to many shims in as it will cause a bulge in the opening. The space between the actual door and the frame should be equal all the way around. Use the level at this time to make sure the door is plum within the opening. It is also time to make sure the door is equal in the rough opening on each side of the wall, front and back. It should be flush with the drywall on the front and back or the inside and outside of the door. Some times it is possible to have a uneven edge, if the difference is not that great the trim will cover up the difference. The door still needs to be plum up and down or it will swing open or closed on its own, sometimes referred to as a ghost door. Also sometimes trimming of the drywall is needed. You will also want to make sure the door is resting on the outer door stops, this is the trim piece in about the center of the door frame which stops the door. Once you have made sure the shims are in and the door is equally spaced, you can use a square to make sure it is square in the opening, if the spacing between the frame is equal of the way around this is also a good indication that it is square in the opening. Sometimes the left or right side of the frame may need shims under it to make sure the door itself is square in the opening.

Once you have checked all of the above you can pre-drill a hole on the outer part of the hinge side of the door frame or jamb. Make sure to counter sink these holes as later you will want to fill this hole with wood filler or putty. This hole should be in line with the upper hinge. This is all done with the door closed. Once that screw is in, proceed to the middle hinge, still on the outer part of the jamb or frame. Do the same for the bottom hinge. Now, move to the striker side of the door and put a screw in on the outer jamb in line with striker or latching area. Place two or more screws in upper and lower part of the jamb, in line with where you placed the shims on this side.

Once all these screws are in you can now allow the door to swing in, place the door in various stages of open and closed to see if the door moves open or closed. If it does you will have to check to see if the door had shifted in the opening and then make needed adjustments by removing screws as needed. If the door swings well and does not bind in any areas you can move on to installing your handle or lock sets at this time. If you have a door with all the holes and needed insets you will be able to finish quickly at this point. Also, when picking handles and lock sets make sure to get a handle or lock set which can adjust what is called a back set easily. The latch part can be set to two different lengths. Follow the directions provided with your door handle or lock set.

Now, we will test to make sure the door shuts and opens correctly. Test the new door handle and lock set to ensure it has been installed correctly and is working well. If you have a deadbolt lock set make sure the keys work and that they come out when the door is opened and when it is locked. It is possible when installing a deadbolt to have the twisting part of the deadbolt and key in the wrong position in the latch mechanism. If this is incorrect you will not be able to remove the key from the lock set, this can happen when it is open or in the locked position. Not, being able to remove a key from a deadbolt in the locked position is not going to b helpful to you. Once you have tested all your keys and made sure the door opens and closes correctly, jump for joy as you have now installed your first pre-hung door.

You can use the wood filler or putty to fill the screw holes that are in the jamb of the door. Once the wood filler or putty dries, lightly sand the area to make it flush with the jamb. It is now time to coat those holes with stain or paint depending on what finish you are using on your new pre-hung doors. Again, it is a good idea to stain or paint your doors before they are installed. Laying the doors flat on saw horses makes the job alto easier. Laying the door flat will decrease the chance of runs and allow you to make sure you are evenly coating the door with the finish. Now, if you kept your old trim you can re-install it and then stand back and admire your work.