You’ll want to hang around for this
Start by removing your old door, if it hasn’t already been taken down. Place your new door in your existing door’s opening. Line it up against your door frame, and with a pencil, mark where you’ll need to shave your door down, if necessary, to have a perfect fit. Also, if your door doesn’t have clearance at the bottom to help it open and close properly, mark off 3/4 to 1/2 of an inch. Once you’ve marked off how much to remove, place your door on a flat surface and use a straightedge to draw a straight line across its length or width.
If you need to remove more than five inches from your door so it can fit, put on your safety goggles and ear protection and use your circular saw to cut it. To remove a few inches, use your electric planer. Either way, take your time and slowly go through this step so the final product is even.
After shaving it down, place your door back in its opening and see how it fits—confirm that it is level, too. If it still needs adjusting, repeat the previous steps. Once you have the perfect fit, lay it back on a flat surface to sand down any rough edges.
Before you can install your door hinges, use your measuring tape to see where they’ll go. The rule of thumb is to place the top hinge five inches from the top of your door, the bottom hinge 10 inches from the bottom, and the middle hinge in the middle of your top and bottom. Once you know where to place them, trace their length, width, and thickness for every hinge on your door.
Use your flat-edge chisel and wooden mallet to carve out the area you marked off. You’ll start along the outline and then chisel out the middle. Make sure to get as close to the hinge thickness as possible. After, put your hinge back in its recess to ensure it’s flush against your door.
If everything checks out, use your cordless drill and a drill bit, that’s thinner and slightly shorter than your screw, to drill a pilot hole. If your pilot hole is too large, you risk giving your screw nothing to grip onto.
Take this time to finish the areas of your door that you cut down with paint or stain. Allow the paint to dry before moving to the next step.
If your door didn’t come with a doorknob cut out, use the templates provided by your doorknob’s manufacturer and your hole saw to drill its hole. You’ll also need to chisel out your door latch carefully.
Put all of your hardware—hinges, latch, and doorknob—on your new door into its rightful place.
Use your door stoppers to help keep your door steady while you hang it up. Line up your hinges on the door jamb side of your door and screw them in place, starting with the top hinge.
Hanging a door requires precision and patience. Before embarking on this project, you should be aware of and avoid a few mistakes that DIYers often make.
Incorrect measurements: Doors that haven’t been measured correctly will have gaps, create drafts, and not open or close properly. Double-check your measurements, and if a friend or family member is around, ask them to confirm them, too.
Using weak hinges: If your hinges aren’t strong enough to hold your door’s weight, the door might sag. Choose hinges that match the material and weight of your door.
Over-tightening screws: Screws that have been tightened too much can cause stripped holes, weakening the door over time. Tighten screws so they are in place and secure, but don’t overdo it. If you think you have stripped the hole, you can try using a longer screw.
If you know how to trim a door to fit your frame accurately, have the time to install the hardware properly, and can pick up a door easily, this DIY is a cinch. However, if your door is heavier and the thought of picking it up doesn’t sound like your definition of a good time, call a pro. Your local door installer will have the tools needed to hang your door so that it correctly fits into the frame. Plus, they’ll have a helper to work on heavier doors safely.
Terrible experience. Walls/trim/floors/cabinets/doors all have drip marks, overspray, etc. Tiling at the fireplace had to be redone by another vendor due to incorrect and shoddy install by Profect. Contractor had his children in our house while he was on site without prior authorization or...
Profect painting & exteriorsJason has helped me with multiple household projects, with the most recent being new door installation. He has always showed up on time and organized and has done an incredible job! Jason is very professional and he's now my go-to for anything around my house that needs to be fixed or...
Huff Garage Rescue, LLCCompany came to look at my garage door that was off track. They also said I needed a brace on the other garage door. They put the door back on track, and I paid to install the brace. The technician told me I needed a new garage door opener, and it would cost $1000. Red flags went off in...
Precision Overhead Garage Door ServiceOn Sunday 2/26 I requested quotes via Angi from 4 refrigerator repair businesses. Northwest Appliance responded to me Monday morning (2/27) and my refrigerator was repaired by noon the same day. Great communication, they did everything they said they would. The technician had the parts on...
Excellent customer service and knowledge. I was recommend to him from my neighbour. My front door and window came in great and were installed beautifully perfectly, I m very satisfied with their excellent work, so decided to order one more big bow window for my living room. I cant wait for...
Window Depot USA of Central OhioCalled ahead and worked quickly to install keyless locks on vintage wooden doors.
Expert Lock and Key, LLCScott did not get appropriate access to the property prior to the scheduled inspection which required us to come back later in the day to complete it. He also, unprofessionally, knocked on a neighbor?s door in his attempts to reach someone with access. His overall report was fine though the...
Security First Home InspectionsDoor Depot was very responsive - they came out the day after my call to assess my needs, then returned at my convenience to complete the work. They arrived early, and the work was completed in a shorter period of time than estimated. Very pleased with the results. I would definitely use them...
Door Depot LLCReplace garage doors: Fast response, competitive estimate, timely work done well.
Village Garage DoorJeremiah did an awesome job cleaning 28 windows inside and out! He was fast, efficient and now I have a beautiful view again. This was a Groupon for $139 for 20 windows, but I had 28 windows/doors cleaned, so there was an extra $6 per window. Totally worth it.
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