Door Hanging

Nick H

I've spent the last few days hanging doors and it got me to thinking about the way that I do it. I was taking the doors on and off and it made me wonder how many times other people need to take a door on and off to hang it "well". I reckon if i'm taking care to make a nice job i might take it off 4 or 5 times, no big deal if its a lightwieght internal but not so if its a heavy fire/external door.
This got me thinking about the whole process of hanging a door and I suppose we all evolve our own way of doing it. My basic routine would be
check frame for straightness/square etc
offer door up to opening and see how close it is,
plane hinge side of door to match frame (or staighten frame)
Reduce hieght and width just enough to get it in frame,
wedge up to head and tight to hinge side, mark head and lock side of door,
plane head and lock side,
wedge in frame again, wedge up to head with 3mm spacer, mark hinge positions, chop in hinges and fit to door,
offer up and fix hinges to frame, one screw per hinge,
check for fit and mark where to ease,
remove door and plane as necessary,
refit and check again, mark as necessary,
Mark lock position (hieght from floor), remove door again,
plane door if necessary, fit lock, refit door, mark frame for striker, fit striker, check operation, Ask HO about flooring and mark bottom of door, remove door AGAIN and trim door, refit door check everything, fit handles, screw hinges, move on to next door.

What do you reckon is there an easier way, I know that if i'm trying to get a really close fit I seem to be taking the damn door on and off although you can plane some of it in place.

Would be interesting to hear what you guys do
Nick

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This has helped alot of people become more efficient.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156...lance&n=283155

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specwood

If I had several doors to install into jambs I would probably pre-assemble the doors to the jambs, and case one side. That way I could plop the whole assembly in an opening, plumb the hinge side, nail it off through the casing, then level the top, nail it off and then line up the striker side and nail it off. Then the door is swinging. I can then walk through the door and shim from the casing-less side and nail off the jambs to secure them. Then the casing can be installed on that side. The next step would be to install the lockset while the door is hanging.

This won't work if the jambs are existing of course.

For new construction we order pre-hung doors in most cases. If the job involves very thick heavy wooden doors and jambs, this might not work very well.

I've found this method to be very efficient, but you have to be careful with the casing to ensure that miters look good.

K2

Nick I'm not understanding some of your terms but I think you need to look into a "hinge butt templet guide" if you are doing thes guys with the jamb,(frame?) in place and you are doing more than a few. Might have some more suggestions if I understood the terms. Cheers.

Looks like there might be 2 spellings. templet or template. My rockwell says templet.

widco

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