DOOR INSTALLATION

PROCEDURES:

Check the rough opening

 Make sure your door is going to fit into the opening. Measure the height of the
opening, and then measure the width at both the top and the bottom. Next, check
each side with a level. The sides don’t have to be perfectly plumb (they rarely
are), but they do have to be close enough to allow adequate room for your door.

 If your rough opening is a 1/2 inch bigger than your door but the sides of the
opening are each a 1/2 inch out of plumb, that opening is not big enough to hang
your door properly. Finally, check to see if the walls are plumb.

Level the floor

 The most critical step of any door installation is making sure the bottom of each
doorjamb is at the proper height. If you’re installing a door on a finished floor and
the floor isn’t level, you’ll have to cut a little off the bottom of one of the jambs.

 Use a level to check the floor. Rest a level across the opening and level it with
one or more shims. Mark the shim at the thickest point, and measure the
thickness of the shim at the mark. That’s exactly how much you’ll need to cut off
the jamb at the opposite side of the opening.

Cut down the high side of the jamb

 Our pro uses a circular saw to cut down jambs when they need it. He installs an
80-tooth blade in his saw to prevent tearing out the wood veneer. It’s easy to cut
off the wrong jamb, so make sure you cut the jamb that rests on the high side of
the floor. It’s the one on the opposite side of the opening where you marked your
shim. A rafter square works great as a saw guide.
Attach temporary blocks to the jamb
 To hold the doorjamb flush with the drywall before permanently fastening it, our
pro attaches temporary blocks to both sides of the jamb. He uses scrap lumber to
make five 4-inch to 5-inch blocks. Then he attaches each with 2-inch 18-gauge
brads. He nails three blocks on the latch side and two on the hinge side (the door
 slab keeps the middle of the hinge side rigid). Keep the blocks away from the
hinges so they won’t interfere with shimming. The casing will cover up the nail
holes when the blocks are removed.
Use blocks to level jamb bottoms
 If you’re installing a door on an unfinished floor and need space under the jambs
for carpet, just rest the jambs on temporary blocks while you’re hanging the door.
Adjust the size of the blocks so the bottoms of the jambs are on a level plane.
Our pro leaves a space under the jambs of anywhere from 3/8 of an inch to 5/8 of
an inch, depending on the thickness of the carpet and pad.
Nail the blocks to the wall
 Set the door in the center of the opening. Make sure you have a consistent gap
between the door slab and all three sides of the jamb. If the bottoms of the jambs
were properly cut beforehand, the gaps will be consistent, the top jamb will be
level and the sides will be plumb.

 Double-check the hinge side for plumb before nailing the blocks to the wall with a
couple of 2-in., 15-gauge finish nails. Nail the hinge side first, and then recheck
the gap around the door slab before fastening the blocks on the latch side. The
blocks will allow enough wiggle room for fine-tuning before the jamb is shimmed
and nailed to the framing.

Check gap at door stops

 Before installing any shims, remove the plug that holds the door slab in place,
and make sure the door opens and closes properly. The door should come in
contact with the door stop evenly the whole length of the stop. If one side of the
door hits the stop first, you’ll have to adjust the jambs by moving either the top
side or the bottom side of the jamb in or out, depending on which part of the door
hits first.
Shim behind hinges
 Remove the center screw from all three hinges, and slide shims behind the
empty screw hole, starting with the top hinge. Fill the whole gap evenly between
the jamb and the framing or you’ll pull the door out of alignment when you drive
in the screw.

 If the framing on the rough opening seems to be twisted one way or the other,
position your shims so the jamb stays perpendicular to the wall. Once the shims
are in place, make sure the jambs are still flush with the drywall (if your walls are
plumb).
  Recheck the gap between the slab and the jambs. Recheck the gap between the
door slab and the door stop. If this gap is more than 3/8 of an inch, it’s best to
split this adjustment between the hinge-side and the latch-side jambs; adjust the
jamb so it’s only halfway corrected. And finally, nail the shims into place using 3
2-inch, 15-gauge nails.

Install longer screws in each hinge

 Replace one factory screw in each hinge with a longer screw. Drive the screw in
very slowly the last few turns, and pay close attention to the jamb. You don’t want
to suck the jamb in and throw off the alignment of the door. Check all the gaps,
and open and close the door after you install each screw.

 Make sure the screws penetrate the framing by a minimum of 1 inch. The gap
between the framing and the doorjamb shown was about 1/2 inch, so our pro
installed 2-1/2-inch screws. Don’t use drywall screws—they’re brittle and won’t
hold up to years of abuse. Buy construction screws instead, and try to find some
that are close to the same color as your hinges.\

Secure the latch side

 Insert and secure shims 4 inches down from the top of the door and 4 inches up
from the floor. Nail the shims the same way that you did on the hinge side.

 Our pro has repaired doors that were slammed shut so violently from the wind
that the jamb on the latch side was knocked several inches out of place. To
prevent this problem, he installs a long construction screw behind the latch plate.
He pre-drills and countersinks a hole in the corner of the latch plate space so it
won’t interfere with the latch plate screws. He doesn’t use longer screws in the
latch plate holes because they’re too close to the edge and can split the framing
lumber.