How Do You Hang a Door by yourself for a Perfect Fit?

How to hang a door is one of the first things you learn when doing a carpentry apprenticeship. Yet, you have not gained carpentry skills and know it comes with experience, right! The problem is you have a door that needs hanging and also have a tight budget. However, thereis no need to stress as it is pretty simple to do if you follow our steps. The instructions provided works for hanging doors internally or externally yourself. It even works in a new or old frame.

How to Hang a Door?

Great, you want to replace a door to upgrade your interior or exterior space. But how do you hang a door? Here you can find two methods of doing it, one for interior doors and one for exterior doors.

How to Replace an Interior Door?

When you want to upgrade your interior space doors, it helps to use a sturdy sound-reducing or solid-core one. Follow these steps to master the technique of installing your new interior door:

1. Start with measuring the existing door and doorframe, taking precise measurements before removing the hinge pins. Once measurements are taken, you can remove your existing door.
2. Next, take those measurements and mark your new door. Doing this allows you to see if you need to trim the door to fit. In most cases, you might need to take a bit of the bottom for it to work. To do this, use a table saw or circular saw to get the job done. But if you have neither of them, you can use an electric saw as well.
3. Use your old door as a guide by placing it on the new one to do the trimming. Align both doors’ top edges, mark the hinge placement on your new one, and mark the bottom where you need to give it a trim.
4. To mark your hinge placement, you can use a speed square to indicate the top/bottom of each hinge.
5. Measure the distance of the old door from the edge to the edge of each hinge. You can use the exact measurements for your new door.
6. Next, take the hinges, line them up with the markings on the new door and trace the outline.
7. Now prop your new door on its side and take a utility knife to help score the mortise for each hinge. Try to keep a steady hand around your curved marks when chiseling out the area. Then, with the chisel and utility knife, keep scoring and chiseling to remove the wood.
8. Next, take a block of wood placed on the hinges to tap them secure in place.
9. For the door lock, you can use a door lock installation jig to help bore the holes into the slab for the lever and latch.
10. Measure the distance of your lock from the top to the middle of the latch on your old door. Then, line up your installation jig to that mark and use the hole saw included to make your boreholes.
11. Once you cut out ¾ of the way for the lever, remove the hole saw. Next, cut the rest of the way through from your underside. Doing this helps avoid a tear-out.
12. Next, use the handy template included if it has one with the jig for mortising your latch plate.
13. Take a chisel to help remove the material for your latch plate. Once created, seal off the bare wood with a coat of paint matching your door.
14. Screw the lever and latch in place using the supplier’s instructions.
15. Next, secure the hinges with the screws using a self-centering hinge while driving in the screws.

Now, you can hang your new door in the frame, and you can repeat these steps for all installations of new interior doors.

Another option is to check out this DIY video on removing and replacing your interior doors.

How to Replace an Exterior Door?

As you can see, how to hang a door is simple, and the same applies to replacing exterior doors. These steps help for hanging a prehung exterior door. The best is to measure your old door to order a new one according to its size.

Measuring Your Existing Doors

When measuring your old door, you need to measure the height and width and round it up to full inches for the replacement door. For example, your door measures 35-¾ inches wide and 79-½ in tall; you need to order a door measuring 36-inches by 80-inches.

Next, you measure the jamb width from the backside of the interior trim to the rear of the exterior trim. Take this jamb width into consideration when ordering your prehung door. Doing this helps that the internal trim fits flush to your wall by adding this jab measurement.

For measuring the rough opening, the interior trim needs removing. First, you will measure the opening width between your framing members and the bottom of the still to the top opening. Next, compare the measurement to your rough opening needs of the new door.

Now, measure the masonry opening (exterior) if your door surroundings are stone or brick. You can do this measuring to the outside of the exterior casing. Then from the bottom of you still to the top trim.

Compare the measurements with the prehung door you plan to hang that comes with a standard two-inch wide brick trim.

Three Options Available for a Different Style

• Choose a door with a wider flat casing, as you can always add decorative molding to the style of the existing exterior trim.
• The second option is to order a standard molding to fill the gap with added wood or strips.
• Lastly, you can order your door without the exterior molding to fit it yourself.

How to Hang a Door By Removing The Old Door?

1. Tap the hinge pins out using your hammer with a nail set.
2. Place an old dropcloth on the floor and swing the door open and lift it out.
3. Next, remove the interior trim from the door frame by protecting the wall using a wide putty knife.
4. If you want to reuse your trim, score the intersection between your jamb and molding using your utility knife.
5. Next, slice the caulk joint between the exterior trim and siding brick.
6. Use a prybar to remove the trim from the doorjamb.
7. Now cut through the side jamb using a handsaw and pry it loose by pulling them out.
8. For reusing the interior moldings pull out the nails from the backside with pliers.
9. Next, cut through the one jamb side to tear out the whole frame.

Preparations to Install Your Sill

• Now that your doorframe is removed check the framing and subflooring in the sill region to see its condition. Replace any rotted wood.
• If your new door sill is thinner than the removed one, you must create a new sill area.
• Use a two-foot level and set it at the sill height for clearing carpets or rugs when you swing it inwards.
• Build the sill area to the correct height using treated lumber and add your shims to level them.
• Test the opening by setting your door in it and hold your level against the hinge jamb. Adjust accordingly until your frame is upright.
• Also, check to see if your casing fits the siding and if it does not fit in, trim the case or cut back the siding. We recommend cutting the siding as it is easier.
• Mark your casing areas needing trimming and remove the door. Using a circular saw or belt sander, trim it. Once it is level, you can fasten it with coated deck screws.
• Next, install flashing tape to protect your sill from water damage.
• Cover the rough sill section with the flashing tape by wrapping up the sides over the front edge and opening.
• Place the door back and check the fit. Now check to see if the building paper is intact around the frame. If not, use your No. 15 slide strips behind your siding tacked to the frame using staples.
• Now that you know, the door fits caulk along the sill and the casing plus the tip of the door. You can use a polyurethane caulk by following the instructions provided. You may need to use two tubes.
• With your doorsill level, center the top part of your door in the opening and tack it using galvanized casing nails.
• Next, plumb the hinge-side jam with the bottom corners. Now shim behind each of the hinges using small squares of plywood. Finish it off with a pair of shims and make sure the jamb remains plumb. Keep shimming the sides of the latch-side frame to provide consistency. You can do this using a utility knife.
• Once happy with your fit, you can nail through the jamb into your framing where each shim is located. Next, replace the screws in the hinge with three-inch ones and drive casing nails every 16 inches along the top and side of the exterior frame.
• To help insulate it further, you can fill the spaces between your doorjamb and frame with expanding foam.
• Once the foam expands, use strips of fiberglass insulation to stuff the remaining spaces.

How to Hang a Door Installing Interior Trim?

1. Reinstall or cut a new interior trim for your door if you see gaps at the sill and flooring cover it using a beveled transition.
2. Next, press a foam backer rod into the trim and siding gap.
3. Now apply a bead of caulk between your door trim and siding. Make sure to cut it to fit under your sill and screw it to the framing. Use a foam backer with caulk applied over it if the gaps are wider than 3/16 inches; use a foam backer with caulk applied over it.
4. Remove the door and give the door, trim, and jamb a varnish or stain.

Once everything is dry, you can hang your door back on the hinges, and your job for the day is done.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Hang a Door?