How to Hang a Door: A Guide to Measuring, Sanding and More
I am not sure who said that, but they must have been a carpenter. The first thing you need to do when you are planning on a hanging a door is to measure the door frame to make sure you get the right sized door. Many times, they are standard sizes that you can just let the people at your local Home Depot know about to help you choose it. But, of course, there are those times where it will be an awkward size for which you will need to do some cutting and trimming.
Once you have measured the frame and got the right size door, you can start to measure out to see if it will fit. You can try to fit the door in the frame with the help of someone else to see if it will sit correctly in the frame. Generally you want to allow 1/16th of an inch between the top and side of the door. Also allow 1/4th to �½ inch from the floor up. Remember that you need to see if there will be carpet or anything else the door needs to slide over.
Once you determine what needs to be trimmed off the door, make sure that you have the right tools like a sander or a wood plane to take off the necessary amount of wood. Once you have done so and find that it fits in the frame you can start to use a chisel to take off sections of the door and the frame for the hinges to fit in to. A good measurement will be six inches from the bottom and six inches from the top for the hinges. You will also need to determine which way the door will open and close to make sure that you do not place the hinges the wrong way.
Mark the door off to make sure that you can screw the hinges in properly. Screw all the hinges in to the door. Once you have done this you can start to place the door into the frame. With help from someone else you can start screwing the hinges into the frame, into the recesses that you have chiseled out. Don’t screw them in too tightly as you may need to readjust the door to make it fit.
Proper measuring and some extra help will make this process a lot easier. Also getting help from some one who has done this before will help make sure it is done properly the first time.
