- Date Published:
- 10/06/2008
Fitting an internal door is a relatively easy job but it helps if you have a second person to hold the door steady as you fit the hinges. Set aside a half day to complete the job. Doors should never open into a hall or corridor.
Measure the door frame and try to buy a door that doesn't need to be trimmed by more than about 12mm. If you have to reduce the height or width of a new door by more than about 6mm, use a saw to cut off most of the waste and then plane the edge smooth. For smaller amounts, it's easier to just use a hand or power plane. If the old door was a good fit, it's worth using it as a template but always take off an equal amount of wood from each side of the new door.
- Put the new door in the frame to check the fit. There should be a 2mm gap all around the sides and top. If there's thick carpet in the room, you'll need about a 5-10mm gap at the bottom. Remove and trim the door to size.
- Fit the new hinges to the frame with a single screw. The hinge pivots should protrude from the frame edge. Prop the door in the frame, resting it on wedges so that you allow enough of a gap for the floor covering. Mark the top and bottom of each hinge on the face of the door.
- Unscrew the hinges from the frame. Transfer the pencil marks from the face of the door to the edge and use a try square to mark the width of the hinge. Mark the thickness of the flap on the face of the door.
- Tap around the outline of the hinge shapes with a chisel. Make a series of cuts across the wood at 5mm intervals - try to make the cuts the same depth as the thickness of the hinge flap.
- Chisel along the line on the face of the door to remove the chips of waste wood. Check the hinges fit flush with the edge and screw in place. Use a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw size to make the pilot holes.
- Hold the door on wedges and fix the hinge flaps to the door frame - fit only one screw so that you can make any adjustments. Check the door opens and closes easily, then fit the rest of the screws.
Lock Or Handle?
If you're handy with a chisel and mallet, you could fit a locking latch to the new door before fitting, otherwise simply screw on fixed handles and a spring catch. Find the position for the catch by closing the door and marking the door edge opposite the keeper on the frame. A professional fitter may charge up to twice as much to fit a door that needs a lock fitted as this takes as long to install as hinging and hanging.
Tips:
- Brass screws are soft and can easily snap. Screw a steel screw of the same size into each hinge hole to make the threads in the wood, making it easier to fix the brass screws.
- Old, over-sized screw holes in the frame can be filled with pieces of timber dowel, coated with PVA glue and hammered home. Cut the end flush with the surface.
- If the carpet is very thick and you don't want to make too large a gap under the door, fit rising butt hinges that lift the door upwards as it opens.
- If the door strains the hinges and doesn't close fully, the hinge recesses are probably too deep. Cut out some pieces of card and put them behind the hinge flaps to solve the problem.
- When planing the top and bottom of the door with a hand plane, work from the sides towards the centre to avoid splitting the wood at the corners.
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