How To Fit An Internal Door
Tue 27th Nov, 2018
How To… Fit and hang an interior door
If you’re changing the doors in your home, you can look forward to the space around you having a fresh new look. So once you’ve measured up (see our How To Guide if you’ve not done that step yet) and chosen the width of door that you need, it’s time to think about hanging it.
Here’s our step-by-step guide:
Remove your old door
1. Take screws out from the bottom hinge then the top, making sure the door is supported before you take the last screw out
2. Measure the opening width, top and bottom and if there is only a slight difference to the door, you can see if it needs adjusting
3. You’ll need to leave a 3mm gap between the hinge edge and the frame, as well as at the top and bottom. Draw a pencil line to indicate what you need to trim off
How To Tip
Doors are designed to be a close fit and should only require a small amount of trimming. If you know you’ll have to plane a door, it’s wise to check with the door manufacturer how much you can plane off, so it doesn’t spoil the look or compromise its strength
Cut your new door to size
4. Lay your new door down on its side and plane to your pencil line. Plane a little off both sides if you need to adjust the size, rather than taking it all off one side
5. Hold your door in the frame again to check you have achieved the 3mm gap both sides, and top and bottom – don’t forget to consider the flooring if you’re going to change it.
Fit the hinges
6. Hold your trimmed door in the frame and mark the position of the old hinges, lined up with the frame. Draw around the hinges including indicating their thickness on the front edge.
How To Tip
It will make life easier if you use the same size hinges and the same hinge position in the frame. If the frame is also new, just make sure you measure the hinge positions on both the door and the frame.
7. Make two cuts, either end of the hinge position with a chisel
9. Use a knife to cut the long edges, between the two chisel cuts, to the depth of the hinge
10. Use a chisel to remove the wood – in small sections at a time so you don’t split the wood
11. Hold each hinge in position, mark screw holes and pilot drill. Screw hinges into place
Hang your new door
12. Holding the door in position (you may need another person for this bit) fit the other half of the hinge into existing position in the frame and screw into place
Fitting the handle, latch and/or lock
13. The latch is usually set into the middle of the side of the door. Hold it in place and draw around it with a pencil
14. Measure the depth of the latch hole and drill into the side of the door with a flat bit, the screw the latch to fix it into place. Then drill the hole for the handle spindle
How To Tip
Many latches come with a template to make fitting them easier
