Doors

Must have been one heck of a night. Your head is still foggy, your wife is still mad and the bedroom door has a big hole in it. Now you need to replace it... and buy roses.

First, measure the old one. How tall, how wide, and don't forget how thick. Once at the store, don't get one that has been pre-bored unless you live in a new house and the measurements for the hinges and door knob are the same. If not, keep reading.

Once you have the right door blank (no holes), place it into the door jamb. If it fits (but not too tight), great! If not, you need to cut it down until it does. Use a plainer for small amounts. Once you can get it in place, the easiest way to find the location of the hinges is to have something under the door that will hold it 1/8" from the top of the doorway, then mark the locations or lay the old door directly on top of the new door and use a square to duplicate the locations. Or, if you really trust yourself, you can measure everything. It's more fun and keeps me sharp!

When you use a router to cut the pickets for the hinges, be very precise. The hinge should fit snug into the pocket and just flush. When you have heating and cooling vents, be sure to leave a space under the door. When air comes into a room it has to get back out. No gaps for outside "entry" doors.

Once the door is hung on its hinges, you can mark mark the locations for the door knob and bolt. First mark the height by closing the door and marking it at the center of the strike plate (if it's still there after last night). Using a square mark where the center of the strike door knob hole will be (height then distance from edge of door). The door knob (center) will be either 1 3/8" or 1 3/4" from the edge and the hole diameter will 2 1/8". The bore for the bolt is 7/8" - 15/16".

Problems...

Now let's say you live in a 1930s mountain cabin that sits on an earthquake fault. Somewhere between beer two and beer three, you notice that there isn't one thing about the door opening that is 'normal', square or straight, save that it has hinges and a door knob. I hang lots of doors in Wrightwood, CA. Old cabins, San Andreas Fault and Depression-era construction techniques. Been there.

Let's go over a few 'time consumers':

1)) You have a hollow door and is 3" or 4" too long. Note: A skill saw with a sharp blade and a blade guide works great. See below.



2)) The doorway is wider or narrower in the middle than at the top and bottom. The cure: Remove the trim from around the door so you can re-shim the problem spots. See below. Shims can be purchased for a few bucks or made out of the old door in a pinch. It's a good idea to do this before cutting the width of the door... it's not too late, is it?



3)) Door binds against door stop trim on hinged side or won't close far enough for bolt to go into hole in striker plate. Door not sitting squarely against trim. Easy fix.



1) Carefully remove trim.
2) Close door.
3) Re-attatch or replace.
4) Trim leaving 1/16" between stop and door.



Now go get some paint.

~SJN