IN THIS POST
– Required tools and materials
– How to remove the old door
– How to adjust the new door
– How to trim away the excess
– How to attach the hinges
– How to install the door
Installing a door, either exterior or interior, can look like a daunting task. After all, you need to make sure all the measurements are correct, all the hinges are in their right places, the lock and doorknob have been installed and the door is swinging without any problems. Truth be told, DIY door installation may not be as easy as a lot of other home improvement projects such as repairing scratches on your wooden furniture, but it is certainly not harder than, let’s say, installing tiles on your bathroom floor.
Whether you are in the middle of renovating your home or just want to replace your old door with a new one, we’ve put together an easy-to-follow DIY door installation guide that will make things quite a lot easier for you.
However, before we begin our discussion on how to install a door, let’s first understand the difference between pre-hung doors and slab doors.
Pre-hung doors essentially include a door and its frame. They are relatively easy to install but can be a little expensive. In addition to that, pre-hung doors are custom-made, so you need to make sure your measurements are absolutely correct because even an inch of measuring error while installing a custom door can cause a huge problem.
On the other hand, slab doors are the regular doors that come without their frame, hinges and other hardware. These are slightly less expensive, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can be trimmed according to one’s need. To put it simply, these doors are rectangular slabs of wood, PVC or fibreglass.
Although there are quite a lot of different types of doors available in the market, slab doors appear to be much more popular among homeowners in Pakistan, owing to their price and customization options. Therefore, this guide will focus on how to install a slab door all by yourself.
Required Tools and Materials
These are the tools and materials you will need to install a door.
- A door
- Hinge plates (at least 4 sets)
- Lockset with latch plates
- Doorknob
- Bevel-edged chisel
- Hammer
- Drill
- Screws
- Dowel pins
- Cardboard
- Pencil
- Scale
- Measuring tape
- Saw
- Sawhorses
DIY Door Installation in Five Easy Steps
Let’s take a look at the steps to install a door easily.
Step 1: Remove the old door
Step 2: Adjust the new door
Step 3: Trim away the excess
Step 4: Attach the hinges
Step 5: Install the door
Please note that this guide explains the DIY installation process for the regular hinged doors. However, if your house or apartment has sliding, folding or any other kind of doors, you should consult a professional or ask an expert for some guidance.
Step 1: Remove the Old Door
Of course, the first step in how to install a door is to remove the old one. It’s always a good idea to use the measurements of your old door to buy and install a new one. This will allow you to use your old slab door as a template for your new one. Moreover, you can also reuse your existing hinges if they are in good condition, or replace them with identical ones.
Here’s how you can go about it.
First, use a flathead screwdriver to remove hinge pins and screws joining the door to the frame. Then, remove the doorknob as well as the old lockset. Now, take the door out of the frame and lay it down on the floor to remove the hinge plates from its surface.
STEP 2: Adjust the New Door
Now that you have removed your old door from its hinges, it’s time to mark and trim the new one using the old door as a template.
For this step, you can borrow saw horses from a nearby hardware shop. Place both the doors on the sawhorses, with the new one below the old on. Then, mark any excess on the new door with a pencil. Similarly, use a pencil to mark the locations of the hinge mortises on the new slab door and their distance from the edge of the door. You can use a hinge to mark the depth of each mortise.
At this point in your DIY door installation, you must also mark the location of the doorknob and lockset.
STEP 3: Trim Away the Excess
Depending on how much excess material you need to trim, you can either use a saw or a planer to get the job done. Make sure to check your measurements at least thrice to reduce the margin of error. You can also use a scale and pencil to draw a straight line on the new door, marking the area that needs to be cut off.
After trimming the door, you have to install the door hinges and lockset.
There are two types of door hinges available in the market: ones with square corners and other with rounded corners. If you are using the same hinges as before, which is more preferable, you simply need to outline the edges of each mortise using a utility knife. Then, make relief cuts across the area before using a chisel and hammer to carve out the wood inside the mark. Just make sure you don’t go deeper than the depth of the hinge. You can check the fit of a hinge plate by holding it in a mortise.
One of the most important tips and tricks to install a door is to always use a bevel-edged chisel for such projects, as they only remove a small amount of material from the surface.
In case you want to paint your door, now’s the time to do it.
Step 4: Attach the Hinges and other hardware
Now comes the part of our guide on how to install a door that will probably scare a lot of people, even though it’s pretty straightforward – as long as you follow all the instructions.
Once you’ve marked and trimmed away the excess material, it’s time to attach the door hardware, starting with hinges.
For this, place a hinge plate in mortise and use a drill to make pilot holes for the screws. If a mortise is too deep, place a small piece of cardboard between the mortise and the hinge plate so that it’s lying flush against the casing. Once you’ve fastened the screws on the door hinges, install the new hinge plates in the jamb as well. In case the holes on your new hinge plates don’t correspond with the existing holes in the door jamb, you can simply drill pilot holes for the new screws and ignore the old ones. However, if the holes in the jamb fit perfectly well but are too large to hold the screws, you can insert dowel pins in the holes and secure them with wood glue.
The next step in this part of the DIY door installation process is to fit the doorknob. If you are planning to replace your existing strike plate, try and buy a similar one to make the installation process easier for you. You must then follow the manufacturer’s instruction to install the lockset and doorknob before fastening the new strike plate to the door jamb.
Step 5: Install the door
The final step of this DIY door installation guide is to set the slab door in hinges and insert hinge pins. Make sure the door is opening and closing easily. If it does not fit perfectly into the frame or does not close all the way, you might have to remove and reinstall the door. Once you are absolutely satisfied, most experts recommend using a hammer to tap the hinge pins flush for a better grip.
Don’t forget to check if the lockset is also working fine. If not, please consult the manufacturer for further guidance.
This guide can be used to install exterior and interior doors alike.
If you have any questions or feedback regarding the topic, feel free to send us an email on blog@zameen.com.
Meanwhile, if you are looking to buy a door for your house, don’t forget to take a look at the types of rates of wooden doors in Pakistan for more information.
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