Any tips on fitting a new bedroom door?
Discussion
Been refurbing a bedroom and just before painting I decide I want to install a new door rather than reuse the old one...
I'm going for a fire door to reduce sound transmission. Still undecided on what style. It's thicker and heavier than the old door so i'll need to add an additional hinge to take the weight. I've removed the stops and filled everything in.
I've never done this before and it looks daunting as everything has to be precise. I've spoken to a carpenter earlier and he quoted me £250. I thought that was a bit much and thought of giving it a go myself.
I was thinking of reusing the stops, but a couple of them split as I prised them off. Glue, sand and reinstall, or install new ones?
So I need to cut pockets on the door and the frame for the hinges, and likewise for the latch and plate. The previous door used a mortise lock and the plate on the frame was larger than a modern one. I need to cut a pocket and glue in a block where the previous latch plate was on the door frame, then plane it back. Any tips?
I've got a router and a 3d printer, are there any recommended jigs available to help me complete this?
I'm going for a fire door to reduce sound transmission. Still undecided on what style. It's thicker and heavier than the old door so i'll need to add an additional hinge to take the weight. I've removed the stops and filled everything in.
I've never done this before and it looks daunting as everything has to be precise. I've spoken to a carpenter earlier and he quoted me £250. I thought that was a bit much and thought of giving it a go myself.
I was thinking of reusing the stops, but a couple of them split as I prised them off. Glue, sand and reinstall, or install new ones?
So I need to cut pockets on the door and the frame for the hinges, and likewise for the latch and plate. The previous door used a mortise lock and the plate on the frame was larger than a modern one. I need to cut a pocket and glue in a block where the previous latch plate was on the door frame, then plane it back. Any tips?
I've got a router and a 3d printer, are there any recommended jigs available to help me complete this?
Edited by rinseout on Wednesday 27th August 17:29
YouTube is probably best for tips, pictures painting a thousand words etc. But, for a one off, 3d printers, routers and jigs are probably ott, claw hammer, a couple of wood chisels, combination square, screwdriver and a plane should see you right: Winbags, door stands, electric plane, roofing square are nice luxuries to have. A track saw can be really , really useful as well, if the lining is all to cock but a bit much, again, for a one off.
I usually used to get the top of the door parallel to the head of the lining (assuming lining isn’t square), then cut the door to height, then shoot to width: plane a leading edge (angled under cut) on the handle side.
Get the door swinging, then fit the stops, you can’t take for granted the jambs of the lining are in the same plane: leave a fag packet gap between the stop and door on the hinge side. If you’re not needing to comply with fire regs, a pair of 100mm ball bearing or washered butts will suffice.
I usually used to get the top of the door parallel to the head of the lining (assuming lining isn’t square), then cut the door to height, then shoot to width: plane a leading edge (angled under cut) on the handle side.
Get the door swinging, then fit the stops, you can’t take for granted the jambs of the lining are in the same plane: leave a fag packet gap between the stop and door on the hinge side. If you’re not needing to comply with fire regs, a pair of 100mm ball bearing or washered butts will suffice.
I have fitted a few replacement doors and made a passable job of it and in the near future I will be replacing 18 doors in our new to us house.
One slip and you can't put back what you cut away so using a chisel to cut out the rebates for the hinges and latch plate does take practice and you are unlikely to make a perfect job of it on your first attempt.
Simple things like having a clamp to hold the door firmly on its edge while you work are very helpful.
Chiselling out the hinge rebates on the frame can be even more awkward working at knee level or head level at an angle.
Drilling out the holes for the latch is easy to mess up. If the hole is too tight the latch can bind and the handle will stick and you only find this out at the end of the job. As the latch takes up most of the width of the door and it is easy to break out of the sides.
The door will be constructed with material for hinges on once side and latch on the other so don't get it wrong.
If you do trim then doors only have so much spare material at top and bottom and sides and it might be necessary to trim both ends/sides.
Don't fit the door too tight as then it won't close so use 3mm plastic packers to keep a 3mm gap on top and bottom and both sides.
You are also making the job much more difficult by going for a fire door as it will probably be a considerable weight and difficult to manage especially if the door needs to be trimmed to fit.
Composite hollow doors are cheap enough so try one of those first and once you have learnt the tricks of the trade you can upgrade to a fire door.
One slip and you can't put back what you cut away so using a chisel to cut out the rebates for the hinges and latch plate does take practice and you are unlikely to make a perfect job of it on your first attempt.
Simple things like having a clamp to hold the door firmly on its edge while you work are very helpful.
Chiselling out the hinge rebates on the frame can be even more awkward working at knee level or head level at an angle.
Drilling out the holes for the latch is easy to mess up. If the hole is too tight the latch can bind and the handle will stick and you only find this out at the end of the job. As the latch takes up most of the width of the door and it is easy to break out of the sides.
The door will be constructed with material for hinges on once side and latch on the other so don't get it wrong.
If you do trim then doors only have so much spare material at top and bottom and sides and it might be necessary to trim both ends/sides.
Don't fit the door too tight as then it won't close so use 3mm plastic packers to keep a 3mm gap on top and bottom and both sides.
You are also making the job much more difficult by going for a fire door as it will probably be a considerable weight and difficult to manage especially if the door needs to be trimmed to fit.
Composite hollow doors are cheap enough so try one of those first and once you have learnt the tricks of the trade you can upgrade to a fire door.
neth27 said:
About £70 near me to get a door hung.
Having a skilled man arrive at your house and hang one door for £70 sounds like a bargain. Where do you live ?I can imagine that if the same man arrived and hung 16 doors and charged £70 per door to do the job (+ VAT) that would be reasonable.
OP, hanging a door is a great skill to have under your belt. Gather the tools you need, make sure your chisels are properly sharp and give it your best shot.
Chumley.mouse said:
Lol £250 to hang a door is not vfm.
That’s what I’ve just charged today but that includes painting.1 door is expensive. 2 or more gets much cheaper as there is no set up time.
Op, fire doors can have a max of 4mm gap. What I do is measure the old door in situ and write on that door how much I should add or take away then I lay the old door on the new door and transfer the measurements over. This works great on old houses where the frames aren’t even straight let alone square.
loughran said:
Having a skilled man arrive at your house and hang one door for £70 sounds like a bargain. Where do you live ?
I can imagine that if the same man arrived and hung 16 doors and charged £70 per door to do the job (+ VAT) that would be reasonable.
OP, hanging a door is a great skill to have under your belt. Gather the tools you need, make sure your chisels are properly sharp and give it your best shot.
That would be the problem trying to get someone to hang just the one door. Okay if you have a few other jobs to get done around the house.I can imagine that if the same man arrived and hung 16 doors and charged £70 per door to do the job (+ VAT) that would be reasonable.
OP, hanging a door is a great skill to have under your belt. Gather the tools you need, make sure your chisels are properly sharp and give it your best shot.
Djtemeka said:
That’s what I’ve just charged today but that includes painting.
1 door is expensive. 2 or more gets much cheaper as there is no set up time.
Op, fire doors can have a max of 4mm gap. What I do is measure the old door in situ and write on that door how much I should add or take away then I lay the old door on the new door and transfer the measurements over. This works great on old houses where the frames aren’t even straight let alone square.
That is the first time I have ever heard of anyone hanging a door like that.1 door is expensive. 2 or more gets much cheaper as there is no set up time.
Op, fire doors can have a max of 4mm gap. What I do is measure the old door in situ and write on that door how much I should add or take away then I lay the old door on the new door and transfer the measurements over. This works great on old houses where the frames aren’t even straight let alone square.
neth27 said:
That is the first time I have ever heard of anyone hanging a door like that.
I work in a lot of run down houses. Bowed frames, not level etc. landlords being on the cheap by not changing the lot.
It’s basically using the old door to scribe to the new door.
Works a treat every time.
neth27 said:
That is the first time I have ever heard of anyone hanging a door like that.
https://youtu.be/gLxLrOGsoEY?si=868-H6sjsS-y5k2_This was the door. Perfect 4mm all round but the variation of the door was like a banana. Can’t see it in the video but it’s about 5/6mm so a track saw wouldn’t have works on this one.
Djtemeka said:
I work in a lot of run down houses. Bowed frames, not level etc.
landlords being on the cheap by not changing the lot.
It’s basically using the old door to scribe to the new door.
Works a treat every time.
I do the same, the original doors are that badly fitted you couldn’t use them as a template. ( I never have done it that way anyhow) landlords being on the cheap by not changing the lot.
It’s basically using the old door to scribe to the new door.
Works a treat every time.
I scribe the head, push door up to hanging side and scribe that. Then take measurements off the frame.
neth27 said:
I do the same, the original doors are that badly fitted you couldn’t use them as a template. ( I never have done it that way anyhow)
I scribe the head, push door up to hanging side and scribe that. Then take measurements off the frame.
That way sounds great but you would need an extra pair of hands to hold the door from the other side?I scribe the head, push door up to hanging side and scribe that. Then take measurements off the frame.
I work alone so that’s not an option.
Always happy to learn another way though!
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff