How do I hang an internal door?

Hanging a door is a measuring job rather than a carpentry one. Frames are rarely square and doors are rarely the right size, so the work is in fitting one to the other patiently rather than in any single difficult cut.

Safety

What you'll need

• Door leaf, sized to the opening or slightly larger
• Three butt hinges for a heavy door, two for a light one
• Chisel and mallet, or a router with a hinge jig
• Hand plane or an electric planer
• Wedges, a pencil, a combination square and a tape measure

Step by step

1. Measure the opening in several places.Width at top, middle and bottom; height at both sides. Frames are rarely square, and knowing by how much determines where the door needs trimming rather than finding out halfway through.
2. Check which way it should open.Into the room usually, against a wall rather than across a walkway, and not blocking a light switch or a radiator. Deciding after fitting the hinges is an expensive mistake.
3. Work out the gaps you are aiming for.About 2mm at the top and each side — roughly a pound coin's thickness — and 6mm at the bottom over a hard floor, more over carpet. Consistent gaps are what makes a door look properly hung.
4. Trim the door to fit.Plane the hinge side straight first, then the latch side to the width. Take a little at a time and offer it up repeatedly. Most doors have a limit on how much can come off the edges, marked or in the instructions.
5. Put a slight bevel on the latch edge.Two or three degrees, leaning away from the direction it closes, so the leading corner does not catch the frame as it swings shut.
6. Wedge the door in the opening to mark up.Packed to the correct gaps all round with the wedges holding it. Then mark the hinge positions across both the door and the frame at once, so they cannot disagree.
7. Position the hinges conventionally.Top hinge about 150mm from the top of the door, bottom hinge about 230mm from the bottom. A third hinge midway is needed on heavy doors and required on fire doors.
8. Cut the recesses to the exact hinge thickness.Score the outline with a knife, chop a series of shallow cuts across the waste, then pare it out flat. The hinge leaf should sit exactly flush — proud and the door will not close, deep and it binds on the hinge side.
9. Fit hinges to the door first.One screw per hinge to start. Then offer the door to the frame, wedge it to the correct gaps, and mark the frame from the hinges themselves rather than from a measurement.
10. Hang it on one screw per hinge and test.Check the swing, the gaps and whether it stays where it is put. Adjustments are easy now and difficult once every screw is in.
11. Fit the remaining screws once it is right.Pilot each one and drive them straight. A screw that goes in at an angle pulls the hinge out of position and reopens problems you had solved.
12. Fit the latch and keep last.With the door hanging correctly. Mark the keep position from the latch with the door closed against it, so the two are aligned by the door rather than by measurement.
13. Seal all the edges before finishing.Including the top and bottom, which nobody sees. Unsealed end grain absorbs moisture and is the usual reason a door starts sticking in a wet autumn.

Tips

• Mark the hinge positions on the door and frame together, with the door wedged in place. Measuring each separately is how they end up disagreeing by 2mm.
• A pound coin is close enough to the side and top gap to use as a gauge, and it is quicker than measuring.
• If the door binds on the hinge side, the recesses are too deep. Pack behind the hinge leaf with card rather than recutting.

Common mistakes

• Cutting hinge recesses too deep — The door binds against the frame on the hinge side and will not close. It is far harder to correct than a shallow recess, which just needs a little more paring.
• Fitting all the screws before testing the swing — Every adjustment then means removing and refilling screw holes. Hang it on one screw per hinge, check it, and complete afterwards.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask