Hanging a door

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Summary: Learn how to hang a door, hang an external door and hang an internal door.

External doors

External doors are available in a variety of materials with varying levels of security and insulation: steel or steel-coated doors and hardwood doors are the strongest, whilst UPVC and fibreglass doors are the best insulators. Wooden doors need regular waterproofing, although hardwood requires lower maintenance than softwood.

Internal doors

Choose between a wide range of styles and wood types to suit your home and budget, including traditional panel doors, rustic ledge-and-brace doors, and plain flush doors, which are available in solid or cheaper hollow versions. Glazed doors increase the volume of light into a room but must conform to glazing regulations. Folding doors operate on a sliding rail mechanism and are often used for cupboard doors or slatted louvre doors. Many internal doors now have soundproof or fireproof properties.

Hinges

The type of hinge you buy will depend on whether you want the door to open the normal 90º (use a butt hinge) or 180º so the door lies flat against the wall (a parliament hinge). If you have thick carpet or tiles, a rising butt hinge will raise the door as it opens so it does not catch on the floor. Two hinges will be sufficient for most doors but heavy hardwood or metal doors may need three hinges to support them.

Hanging a door

Trim the excess stiles, or ‘horns', of wood protruding from the frame using a panel saw.
Get somebody to help you support the door as you check the fit of the door in the doorway. There should be at least 2mm (1/10in) clearance around the door to prevent it sticking and more than this if your flooring is uneven.
If the door is too large, plane it to size: Use a spirit level to draw a cutting line, and plane from the outside edges towards the centre of the surface you are trimming.
Decide which way the door is to open to determine which side the hinges are to be fixed to. Hinges should be placed 150mm (6in) from the top and bottom of the door. Place the hinges on the door edge and mark their positions with a pencil.
Use a chisel and hammer to cut out the marked area to the depth of the hinge to allow it to sit flush with the surface. This will be easier if you cut slits into the wood to lever up.
Holding the hinge in place, mark the position of the screw holes. Drill one pilot hole first and check the position is correct. Screw the hinge in place.
Mark out the position of the hinge in the same way on the doorframe and cut out a recess to allow the hinge to sit flush with the surface.
Stand the door in place to check the alignment of screw holes before drilling holes in the doorframe.
Attach the hinge to the doorframe.