Ask This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows a homeowner the proper way to install a pre-hung interior door for a closet. (See below for a shopping list, tools, and steps.)
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Shopping List for How to Install a Pre-Hung Interior Door:
– Pre-hung interior door [https://amzn.to/2LO9kbt]
– Shims [https://amzn.to/2w6ypUm]
Tools for How to Install a Pre-Hung Interior Door:
– Level [https://amzn.to/2JMPAlV]
– Nail gun [https://amzn.to/2HxNQds] or hammer [https://amzn.to/2HxNQds]
– Measuring tape [https://amzn.to/2WNrHOV]
– Circular saw [https://amzn.to/30r3foG]
– Drill/driver [https://amzn.to/2VvOsp8]
Steps for How to Install a Pre-Hung Interior Door:
1. Use a level to find a level spot on the rough opening. Mark spots on both sides of opening with a pencil.
2. Measure down to the floor on the hinge side using measuring tape, and note the measurement.
3. Measure down to the floor on the striker side, and note the measurement.
4. Hook the measuring tape on the bottom of the door on the hinge side, then measure and mark the height noted earlier.
5. Measure from your mark to the top of the header, then measure that same distance on the striker side to ensure the header will be level.
6. Hook the measuring tape under the striker-side jamb and measure up. The difference between the measurement from the rough opening to the mark on the doorjamb is the amount that will need to be cut out of the jamb (depending on the door, one or both jambs may need to be cut).
7. Use a circular saw to cut the jamb(s) to the desired lengths.
8. Use a level to ensure the rough opening is plumb on the hinge side. If not, nail an appropriate number of shims into the rough opening to make it plumb.
9. Move the door in place and keep it flush with the outer wall.
10. Pre-drill a hole and drive in a screw at the top on the hinge side.
11. Check the jamb to see if it’s plumb using a level.
12. Finish screwing in the hinge-side jamb using a driver.
13. Line up the two reference lines on the striker-side jamb.
14. Use shims down the hinge-side jamb to level it off, and drive in screws with a driver.
15. Break off the shims.
16. Put on trim using a nail gun or hammer.
17. Install door-knob hardware.
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Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we’re ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O’Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
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How to Install a Pre-Hung Interior Door | Ask This Old House
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Not gonna lie, this method works but only if you no time frame that the work has to be done in. This is literally the slowest, most painful way i have ever seen to set a door
So, how much is that you cut off from the frame? 7/16th?
best young actor 😂
I’m lost
Not helpful when it's a really old house
Tom you are the bomb! This is the best tutorial on door hanging ever. Thank you so much
Justin got a haircut just for this episode
This is a totally novice question but what happened to the shims? Did he just cut the excess off that was sticking out?
Looks like a mix between Tony McGuire and Marshall Mathers. Great video! I might do my own doors now. My floors are definitely not level…
What to fill the screw holes with? And what grit sandpaper to sand them with afterwards?
What is the point of cutting if you are shimming the striker side from the bottom. I'm an absolute newbie at home renovation, so this is all new to me.
❤😂🎉😢😮😅😊
It’s only one inch out of level in that respective area. The whole subfloor is probably 6+ inches out of level if it drops just one in in a 2 foot span
It's Peter Parker!
Jokes aside, great video!
That house is more crooked then the Clinton family.
Great video. Good tips and step-by-step visual and verbal instructions. I put the laptop on pause for each step. Plumb and hung alone! Thank you Tom!!!
Somebody help me: when screwing in the jamb he screwed through the shims. When he checks it at the end, the shims are sticking out. Then it jumps to the trim and the shims are no longer sticking out. What did he do? Cut them off before installing the trim?
I knew I should have listened in math class…..
Nice and simple instructions. Watched different video and the guy recommended pounding in wall framing with sledge hammer if it wasn't level and I was like isn't that what the shims are for.
Why 7/16s if you said a 1/4 inch would be good? Also so you just lowered the door but there's still a inch difference underneath it? Why not re level the house?