New interior doors can enhance and organize your home's interior design, bring more light into a space, and provide your home with more privacy and quiet. They are an excellent and relatively simple way to upgrade your home.
It's best to complete your interior door installation project with the help of a home improvement professional. Interior door installation can be a difficult project, taking anywhere from four to six hours for a single door. Here is a quick summary of the steps needed to help you better understand this project.
Interior door installation can give your home a significant upgrade. | @ fotolia.com / sima
How to Install Interior Door
Most interior door installation projects involve prehung door installation. Below are a few steps to get you started:
1. Before you begin your interior door installation, measure the width and height of your old doors. Be sure to bring these dimensions with you when you go shopping for new doors.
2. Remove the pins from the hinges, starting at the bottom hinge and working up so the door doesn't fall onto you. You may need to gently tap a pin out with a hammer and screwdriver.
3. Remove the lockset (doorknob) and hinges from the old door. Lay the new door across a pair of sawhorses and set the old door on top in order to align the old door with the new door. Trace around the old door with a pencil to indicate where the new door should be trimmed down to fit.
4. Cut the new door to the correct height and width with straightedge guide and a circular saw.
5. Chisel out for the hinges by holding the chisel vertically and tapping it with a hammer to outline the mortise. Carve out a series of closely spaced cuts as deep as the thickness of the hinge. Lightly tap the chisel with the hammer to chip away the waste wood a little bit at a time.
6. Set the hinge leaf into the mortise. Use a drill and centering bit to bore pilot holes through the screw holes. Screw the hinge to the door and test-fit the door in the opening.
7. Mark where the strike-plate hole meets the door edge and position the template supplied with the lockset on this mark. Mark for the doorknob and latch. Drill the doorknob face bore with a 2 1/8-inch hole saw. Cut the latch's edge bore with a 7/8-inch spade bit. Insert the latch assembly into the edge bore and trace around it with a utility knife. Chisel out a shallow mortise inside this outline. Screw the latch to the door, then install the doorknobs.
8. Hold the door in the opening and interlace the hinge knuckles. Once all the hinges are aligned, have someone help you insert the hinge pins.
Other Types of Interior Door Installation
There are many different styles of interior doors. For sliding door installation and for double doors, be sure to read the manufacturer's installation instructions.
Again, consider hiring a home improvement professional to help you with your interior door installation, as they can ensure that your interior door installation project is completed correctly and in a timely manner. Check out HomeAdvancement's database of local contractors to start your interior door installation right away.
