Internal doors are crucial for a number of reasons. Firstly, the insulate each room, saving on electricity and heating costs whilst also sectioning off one room from another. They also give privacy to the user of the room from outside parties, which is most useful in bedroom and bathroom doors, although is also an important function of most other doors you’ll find in your average house. If you live in the same house for a long period of time, chances are you’re going to end up replacing at least one internal door with another – and knowing how to fit it could save you money on hiring a joiner.
Understand Your Door
The first step is to get to know the doors in your home and their general features. As a rule, internal doors tend to open and shut on standard hinges, and in modern doors you’ll find handles for opening and closing as opposed to knobs, although this may vary in older houses, and it’s a good idea to strive for consistency.
Once you’ve selected your internal door, for example you could use oak internal doors, and its standard fittings, it’s time to measure up. Internal doors are again all usually standard size, but make sure your door frames measure up as they should. If they are smaller than you would require, it’s easy to resize the door to fit – just make sure you remember to leave an inch or so for carpet clearance at the foot of the door. However, in the event that the doorframe is larger, you may require custom made internal doors to meet with your requirements.
Hanging The Door
Hanging a door is a complex process for a beginner, and one that requires a certain degree of practice to get it just right. Here we’ve compiled a step-by-step guide to hanging the internal door you’ve chosen just right:
1. Measure the doorframe and trim your internal door to size. Be aware that over time, natural changes to buildings can alter the sizes or door frames to a greater or lesser extent, so measurement and trimming is crucial.
2. Identify the handle side of the door to ensure it’s going the right way round. This is usually demonstrated by the word ‘lock’, which will be displayed on the door where the optional lock is to be fitted. This will allow you to gauge where to position the handle later down the line.
3. Mark on the door where you want the hinges to go, taking into account existing door frame hinge location. Now draw around the hinge area to identify how much wood should be chiselled in order to create a housing for the hinges.
4. With a sharpened chisel make initial cuts into the wood around the hinge location and leave to stand. There’s no need to rush the excavation of the hinge joint, and allowing it to dry will make for a better finish.
5. Fit the hinges and work the doorframe. Attach the door to the frame prior to fitting any of the fixtures.
6. Finally, fit the fixtures including the handle and any locks that are required once the door is hanging. This will be far easier to do when the door is attached, and will enable you to fit the handles far more flush to the door.