Preparing to Hang Internal Doors

There are a couple of things you should do before you even start to hang your internal doors.

A few days before you plan to hang your doors, move them into the room. Wood can shrink and expand under different conditions, so this will give them a chance to acclimatise before they are hung. Otherwise, you may need to remove them to trim again at a later date.

The next thing you should do is measure your doors to identify if they need any trimming. Differences in frames and fitting will probably mean your doors need altering and this is the most convenient time to do it.

Measure the doorway in six points, left, centre, right and top, middle, bottom. Your door will need to be cut down to fit the narrowest width and shortest height. Now measure your door. To make life easier, if you are removing an older door you can use this as a template, though take care not to damage your new door in the process.

If your new door does need trimming, our page on internal door sizes has a guide to help.

Another step you will need to take if your doors are unfinished or primed is finishing them. Whether you’re painting, varnishing or staining your doors, it is recommended you add the paint before you hang the doors as this will stop them from absorbing any moisture while they are waiting to be hung. Even if you have finished doors, it is important to seal any sides you may have trimmed and left raw. For advice on how to paint doors, take a look at our fact sheet.

After all this is done, it is time to collect your tools and start the job of hanging your internal doors.

How to Hang An Interior Door

Tools

• Mallet
• 25mm Chisel
• Drill
• Hinges
• Screwdriver
• Screws
• Pencil

1. Measure the hinge positions

Once you know your door is the right size, get started by measuring where the hinges will sit. If you are just replacing an internal door, you can do this using the position of the previous hinges for guidance.

2. Make space for the hinges

Once the position is marked off, check the depth of the hinge plate. Mark that on the door too and use a hammer and chisel to make a recess for the hinge to sit in so it is flush with the door surface. Take your time doing this, making lots of small cuts instead of big ones to make sure you don’t split the wood or remove too much

3. Attach the hinges

When you know where to put them, drill pilot holes for the hinges as this will stop the wood splitting when you add the screws.

Attach the ‘leaf’ side of the hinge to the door. Use a screwdriver if necessary to make sure the heads of the screw are completely flush with the door.

4. Hang the door

Position the door in place (propped up so that it is the correct position in the frame) and put the bottom screw into all the hinges. This should be enough to temporarily support the door while you give it a gentle swing to see if clears the carpet and closes properly. If it does, then pop the rest of the screws in.

If it doesn’t, remeasure the door to see if it needs trimming again.