Installing a pre-hung entry door

[5030tinkerer]

I've installed a total of two pre-hung doors - a newbie at best. The first was installed some eight years ago, the second (an entry door) was installed last night. I must be doing something basic wrong, but can't tell what that could be. Steps I followed:

1. Dry fit the door into the rough opening. Remove the door.
2. Lay a bead of caulk under the threshold. The clock is ticking now.
3. Place the door into the frame.
2. Shim the left or right edge of the door as necessary to ensure the door frame is level.
3. Use shims to get the door relatively snug in the door frame while ensuring that the hinge side is plumb. Tack a few 10d casing nails in somewhat on this edge.
4. Plumb the jamb side of the door using shims. Tack a few casing nails in.
5. Operate the door and find that it sticks on the threshold.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 repeatedly for three hours trying to find a way for the door not to stick.
7. Give up and decide to live with a somewhat sticking door (even though the door is square with the frame).
8. Install a handleset.
9. Work on something else for an hour or so.
10. Note that door is sticking pretty well everywhere now - it takes effort to operate the door is fully out of the frame.
11. Utter words that shouldn't be heard by children (again).

I haven't driven the nails home yet and only have a few sets of shims installed along the jambs, but am at a loss over what to try next. I thought I would have a freely operating door at step 5. I am tempted to just let my framer do this and go, but there are about 25 more doors that will need to be installed and I am trying to do as much myself as possible. Maybe non entry doors are an easier install or I am doing something basic wrong?

 

[Jagmandave]

I always set the hinge side first, plumb it with shims and screw it to the rough opeining. Then I square the top. check for level and attach. I then close the door and shim the latch side to fit the door perfectly - with an appropriate gap of course.......Seems to work fine.

 

[Boiler74]

I've helped an old-time carpenter hang many doors, including my whole house. He willl worry about plumb for the hinge side of the door, and from then on he is more concerned with the margin around the door. Basically, the gap between the door and the jamb. You can shim the margin some on the strike side of the door, but the top margin is greatly affected by the side jamb placement. I guess he doesn't worry so much about being perfectly plumb and level so much as the margin and the function of the door.

Finally, you said the door was catching at the threshold. Have you adjusted the threshold? Most have three or four screw covers that you can pop off and adjust the threshold up or down to fine tune the fit.

Hope that helps.

J.

 

[randy41]

i would check for square not just plumb. is the floor flat?

 

[goaliedad]

The best news is that you did not drive the nails all the way.
I suspect that the top and bottom are not level- sides can be plumb while the top is off. If the top is not level, pull the nails from the knob side- adjust the top, then plumb the knob side. When you put the shims in, don't over do it- you don't want the door to hit the frame.
All is not lost, take some time to figure this out, then go after the rest.

Let us know what you find.

 

[CurlyDave]

Interior doors are easier, no threshold. And, they only have two hinges, which removes a number of possible misalignments.

All of the pre-hung doors I have installed have really just been a frame kit, with the hinges pre-mortised into both the door and the hinge side of the frame.

I have never installed a steel exterior door, so they could be different.

Step one is to stop & think about what kind of floor covering you are going to have. The door must be high enough to clear the floor covering. The last time I installed pre-hung doors they were all set up for an 80" door and an 81" frame. This is one of the great mysteries of life. A high-quality carpet is at least 3/4" thick and when you add in a 5/8" pad, I either needed to trim the bottom of the door, or shim the door frame up on the bottom.

Even a tile entryway, is liable to be more than 1" thick when you throw in the backerboard. Plus, you need at least 1/2" of clearance over the floor covering and 1" is better.

Even on an exterior door, the threshold should the be the last thing to go in, not the first. Its real purpose is to provide a weatherseal on the bottom of the door, and a replacable wear part on the floor.

Check to be certain the door is square, especially the bottom of door with respect to the hinge side. It is rare for them to be off, but if it is, the best fix is to exchange it for another one. This is a good time to check the rest of the pieces & make certain they aren't warped & fit properly.

As others have said, get the hinge side plumb first. If you are a newbie, this can be more subtle than you might think. The real requirement is that the centers of the hinge pins all have to be on the same line, and that line must be vertical.

If you are standing looking directly at the door, the hinge pin centerline can be out of vertical both left-right and into-out of the wall. You really need to get a 6-foot level and check it both ways. As a practical matter, the best you can do is to measure on the outside of the hinges, but this is close enough.

Next, hang the door, but be very careful at this stage. without the other side of the frame you can easily push it too far closed and the door gives you enough leverage to pull the hinges out.

Now add the strike side of the door frame. Get it at the same height from the floor as the hinge side, and shim it so that the door has the right gap, and so that the door is parallel with the wall when it is fully closed.

At this point you should have a smoothly functioning door, which opens & closes perfectly. Now fit the top of the door frame. Shim so it has the right gap, but this one is not nearly as critical as the strike side.

Last, fit the threshold, so the weatherstripping hits the bottom of the door, which is frequently beveled on an exterior door. You may need to shim under the threshold, but this is a lot better than having it stick.

When you do it this way, there is no ticking clock.

 

[450EXC]

I'm no expert but in the second # 2 did you shim under the threshold ? That would mess up your caulk seal.

If the floor is not perfectly level I think square is more important than level and plumb. But I could be way off.

The last one I put in was a Stanley from Home depot and it was messed up from the start and sticking like that on the threshold. Stanley sent me a new threshold.

 

[goaliedad]

"I think square is more important than level and plumb."

If the door is not plumb it will tend to swing by itself- if it is off enough it can even hit the floor as it opens ( don't ask, just accept this proven fact ). If the floor is not level I would shim the threshold and make sure it is caulked very well. You may find that threshold has an adjustment to compensate for an out of level floor.

Again, good luck, and let us know how it comes out.

 

[EddieWalker]

Checking to make sure the floor is level is very important. Especiall on exterior doors and Pier and Beam foundations. It's not uncommon for a few degrees of drop in an older home.

Once the threshold is level, than plumb the side with the hinges. Use screws because you can adjust them. The wood on the frame will flex and bow on you if overtightened. Be sure you screw through your shims!!!!

I like to predrill the jam and screw therough it. The keeps the door frame true from twisting. Once it's plumb and true, I like to remove one screw from each hing and screw through there. This realy makes for a good strong attachment.

Then do the latch side. Close the door and eyeball it from the inside. I don't use a level for this as it's not important anymore. You have your hing side level, so all you want to do now is get it spaced properly for a good seal.

Again, screw through the jam and shims. Make sure you keep the frame true and don't let it twist. Watch for overtightening the screws and warping the frame. It' not uncomon for the frame to bow, warp and twist when tightening it. If this happens, just let off on the screw a little, add more shims, and tighten again to the point the screw head sinks itself.

I never attach the top frame to the header.

Interior dorrs are the same, but instead of checking for a flat threshold, you have to consider the door height for what type of flooring you will have. Too tall and the door will look silly, too low and it will drag on carpet or the tile, depending on what you put down. Of course, it's easy to cut the bottom of the door when you have to, but very hard to lower a door that's too high.

Eddie

 

[450EXC]

"I think square is more important than level and plumb."

If the floor is off 1/4" in 3', not enough to make it swing free, then the top would be off a 1/2" if you plumbed it.

The last one I did I leveled the floor with floor leveler, plumbed and squared it.