Door fitting professional tip on hanging door

Choosing a particular style of door itself seems so time-consuming a task and laborious! Setting up a door at its position is even more an uphill task. In the following sections of the blog post let us explore hanging a door to perfection that would even leave a carpenter amazed.

What tools do you need to accomplish the task? Let us prepare the list right now.

Tools and materials you require for hanging a door

Here is a common set of tools that you need while new door fitting or replacing an old, existing one.

• Chisels of different sizes
• Combination square
• Tape measure
• Mallet – if not a hammer
• Marking gauge
• Plane – both smooth and power  
• Drill along with drill bits
• Pencil
• Screwdriver– or screwdriver bits for drilling
• Wooden wedge

In addition to the few items mentioned above, you need the door itself that you want to hang and a door holder. As an alternative to a door holder try to get someone to help you out to hold the door for you.

Hanging a door – few crucial facts and tips

• You should never hang a door upside down

It is quite easy hanging a door upside down and it is more important to note that you should always avoid doing it. Why is it so? There are reasons for which you are asked to avoid doping that ever. When you hang a door upside down the problem that could arise is what you think obvious may not be so in every case, warns an expert who deals with door fitting in London. In certain cases or with some doors, just by looking at the design you know which way it needs to be hung.  

If you are hanging a core door which is hollow you should notice where the lock block is located. If you do not know what a lock block is it is a solid piece of timber on which the latch as well as the lock handles is placed. Usually the lock block is located on top of doors but in your door (the one you are trying to hang DIY) it could not be there. In that case here is a way how you should check it out – tap the door using your knuckle. If the sound is hollow then you know this is the hinge side of the door while on the other hand if your action makes a solid sound, you know this is the latch side. This is one of the most crucial things you should find out before you actually start hanging your door.

The way in which the door should swing

In which direction should you hang a door? This is a common question people stumble upon while hanging a door. Interestingly the answer to this question is actually quite simple as usually there is only one way for it to open. However that still leaves you wondering then you should try determining in which the door will swing.

Usually doors that join a room to a hallway swings into the room. It is also important to consider the location of the light switch. It is better the door when open does not cover up the light switch. But still if you think you are not getting the right direction in that case there is an easy way out. Type in the model of your door into Google search box and press Enter. You will see how the door needs to be hung, suggests a professional providing door fitting service in London for years together. All these apparently unimportant things matter a lot at the end and so, it is better to be prepared right from the beginning.

Hanging a door – stepwise approach for you to understand the task clearly

First prepare the door frame or lining before door fitting

While actually hanging a door you have to prepare its frame or door lining. You should make sure it is clean and free from debris; if there is a plastered wall around the door then lumps of plaster may stick to the frame which you need to remove with a blunt chisel. You need a pencil and use it in combination with a square to mark thickness of the edge of the door in case there is already no door stop on the frame. Set the square to the correct thickness and mark a line using it from the face of the frame at each corner. The line should start about 3 inches away from the top and the bottom of the frame. This is in order to set the hinges free.  

Tap in a nail around half way on these lines to mainly prevent the door from falling through during the marking up process. But there are exceptions when you are dealing with any costly variety of doors, like oak door for example. There is a risk of denting such doors with a nail – so use a small off cut of timber or door stop for the purpose. Professionals who provide the service of door installation in London suggest nailing this. While making sure the edge sits on the line. this way you will damage the door much less compared to the other approach.

Mark up for door fitting

Put the door into the frame while ensuring the lock block is on the same side as where the handle is to be fitted. You may still have to fit the door to size so that it hangs in the frame perfectly. So you may have to plane it down at places where it is necessary. Use an electric plane or a hand one whichever suits you. But if you need to remove only a small portion in that case a hand plane is better.    

Now we will go through the rest of the steps quickly.

Mark the hinges on the door

 If you are hanging a door on an existing frame then your approach will be different than when you are hanging the door on a new frame.

Cutting out space for the hinges

As you are chopping the hinges out, you should better make use of a sharp chisel.

Trimming the bottom of the door

You may find it necessary trimming the bottom edge of the door.

Applying a leading edge to the door for fitting

You may have to add a leading edge to the door suggest professionals working at the Glazing Works London. They explain this prevents the door from hitting the frame every time while closing.  And now you are finally in the position to hang the door.

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