Interior doors create a sense of comfort and security in the room, decorate the interior, and eliminate unwanted sounds. In order for them to become a full-fledged part of it and last at least 5-10 years, it is necessary to install interior doors correctly. How to do it? We will tell you step by step in the instructions. Of course, in our case, the ideal option is to turn to custom home builder in sacramento, relying on their knowledge and experience. Moreover, if you order the door from the manufacturer, the installation of interior doors can go to him as an additional service. If, for one reason or another, you decide to put this burden of responsibility on yourself, read our instructional article. It will help you install new interior doors correctly and with your own hands without making common mistakes.
First step: assessment of the premises
First, assess the condition of the room. For example, if you are renovating a room or an apartment, keep in mind that you can start installing doors only when everything is plastered and puttyed, but before the stage of covering the walls with paint, wallpaper, etc.
Important :
- determine the floor finish and installation location in advance in order to choose the dimensions of the door frame as accurately as possible
- before installing the door, all repair work in the bathroom, toilet and kitchen must be completed. Otherwise, there is a risk that the door will change its shape due to moisture and become unsuitable for installation.
- check the surface of the door. It should be perfectly smooth, without bumps and protrusions. The slightest unevenness can prevent the door from opening/closing
- before installation, carefully check the package: whether the dimensions of the canvas correspond to the dimensions of the box and the door opening
- it is unacceptable to install the door near heating or heating devices
The second step: choosing tools for installing interior doors
Prepare all the necessary tools in advance. Depending on the installation method, you will need:
Basic tools : a chisel, saw or hacksaw, chisel, drill with nozzles (crown), screwdriver or screwdriver, hammer, wedges.
Products : self-tapping screws for assembling the box 4×50, universal screws 5×80, dowels, finishing nails.
Auxiliary tools : knife, pencil, tape measure, tape measure, building level, mounting foam.
The third step: preparing the door frame
The door frame is a construction of one horizontal and two vertical profiles forming the letter “P”.
Self-installation assumes that you will have to adjust the door frame to the product to the nearest millimeter. An alternative option is to order the necessary components from the manufacturer. As a rule, their dimensions perfectly coincide with the dimensions of the purchased doors, some manufacturers have door frames and are completely included in the set.
After you have taken the measurements, prepare the frame taking into account possible errors. Do not be afraid to practice on spare racks:
- Saw two vertical racks at an angle of 45°.
- On the inner part of the rack, measure the distance, which is calculated according to the formula: the length of the door (exactly to the millimeter, with all errors; for example, 2003 mm) + 4 mm (stock from above) + 10 mm (stock from below).
- Saw straight along the marked line on both racks.
- Take the upper part of the door frame (door), then measure along the inner part of the part a distance equal to: the width of the canvas (for example, 900 mm) + 4 mm (the margin on the side of the lock) + 4 mm (the margin on the side of the hinges). Saw off the door from both sides at an angle of 45°.
- The door frame is almost ready. Fasten the finished racks and doors perpendicularly to each other with self-tapping screws. Use three 60 mm self-tapping screws for each cut.
Fourth step: installation of hinges
The door frame is ready. Let’s move on to the next stage — installation of hinges. Contrary to popular opinion, we recommend installing interior doors with both two and three hinges yourself.
Also consider that there are three types of hinges: left, right and universal. If you plan to open the door for yourself with your left hand, choose the left one, and with your right hand, choose the right one. Win-win option – universal.
So, step-by-step instructions:
- Make three marks on the door leaf with a pencil: the first – at a distance of 250 mm from the upper edge, the second – at a distance of 500 mm, the third – similarly to the first, but already from the bottom of the product.
- Attach loops alternately so that the marks are perpendicular to the center of the loop. Mark the edges of each of the loops with additional notches (using a pencil).
- After that, fix each loop in turn with self-tapping screws so that it is stationary. Next, use a milling cutter (or, in extreme cases, a chisel) to make 2 mm cuts around the entire perimeter of the loop. The deepening is done.
- Next, put the loop in the groove, and then mark the holes for the screws with an awl (or drill). Tighten the self-tapping screws.
Now you can attach the canvas to the rack and try to reproduce the opening/closing of the door. This is necessary in order to understand how much it is necessary to deepen the loop in the rack. Guideline – in the closed state, the gap between the door and the rack should be equal to 4 mm.
To prevent the door from creaking in the future, make sure that the axial connection of the hinges does not come into contact with the door leaf and door frame posts.
Important : measurements on racks are made in the same way!
Fifth step: installing the handle
Self-installation of the handle on the interior door takes place in two stages: first, you cut in the handle with the latch, and only then, when the door is hung on the hinge, proceed to the second stage – attaching the metal frame to the rack.
Let’s start with the first stage. To begin with, determine the height of the handle, or rather, the place of its installation. As a rule, it is placed at a height of 90 to 130 cm from the floor level. This is quite enough for both a child and an adult to open the door.
To mark the door, use the standard scheme that usually comes with the handle, or mark the door yourself using a kerchief and an awl. To do this, place the center of the handle at a distance of 6 cm from the edge of the door on both sides of the door. At the edge of the door – in its middle – also make a mark. This is the future location for the lock tongue.
Next, drill a hole in the door at an angle of 90°. We recommend using a drill bit with a crown for this. The depth of the hole should be equal to 0.5 of the total thickness of the door. The hole for the latch is made with the help of a feather drill – it is proportional to the length of the internal mechanism of the handle.
The sixth step: installing the door frame and hanging the door
In the installation of interior doors, there are several ways to install the door frame. We will consider the most common and time-tested one – installation with a solid one-piece frame.
- With the help of wedges, fix the upper part of the door frame in such a way that the first ones are at the level of the junction of the transverse and riser parts.
- In order to fix the lower part of the box with wedges, align the hinge side, check with a building level in two planes.
- Measure the distances at the top and bottom of the box, taking into account 4 mm for gaps. So, with a canvas width of 800 mm, the distance should be 804 mm
- Using a wedge, fix the opposite side of the box. Place the spacer opposite the lower wedges. For reliability, you can put additional spacers just below the handle and at the level of the upper loop.
- Now fasten the door box to the opening with the help of self-tapping screws that are screwed into the places of the hinges and handles. Hang the door using self-tapping screws according to the measurements you made in point 4.
