How to fit interior doors
Once you’ve chosen the perfect style and finish for your internal doors, it’s time to order and fit them. You may decide to hire a specialist trade for this, but many of the
engineered wood internal doors from Online Door Store can be easily installed yourself, if you have some experience.
At Online Door Store, we recommend you bring in a specialist joiner to hang your doors for the best result, but if you want to save a bit of cash, here’s some tips to get this task right.
- Check your measurements
Especially if you’re replacing internal doors for new ones, it’s vital that you check your measurements are as close as possible to the existing doors. Check the width and thickness especially – and round those measurements up, not down, when choosing new doors. So, when you’re choosing a new standard-sized internal door product, it should be ever so slightly larger than the doors you already have in place – or the same size.
- Order with plenty of time
As soon as you have decided which internal doors are right for you, it’s wise to place an order with your supplier sooner, rather than later. At Online Door Store, we show you exactly how much stock we have of each internal door product. Even if an item is listed as ‘out of stock’ we encourage you to reserve the earliest products and pre-order to ensure you’re top of the list when the new doors come in. With Online Door Store, your internal doors will be
delivered within 3 to 5 working days, but other suppliers may have longer lead times, so order in plenty of time.
- Cut your doors to size
Using the old internal doors as a guide (if they fit well) gradually trim from
each side of the new doors with a hand or powered plane. Use abrasive sandpaper to smooth the edges. It’s a good idea to remove the wood equally from each side, especially if you’ve gone for a
panelled internal door as you’ll want to retain the symmetry.
Online Door Store also offers a
Made to Measure service on solid wood doors, so speak to the team to find out more about bespoke sized products.
- Measure and attach the hinges
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but you should test that the door fits in the desired space, and then decide where the hinges should be. Mark where the hinges should go on the doors, then make a rebate in the door to the depth of the metal plate of the hinges. A chisel and mallet are the best tools to use for this. Always use three hinges for each of your interior doors. Fire door hinges will be 4” long, standard door hinges 3”.
- How to fit interior doors on the frame
Place the door at a right angle to the frame and raise it slightly off the floor – two old wood chisels are best for this. Place one at each edge of the door so you can level it up square to the frame. To start, only fix the bottom screw of each hinge to the door frame and check that the door opens easily and smoothly. If you’re happy, drive home the rest of the screws. Don’t tighten it too much, though, as this may cause the door to rub against the frame. Ensure you’re happy with the fluidity of the internal door opening and closing before moving on to the next one.
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