I just saw Bob Vila's program about pre-hung interior doors this past week.
I have been looking to replace the doors in our house but it is a manufactured home and I am not certain that all the doorways are square. If I wanted to replace the doors, what would be the best way to guarantee that the doorways are square first? Or is it possible to get the door and let its molding square the doorway? (I don't mind there being a slight space between the wall and the frame of the door as long as it is not visible.
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Welcome Michelle,
Not sure how much help I'll be (as I'm not familiar with manu. homes--although I doubt they're all that much different from typical construction).
But it's certainly not all that unusual that doorways aren't all that square. Hence, the SHIM.
So typically you plumb up the pre-hung door using 2 shims (working opposite each other)--one pair high on the door, the other low. How far you push shims inward toward each other determines plumb (or not).
(Is this making sense?)
Regards,
-k2 in CO
Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum
http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous
Not sure how much help I'll be (as I'm not familiar with manu. homes--although I doubt they're all that much different from typical construction).
But it's certainly not all that unusual that doorways aren't all that square. Hence, the SHIM.
So typically you plumb up the pre-hung door using 2 shims (working opposite each other)--one pair high on the door, the other low. How far you push shims inward toward each other determines plumb (or not).
(Is this making sense?)
Regards,
-k2 in CO
Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum
http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous
To verfy the squareness of any rectangular opening measure the diagaonals. Measure form bottom left to the top right and from bottom right to top left. If the measurements are equal then the opening is square.
Thank you for the information. I was getting discouraged over the door. I didn't realize it was so common for doors to be off. Our house is 17 years old and set on permanent foundation and the particular door to which I am refering is between the two halves of the home. So I am sure some of the settling that has happened over the years could affect the doorway's being straight.
What you said makes sense somewhat but I don't think it is something my husband and I could do ourselves. We have no tools. I was just interested so that I could see if the pre-hungs would be a good idea if we ever hire a contractor or home repairman to do it for us.
What you said makes sense somewhat but I don't think it is something my husband and I could do ourselves. We have no tools. I was just interested so that I could see if the pre-hungs would be a good idea if we ever hire a contractor or home repairman to do it for us.
If you have not done them yet let me add: My wife and I just hung 4 interior doors. She had never done it and I have done 3 in my life but none in 5 years. The first one took 3.5 hours and the last one an hour. Unlike most things we read we removed the door and shimmed,leveled and secured the hinge side jamb first. WE then attached the door and shimmed and secured the latch side. Keep checking with a level. After each shimming we closed the door and checked the reveal. There are references and guides online so read those first and adapt to your situation.
