School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

March 27, 2014 By Kayla Janachovsky

Editor’s Note: I feel like Kayla and Justin, from HomeComing MN, are talking right to me with this post.  Says the DIYer who finished her entire basement, but has yet to install any doors!  I am so excited for these tips.

Installing a door may seem like a daunting project, but don’t let it scare you! Many doors are sold “pre-hung” and are fairly simple to install.  We’re here to share some tips straight from a Carpenter on how to install your pre-hung door.

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

 

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door

What makes this project DIY-able is that the majority of the work is already done for you with a pre-hung door. The door slab has been mounted on hinges and placed in the door jamb already. We’ll be sharing how we installed our pre-hung Jeld-Wen 5-Panel Door with tempered glass which we purchased from Home Depot as a special order item.

The first step in installing a door is measuring the rough opening to make sure your door fits properly. Justin did this by measuring the width and height of the door jamb and then checking it against the rough opening. This will also determine the amount of shim space that you’ll have on each side of the jamb.

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

Carpenters Tip #1:

When installing in a carpeted area to tile or hardwood, cut a notch in the door jamb to ensure the door fits properly.

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

The next step is to ensure that your door jamb can be hung plumb to the wall. In order to do this, we removed the hinge pins and detached the door from the jamb before nailing shims to the rough opening.

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

Using the amount of shim space you measured earlier, nail your shims directly centered behind the hinge on the rough opening before putting in the door frame. Make sure your shims are plumb. Note: Usually the rough opening allows for about 1/2 in. of shimming on each side of the frame.

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

Carpenters Tip #2:

Next, set the door jamb in place and remove the hinge plate from the jamb.  Pre-drill and screw a new hole (not in a pre-existing hole from the hinge plate) underneath where the hinge plate was.  Adding this extra screw secures the door jamb more firmly to the wall. Note: Pre-Drilling is a technique to prevent the material from splitting using a countersink bit on a regular drill.

Re-install the hinge plates and reattach the door by putting the pins back in the door jamb.

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

Start nailing the shims through the jamb to the rough opening on the strike side to make the margin equal down the entire jamb, adding shims as needed. Depending on how bowed the door jamb is, you may need to add more shims.

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.comHow to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

Install your desired casing around the door, and you’re done! We decided to mimic our Craftsman Style window trim/casing for a cohesive look throughout the master suite.

Here’s what our final door looks like!

How to Install a Pre-Hung Door | Home Coming for tealandlime.com

If you want to know more about us,  follow along on our home remodel or see the DIY projects we’re working on, swing by Home Coming for a visit!

Previous Post
Design Do’s and Don’ts: Lighting Design
Next Post
How to Make a Plain Glass Vase Gleam

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.