I'm replacing all of my interior doors with the hollow 6 panel doors....

1 - I'm also putting down new flooring. Pergo in 1/2 the house and new carpet in the other half. Which should I do first...flooring or doors...or does it matter?

2 - I was planning on just buying the $29 doors at the local home improvement store, paint them white, and install them. It's not going to be that easy, is it? I haven't even looked at them...will I need to drill holes for the hinges, door knobs, etc.? Will they easily align in the door frame? Can this be a one person job? (sorry I guess I have more than 2 questions)

Thanks!

 

1). I'd install the doors first.

2). Yes, if you get preprimed doors they are ready for paint. I like to disassemble them completely before painting, and I like to use a high gloss interior trim paint when painting doors- it resists smudges better and cleans up easier, and is usually more durable than ordinary wall paint. So purchase paint that specifically is for trim. The door should be predrilled for knobs. Whether it will line up easily depends on if your walls are a standard thickness. Most doors are 4 9/16" wide, and if you have a wall that is wider than that, you need to either install an extension jamb or custom order a door that comes with the right wall thickness (the latter is usually too expensive to be practical). And yes, it's probably a one person job, provided that one person knows what he's doing. A 6ft level, a 32" level and a lot of shims help the installation go easier. I'm sure you can find other threads here that discuss interior prehung door installation.

 

I would go with pre hung doors, includes the frame, hinges and hole cut for the knobs. Just replacing the slabs requires cutting in the hinges and trying to match the door knobs. tough for a DYI to do.

 

I totally agree with using "Pre-hung" doors.

By the time you buy hinges, a router for the hinges, a hinge template, and a second door for the one you messed up... you'd be right in the $79,,, 6 panel, foam core doors that I just bought and installed.

You can install a pre-hung faster than you can mortise out the hinges, drill holes for hardware, etc....

 

Thanks for your replies! I have plaster walls...will it be a pain to remove the old frame? Will the walls chip? Will I have to repaint?

 

You might want to use a reciprocating saw and long blade to remove the old jambs. You can cut off any nails that are holding it in that way. The problem you might encounter is that your old doors might not be the same size that today's doors are.

Standard doors usually require rough openings (the size of the opening after you remove the old door) that are about 32x82 for a 30" door, 34x82 for a 32" door, 38x82 for a 36" door. Its good to know exactly what's going into the opening before you tear it all out!

 

Before you remove the molding use a razor around it. That will save your wall paint and plaster. The plaster walls are sometimes thicker than sheetrock walls. You may have to order deeper door frames or add an extension so the frames are flush with the walls.

 

Hi, Measure the width of your jambs. Most new jambs are 4 9/16 for 3 1/2 stud and 2 pieces of 1/2 rock 5/8 rock takes a wider jamr plaster even bigger. You can special order doors with wider jambs but you loose the price you want, I have enclosed directions on how to hang a slab door.

On your new door decide what is the top of the door. Example on a six panel door the small panels go to the top. On a slab door the top may be marked if it isn’t then it will make no difference.
I have hung about 100 doors as a repair not construction. I will try to help you as best as I can.
With your old door in place check the fit. Most fits are OK. Fit is the reveal on the top bottom and sides of the door. With the old door still in place mark it top and back. The back is the side with the hinge pins. Mark the new door top and back this is for your reference it is very easy to get turned around doing this. Pull the pins on the old door and remove all the hardware including the hinge leafs. Do not remove hinge leafs on the door jamb. Measure the old door and cut the new one at the bottom to that length be careful not to splinter the new door, score the door or clamp a piece of scrap wood on the side where the saw blade leaves the wood.
Set the old door on the side with the hinge mortise up. Line up the new door at the top of the old one. The back of one should be against the front of the other. With a combo square scribe the mortise of the old door to the new door. Now take one of the hinge leafs and trace the hinge between the mortise lines you just drew remember the pins on the hinge go to the back of the door. The hinge leaf is probably marked on the back side from paint or varnish, use this line to guide you when tracing the hinge. An interior door is 1 3/8”The hinge will set about 1 1/4” across the door. Use a router to cut out the mortise if you use a chisel be careful cut only across the grain of the door style or you will split it.
Install the leafs on the new door with only one screw on each leaf make sure to drill a pilot hole for the screw or you WILL SPLIT the door. If the door has 3 hinges , leave the middle one off until you fit the door.
Place the new door in the jamb put the top pin in first then the bottom pin, you may have to adjust the bottom leaf a little tap it up or down to make it fit. That’s why I use only one screw at first. With both pins installed, drill your pilot holes and put in the rest of screws in the top and bottom hinges.
Put a screw on the front of the door where the knob will go, you need the screw to pull the door closed so you can mark the door where it hits the jamb. Remove the strike plate off the door jamb. With a pencil mark the door where it hits the jamb. Remove the door and plane down to the line, take your time. You may have to mark the door 2 or 3 times to get the fit.
With a pencil, mark on the back side door casing, the center of the hole located on the door jamb used for the door lock Close the door and transfer the mark to the door. With a combo square use that mark to scribe a line on both sides of door about 3” long and across the style.
Now find the back set of the lock you are using. A new lock will tell you, if you use the old lock, measure the old door from the edge to the center of the hole. 2 3/8” and 2 3/4 are common sizes. Measure also the size of the hole you will need 2 1/8’’is common.
If the back set is 2 3/8. On the line you drew on the door make a mark 2 3/8 on each side of the door. If the hole is 2 1/8, use a 2 1/8 hole saw, cut half way through the door and finish the cut from the other side do not plunge straight through you will splinter the door. Mark the center of style and drill a hole to fit the door latch use a small as possible hole to fit the latch you don’t have much room to spare. Some latches need to be mortised to fit if this is the case put the latch in the hole and trace the face of it then remove the needed amount of wood and install it. Remember to drill pilot holes. Install the lockset and the third hinge if needed. Now wasn’t that easy?

Good Luck, Woodbutcher

 

Thank you very much for the step by step instructions! Now just let me know when you're in Ohio...

The pre-hung doors are sounding pretty good right now...