Hints to Start Installing Prehung Interior Door

I have several prehung interior doors to install. I am using split jambs. The process is pretty simple, however, I was looking for hints on how be best get the first couple nails in. I installed one already and it went fine. Installed the door side of the split jamb then slid the trim side in. The door is level, square, and plumb. I just felt like I needed many more hands than what I actually have, so it took awhile. I figure folks with more experience in this than myself might have some good advice to shortcut the process. Anyone have any tricks for leveling and shimming the door and getting the first nails in? Is there a way to do it without opening the door to drive nails through the hinge side jamb?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

The only thing I might come up with is making sure your hinge side framing is perfectly plumb. Attach your door to that framing solidly. Shim the latch side to make it plumb, while making the header level. Nail through your trim boards first and once the door is shimmed properly, add nails through the shims to hold them in place. I like to have shims close to the latch, either directly above or below (or both), so that area doesn't tend to move. Slide your trim side in and fasten it through the trim, and your are done. If you have already done one, and only needed 4 more hands, you've got it knocked. Good luck with the installation of the rest, and let us know if we can be of help.

 

In older construction, plumb/level are not always the key words. You need the door trim/frame match existing conditions, and that is not always plumb/level. If a wall is out of whack, setting a door to plumb/level will make something look wrong. Yes, shim and trim as best you can to make the doors work correctly, but not so they look like they belong in another house. measure from the ceiling, floor, and walls, to make the frame/trim fit the room.

Chandler knows of what he speaks, but I have been a remodeler for 23 yrs. Make the doors fit the house, but they should work correctly, not an easy thing to do.

 

Didn't know it was an older house, and if so, Bill is right, as the looks must conform to the house.

 

Some guys will lay the door down, square it up, put the casing on one side, then use the casing like a nailing fin. Obviously, you'd still need to shim it from the opposite side.

Sometimes I'll stick 1/8" shims around the perimeter of a door while it's closed to keep all those reveals "preset". Sometimes that helps speed things up.

Running your air hose through the door knob and going out another exit (or having a helper on the other side) helps too.

And I never put in a door without my 78" level. Check the floor where the jambs sit prior to beginning... cut one jamb shorter if needed to level up the head. In most cases, the head should always be level, and the sides will be plumb. The level is also useful as a straightedge as you go to shim the jambs. It speeds things up by taking out the guesswork of what is "straight".

If the wall is racked, sometimes you need to tap one or two corners of the jamb deeper into the wall to line the legs of the jamb up. (you don't usually want the jamb to be proud of the wall). The door should contact the door stop evenly all the way around. If it doesn't, the door needs to be tapped in or out some more. In the end, that is usually more important than the door being perfectly plumb, as Just Bill was saying. You want the legs of the jamb to be in the same PLANE even if the wall is a little out of whack.

 

All good stuff here. Thanks for the extra suggestions!