I am thinking about replacing 12 interior doors. Each door has 3 hinges. I want to use a slab instead of prehungs so that I don't have to replace some pretty expensive moldings currently surrounding the door. What's the best method for mortising the hinges and drilling the lock holes? I know there are templates for routers, do they work? Which are best? If you line up the himges and the lock with the old door, how much trouble is it to line everything up when you install the new door? Thanks as always

Joe

 

I would suggest you get a copy of this book to start

should find all you need to know in it

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&...14iLHc#PPP1,M1

 

How easy it is depends on a lot of things, your skill not being the least of them. If the slabs are not exactly the correct width and you have to cut them down to size, that adds to the labor. If your hinges are square corner, you'll have some chiselling to do. If your current doors are out of square at all, that will also be a pain. Especially if you don't check the reveals first by inserting the slab into the opening BEFORE you make your hinge mortises. Then you'll have to cut the doors to length too. Hopefully your slabs will be the same thickness as your old doors too. And don't be suprised if your door stops will need a little adjustment, since your doors may lay a little differently- if an old or new door is a little warped... or if the hinges are mortised at all differently than the old ones.

It's best to take your hinge measurements off the jamb, not off the old door. The same goes for the knob and latch. Once you have the door hung, then you can close the door, mark the exact location the latch needs to be, and then drill and mortise it.

It's also pretty easy for a beginner to confuse which way the mortise goes on the door. You'll probably make a few mistakes, but by the 12th door you'll have it figured out.

The porter cable mortise jig works okay- it's cheap enough for someone who isn't in the door hanging business, and comes with a router bit- a small palm router or laminate trimmer will work fine to do the mortising. Getting the depth of the mortise correct is pretty important too. The hinge must be flush with the edge of the door once it is installed and screwed down.

As far as drilling the knobs and latches, hole saws will work fine, provided you drill halfway on each side of the knob to reduce tearout, and can drill straight when you drill the latch. Irwin has a nice little hole saw kit for this purpose that works okay.

 

Thanks. The current doors are only 4 years old and appear to be fairly square in the opening. I will be using the same thickness doors and they are all 80" so that poses little problems. I've done some exensive projects before but never with a router and never hanging doors. My fear is that the alignment may be off. Any other suggestions?

 

You are in for a challenge. All the information XSleeper gave is right on target for your proposed project. Take your old doors and "experiment" on their edges until you become a pro at it. Make a door buck to hold the doors vertical while you do this. Don't rely on your legs to do it.

 

Might be a good idea to practice using the old doors. This is not an easy job and I have seen skilled carpenters mess them up. When I install for customers I insist on prehung doors, it just does not pay. Last one I turned down had a $200 slab and couldn't understand why I would not do it for $50. You might Google and look at some of the tools you can buy and some of the homemade templates you can make. I have taken some old doors to a door company and had them template off the old doors. Might shop around and see what it costs. Let us know how it goes>

 

Hi, I've hung a couple of doors. Enclosed are some directions that may help.


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 200 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 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

 

I certainly didn't expect that detailed a response. Thanks. How long do you think it will take per door?