First time installing interior doors but I am pretty handy. I used the old holes where the previous door was, squeezed a couple of match sticks in the old holes. Mortised the new door and the hinges are completely flush with the door. When I shut the door it won't close. When I try to force it to close it wants to pull the hinges and frame to the left. So removed the door, increased the mortised area so that it was closer to the door front, that way the door position can be moved a bit back to increase the gap between the door and the door stop. No joy, the door still won't shut, but the distance to close is now less than before. What else can I do to get it right?

 

It could be hinge bound, meaning the hinges are mortised too deep, or it could be hitting the stops. If you can slide a piece of paper between the door and the stops when it is as closed as it gets, then it's hinge bound and you should add some shims (thin cardboard works ok) behind the hinges. If the paper won't slide easily all the way from the outer edge to the hinge edge, then it is likely hitting the stops. You can remove and reset the stops or you can move the hinges away from the stops a little.

 

This is where a recent discussion about the pro's and con's of replacing an entire pre hung door vs a slab door.

Pre hung doors are all morticed in large fixtures so everything is perfectly aligned. Installing a slab door is difficult because you have to router each hinge pocket and drill holes keeping everything aligned, it's tough.

I've only done a couple slab door replacements, the latest was a glass door on the existing pantry door. I made a router fixture, measured everything 3 times and it came good but all in all it was borderline if it was the easiest route to take. Trying to do each mortice pocket individually is where the problem comes in.

They make kits so if this is first of many might want to look into them!

 

If the door is hitting the hinge side stop before the door closes you can move the stop by placing a board up to it and hammering the stop sideways.

If the door is hitting the jamb you can shim the hinges on the side closest to the stop. That will pull the door away from the jamb. Most cases I just use many layers of tape for a shim.

 

The cardboard trick worked. Door is closing though it's not plumb. The top edge is hitting the stop before the lower edge. I will circle back to this later to try suggested fixes. But any more suggestions or ideas are still welcome.

Have installed two others and they were perfect. A third had a yuuuge problem. At the top frame measures 30 1/4". The bottom is 30 3/4". This is a huge gap that no matter how much I try to center the door there's a huge gap at the bottom. The top part is ok for about 1/3, then the gap starts to occur and it's widest at the bottom. I would like to start with the simplest fix. Would that be to add a shim on the door side? Or am I looking at having to move the door jamb to close the gap?

Edit.
Positioned a shim to the bottom left, the gap is now much smaller. In this solution I would have to double the door stop on both sides to make it look balanced. I don't know if this looks weird or what else you guys can suggest.

 

Door is all fixed up. Quick question - Has anyone painted white latex satin on doors and door frames/casings instead of semi gloss? Do you recommend the result? I was gonna do semi-gloss but my baseboards are satin. I know it's just a detail but it got me wondering about other folks' experiences here.

 

Satin is fine.

 

​​​​​​​And why do something different!