How to install an interior door

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Please be patient, follow our step-by-step instructions, and everything will definitely work out.

There are many installation options depending on the approach of the technician and the tool at hand. We will consider one of the simplest methods without the use of special equipment, which is available to everyone.

1. Prepare tools and materials

• Door leaf and frame.
• Platband and additional strips.
• Universal butterfly hinges, handle and lock.
• Saw, screwdriver and drill.
• Pencil, awl and knife.
• Chisel and hammer.
• Level, tape measure and wedges.
• Screws, nails, polyurethane foam.

2. Dismantle the old door

If you are inserting a new door rather than replacing the old one, go to the next step.

Remove the canvas from the hinges, disassemble the door frame. Clean the opening from the remains of plaster and other debris.

3. Select the size of the new canvas

This is necessary so that you do not have to bother with narrowing or, conversely, expanding the opening. Standard door sizes are 2 m high and 60, 70, 80 or 90 cm wide. Double doors are usually a combination of two leaves. For example, 120 cm is 60 + 60.

Since the canvas is installed in the door frame, and even with gaps for foam, the opening should be slightly larger. Typically 8-10 cm. This includes the thickness of the frame and any required clearances.

• Measure the width of the opening and select the blade 8-10 cm narrower.
• Measure the height of the opening from the finished floor and make sure that it is 6–9 cm greater than the height of the door.
• Take measurements in several places and take into account the smallest result. For example, if the width of the opening at the bottom is 89 cm, in the middle - 91 cm, and at the top - 90 cm, then the width should be considered equal to 89 cm.

4. Decide on the side of the opening and hinge

If the canvas is installed flush with the wall in the corridor, then it will open into the passage. If there is a wall in the room, then the door will swing open there. Think about how it is more convenient and take this point into account.

To open to the right, the hinges must be hung from the right side, and to open to the left - from the left. In order not to be mistaken, stand in front of the door and imagine that you are opening it at yourself. If it is with glass, then the matte side should be directed into the corridor, and the glossy side - into the room.

5. Unpack the door

Remove the packaging with your hands or carefully open the film with a knife. Cut not on the front, but on the back, so as not to damage the coating. Leave one of the side cartons: it will serve as a lining and protect the end of the canvas from scratches during work.

6. Hang the hinges

If you are installing the door for the first time, it is better to use butterfly hinges. They are versatile and fit both right and left hinges. But most importantly, they do not need to be cut into the box, which is very convenient for non-professionals.

• Place the door on the edge with the right side facing you, placing a piece of cardboard.
• Measure 250 mm from the edge of the canvas and mark with a pencil - this will be the center of the loop.
• Attach the closed loop to the canvas with the side where the holes of the small part are chamfered.
• To clarify the place of screwing in the screws, mark the centers with an awl and carefully drill holes with a diameter of 2–2.5 mm.
• Install one of the screws. It will fix the loop and make it easier to mark.
• Mark all holes in this way and screw in the screws.
• Remember: a small part of the hinge is attached to the leaf, and a large part to the door frame.
• Repeat the same procedure for the second buttonhole.

7. Cut the lock

• Turn the canvas over so that the hinges are on the floor, and the opposite side, where the lock will stand, is at the top.
• Position the lock correctly - centered on the door. The square hole for the handle should be at the top, and the beveled part of the latch should be directed towards the closing side. If necessary, the tongue can be easily flipped by simply pulling with your fingers.
• Measure the length and width of the lock mounting plate and the thickness of the door. Make the markings and place the plank strictly in the center of the canvas.
• Unfold the lock with the back side and attach it to the door. Mark the center of the mounting holes, drill, screw in the screws.
• Trace the strip along the contour with a pencil and carefully cut the film with a sharp knife to clearly mark the boundaries of the sample for the installation and not damage the edge.
• Remove the lock and separate the cut film from the blade with a chisel.
• Attach the mechanism to the door, aligning it with the planned location, and mark the width of the cabinet. Measure the thickness of the lock at its widest point and place a mark on the canvas.
• Draw bounding lines 2mm from the edges of the groove on both sides.
• Using a 6–7 mm drill, make holes along the contour of the recess for the lock mechanism. Stagger the holes to maximize the area. Proceed carefully and do not protrude beyond the boundaries of the markup.
• Slowly cut off the reamed wood with a chisel and trim the edges of the groove so that the lock fits freely, but does not dangle.
• Use a chisel to remove the wood a little at a time so that the mounting bar is flush with the canvas. Check with the back of the lock, rather than pushing it into place - otherwise it will be difficult to reach.
• Place the lock on the side and mark with a pencil the square hole for the pen shaft. Make markings on both sides and remember that this figure should be on top, not below, when the door is installed.
• Insert a piece of wood into the groove as a support and use a 20 mm drill to make a hole on one side and then on the other.
• Replace the lock and secure with screws, having previously drilled holes for them.

8. Assemble the door frame

• Place the side pillars of the door frame along the edges of the door leaf so as not to confuse. They should be directed a quarter towards the door hinge. That is, you should see the seals.
• Calculate the strut height for proper trimming. It consists of the size of the leaf (2000 mm), the gap between the frame and the door (3 mm), the thickness of the frame itself (22-25 mm) and the gap between the leaf and the floor (8-22 mm). The lower threshold is made only in bathrooms, in other cases a gap is left for carpets and other coverings.
• Calculate the width of the crossbar of the door frame. To do this, add 6 mm to the width of the door leaf, so that you end up with a gap of 3 mm on each side.
• Carefully cut all the planks to size. Better with a miter saw, but you can also use a hacksaw with a fine tooth.
• Remove quarters on the side uprights to align with the top bar. To do this, slide the seals to the side, make cuts with a saw, and then chisel off the interfering pieces with a chisel. Use box cuttings as a template for more precision.
• Cut the rubber seals on the side uprights at a 45 degree angle to avoid an unsightly crevice after assembly.
• Fold the frame planks together, line up the edges and secure with screws. Pre-make holes for the screws and screw two pieces into each rack. Use box scraps for accurate markings.

9. Hang the door leaf onto the door frame

• Place the door frame on the floor and carefully lay the door leaf in it. Place 3 mm thick fiberboard pieces around the perimeter to form an even gap.
• Mark the top of each buttonhole on the frame with a pencil.
• Unscrew the screws from the side post and "open" it on the hinges upwards. To prevent the canvas from falling, place the box cuttings under it at the top and bottom.
• Align the top of the hinge with the mark on the frame and mark the centers of the screw holes with an awl. Screw in the screws, having previously drilled the holes for the fasteners.
• Repeat the procedure for the second buttonhole and secure it.
• "Close" the box and reassemble it by screwing it to the top bar.

ten. Install the box with the canvas in the opening

• Lift the hinged door and insert into the opening. Align the canvas flat with the wall using wedges as spacers. You can buy them or saw them yourself. Insert one wedge into small slots, two into large ones, turning them towards each other. This is necessary for the accuracy of the adjustment.
• Align the post with the hinges first, then the rest. Apply a spirit level and recess or pull out the door to achieve a perfectly upright position. If the wall is overwhelmed, the canvas still needs to be level so that it can be easily closed and opened.
• Using pieces of fiberboard or other templates, set 3 mm gaps around the perimeter between the door leaf and the door frame. Install them opposite each other. This will avoid deformation of the frame during the curing of the polyurethane foam.
• Place a level against the edge of the door or two pieces of fiberboard and make sure the door is straight upright.
• Fill the cracks between the door frame and the wall with foam, starting at the bottom and working your way up. Use high quality foam with a low expansion coefficient so that it does not deform the box, hardening and increasing in volume.
• If the gap is large, for example, above the top bar, then fill the space gradually, moving the pistol up and down with a snake. Do not fill the foam flush with the wall - it is better to leave a small gap, the composition will fill it after hardening.

11. Check if the installation is correct

• Cut off the protruding polyurethane foam not earlier than in a day. It is easy to check the solidification: it will become very dense, and from the cut piece it will be seen that the material is homogeneous.
• Carefully remove the fiberboard and wedges. Check all gaps - they should be the same. And also the correctness of the installation: when opening, the canvas remains in one position, not moving in different directions.

12. Fit the handles and striker plate

• Loosen the locking screws at the bottom of both handles with the included hexagon and insert the square bar into them until it stops. Attach the assembled structure to the door. The distance between the handles should be less than the thickness of the blade. If it is larger, shorten the rod slightly with a metal hacksaw or grinder.
• Remove the decorative rosettes from the handles by screwing them counterclockwise. Insert the handles into their places with the locking screw at the bottom, and mark with a pencil the places for the fasteners. Drill holes and screw in screws. Reinstall the decorative rosettes.
• Close the door and mark the top and bottom of the latch with a pencil on the box. Measure from the edge of the blade to the outside of the tongue. Mark this dimension on the frame and draw a line up to the latch border marks.
• Flip the striker back and align it with the center of the tongue mark. Drill holes and screw in to secure the bar to the frame. Trace the contours with a pencil and cut the film with a sharp knife, as you did with the lock.
• Remove the strip and make holes with a small drill along the contour of the future groove for the latch, and with a chisel - a selection. It's not scary if the sample will slightly protrude beyond the boundaries of the marks, after installing the bar, all the gaps will overlap.
• Using a chisel, carefully remove the film along the outer contour of the striker to sink it flush with the door frame. Secure the plank in place with the screws. Check: if everything is done correctly, the closed door does not dangle.

13. Install additional strips

They are mounted from the side of the room when the width of the door frame pillars does not allow covering the entire thickness of the opening. Additional strips are inserted into the frame and fixed to the wall with foam, and later platbands are nailed onto them.

If your frame thickness matches the dimensions of the doorway, go straight to the next step.

• Cut and chisel off the pieces protruding from the sides of the frame with a chisel so that they do not interfere. Remove the remaining polyurethane foam around the perimeter of the door frame.
• Measure the width of the opening and cut off the top expansion strip to the appropriate size. Attach it to the desired place and, if it protrudes beyond the boundaries of the opening, mark with a pencil and remove the excess part. Insert the trimmed end into the box, align and wedge at the sides.
• Measure, cut and fit the side trims in the same way. Reinstall and align.
• Apply a continuous strip of polyurethane foam at the joint of the extension with the door frame on the top and on the sides. Fill the joint with the wall with small strips at the outer edge of the extension strip. Do not fill the entire space with foam, otherwise it will expand and deform the finish.

14. Stuff the platbands

• Cut off the foam protruding beyond the plane of the door frame with a sharp knife.
• Place the platband against the frame from the hinge side close to them and see what the gap is to the inner edge of the box. The same distance must be maintained along the entire perimeter on other platbands.
• The joints of the upper and side planks of the platbands can be made at an angle of 45 or 90 degrees. If you do not have a miter saw at hand and you are installing the door for the first time, it is better to choose the second option. It is much simpler.
• Install the side plank, pressing it to the hinges, and nail with nails in 20-25 cm increments. Do not hammer them to the end and do not forget to first make a hole in the casing with a drill of a smaller diameter than the nail.
• Attach the second side plank and, keeping the required gap, mark with a pencil and cut the excess to the desired length. Nail the platband with studs, like the previous one.
• Try on the top plank, cut it to size and secure. Important! It should not lie on the sides, but be between them. In this case, the cut end of the upper casing will be hidden.
• Use the same principle to fill in the platbands on the other side of the door. If additional strips are installed, then level the edges of the platbands along them. If there are no extensions, maintain the same gap around the perimeter of the door frame, as on the opposite side.