interior door

[Tom7227]

I am going to replace a couple of interior doors and I am wondering about what you can buy. A Jeldwin prehung prefinished door at Menards for something like $160 vs an unfinished door at Mouldings Doors and More for $208. The finished one doesn't match existing trim perfectly. I didn't price the unfinished at Menards. Anyone with experience give me an idea on what the differences might be or what to look for? I supposed I could go with just the door but the chances of me being able to hang a door in an old frame and having it close properly just seems slim to me. Maybe someone can give me some info to build my confidence.

[Stratosman]

Menards actaully has decent doors... Mastercraft I think... anyway. It's really simple to do. I would personally go with the unfinished and stain to match my trim, not sure how fussy you are.

Remove old door by removing casing and cutting nails with sawsall between the jambs and studs, look to see if they used a couple screws through the hinges first.

When I hang a door I shim and plumb the hinge side first both ways, also mahe sure that the jamb is positioned perfectly square in the opening or else it can cause binding. Nail through shim locations. Level the top of the frame so your latch will line up with the jamb. Shim and plumb the latch side of the door and nail.

Make sure everything works. One trick to see if your plumb is to open the door halfway, if it wants to swing one way or the other, your off a bit and can adjust accordlingly. Don't always trust that your walls are plumb either

[cavalierowner]

If it were me (and it will be next summer!), I would buy the unfinished door, frame and trim also. Buy an extra piece of trim and experiment with stain AND varnish until you get the right color and sheen. If you own an older home, be sure to measure the wall thickness. The prehung doors everyone stocks are set up for walls with 3-1/2" studs; older homes like mine have 3-5/8" studs. I don't recall when the change happened, maybe late sixties?? I have to special order my doors because of that.

BTW, a while back I watched a professional finish carpenter hang an interior door. Rather than use a long level, he used a plumb bob and measured off the string in both directions. He claimed it was faster once you got used to it and more accurate than a level. I might give that a try.

[frazwood]

I strongly recommend buying pre-hung doors.

The directions for installation are what I do also. I definitely emphasize patience... it's really important to get the door plumb.

I don't know if this still the case, but a couple of years ago... Home Depot had solid-oak, 6-panel, Jeld-Wen pre-hung doors for $99 (all sizes; unfinished). They are very nice doors once they are installed and finished. It was a decent amount of work to finish them, but my wife did that.

I have purchased in-stock doors from Menards, Lowe's and Home Depot... I felt like Home Depot's doors were the best value (price vs. quality).

[PurpleFloyd]

Just a side note. The oak doors for 99 dollars are not solid oak but have a particleboard core with oak veneer and they use solid wood on the exposed edges before the veneer is applied. You can verify the core by looking at the hole for the knob to see whether there is solid wood through the hole.

And that is not necessarily a bad thing because solid wood doors are more prone to warping, cupping and the natural expansion and contraction that happen through the seasons as solid wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity. That is why the old solid doors will be harder to close in the summer but have gaps by the jambs and be more prone to leak in the winter.

No way would I suggest trying to hang a new door in an existing frame if you have never done it before and if you are asking how to do it in a forum. Bite the bullet and buy the whole unit pre hung and if the jam thickness is less than what they are in your house then buy some oak boards and rip extension jambs to make it fit.

[ishy]

Did all 9 doors upstairs with hollow core white six panel from Maynards (Mastercraft).... Wasn't too bad. A little frustrating at first,but each door got easier. I did what Stratosman said as far as hanging them.. It took me a weekend plus a day.I did the removal the weekend befor ( that was a lot more fun). Sure looks better than the 1972 dark stained doors...My wife tried painting them..Not a great idea. She did get an A- for effort..Prally a C- in execution. If she reads this I will be executed.. She put way to many hours into that project. But a learning experiance non the less. Oh, of course this all then lead to ripping all the carpet out except bedrooms and putting in laminate wood floors and all new white trim.. That did NOT take a weekend and a day Slightly longer.

[cavalierowner]

Did all 9 doors upstairs with hollow core white six panel from Maynards (Mastercraft).... Wasn't too bad. A little frustrating at first,but each door got easier. I did what Stratosman said as far as hanging them.. It took me a weekend plus a day.I did the removal the weekend befor ( that was a lot more fun). Sure looks better than the 1972 dark stained doors...My wife tried painting them..Not a great idea. She did get an A- for effort..Prally a C- in execution. If she reads this I will be executed.. She put way to many hours into that project. But a learning experiance non the less. Oh, of course this all then lead to ripping all the carpet out except bedrooms and putting in laminate wood floors and all new white trim.. That did NOT take a weekend and a day Slightly longer.

In defense of your wife (a clear violation of the man code ) 6 panel doors are very difficult to do a good job of painting. When I remodeled my kitchen and put in 6 panel doors, I stained and varnished them. I had a heck of a time making sure there were no runs or "pooled" areas of polyurethane and I have had a LOT of experience painting doors and trim. I thought it was a a little easier to lay the doors flat and do one side at a time, but that had it's disadvantages too.

[frazwood]

Just a side note. The oak doors for 99 dollars are not solid oak but have a particleboard core with oak veneer and they use solid wood on the exposed edges before the veneer is applied. You can verify the core by looking at the hole for the knob to see whether there is solid wood through the hole.

Yep, this is right. Sorry about the error in my original post.

[Tom7227]

Thanks for the info. Due to ceramic tile around one door and shelving blocking full access to the other I decided to buy just the doors, not pre-hung. Of course I will regret this after I spend heaven's knows how many hours staining and varnishing and finding out that the don't hang or close correctly. Went with the Mouldings Doors guys on 61 at E and they were very helpful. But they didn't seem to want to come and hang them!!!

[cavalierowner]

Before you do any staining or varnishing, get the door cut to the correct size, and hang it in the frame, including attaching the hinges. You want to be absolutely sure everything fits correctly before you do any staining or varnishing. It will be a bit of a PIA, but it's definately doable with a little patience. And don't forget to varnish the top and bottom of the door.