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I reversed the doors to my bedroom (they're small "french" doors I guess but they don't have glass or open to the outside like normal french doors) so they open out instead of in (the room is small despite the big door opening).

Come to think of it there was a door missing when we bought the house (yes, it's been over a year and I'm just getting to fixing this door problem) so I had to buy a new one and it wasn't an exact match for what was there before so there is about a 1 inch gap between the doors that I figure I could fill in with a piece of wood and some sanding.

Anyway . . . after reversing the doors and hanging the new door the gap between the doors is different at the top than at bottom. I know that means something isn't level but I checked it with my four foot level before I attached the door frame and everything was fine.

Any tips to hanging interior doors? It looks so easy on TV!

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is the door level? – 0A0D Aug 2 '10 at 17:25

3 Answers

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Did you check the frame again after hanging the doors? Could be that the frame wasn't securely attached to the studs and the weight of the doors is causing the frame to pull out slightly.

Also, maybe too late for this now, but you mentioned that the old frame was about an inch wider than the new one. That seems a bit strange. Is that the rough in dimensions, or the finished frame dimensions? Usually the rough in is a couple inches or so wider than the actual door frame dimensions to give you some room to plumb things up with shims.

So if you had a 48" door set, the rough in width would be 50" - 48 for the door, 1 more for the frame, and 1 more for shimming.

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That's a good point about the doors pulling on the frame . . . I'm going to check that. The frame itself is original as is one of the two doors. I just got a new door from <insert local home center ad here> and it was the only size that would fit. I figure there was some wood strip on it to cover the opening like you see on some french doors. – tooshel Aug 2 '10 at 20:54
@tooshel - ahh, ok. When I first read it I thought you had bought two new matchin doors and put in a new frame as well. The frame pulling out could still be an issue though. It doesn't have to be out of plumb by much to be noticeable either (1/8" or so would do it). Especially with french doors. – Eric Petroelje Aug 2 '10 at 21:00
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Check your level to make sure it's accurate. Place it on a level (or nearly so) surface like your kitchen counter. If the surface isn't exactly level then note the direction and degree to which it's off. Then spin the level around end for end, without flipping it over. The bubble should either be in the middle if it started in the middle, or it should be off by the same amount in the same direction as before (that's direction relative to the room, not relative to the level). If that's not the case then your level is off and should be replaced.

It shouldn't be much harder than it is on TV, which is what makes me think your level is out of calibration.

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That's a good idea too! I have dropped the level a few times so maybe it's off. I'll be back with the result. – tooshel Aug 2 '10 at 20:56
up vote 2 down vote

Take the 4 foot level and check that the frame on both sides is still plumb when the doors are hung, then place the level on the edge of the door to check if the doors are hanging plumb.

make sure both doors are square, using a T-square. Previous owners may have plained/sanded the doors to account for less then plumb door frames.

Make sure all the hinges are mounted to the same depth. If one of the hinges is not in line with the other, it can cause the door to not hang properly.

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I'd recommend measuring two diagonals of each door to make sure they're square instead of using a T-square. – Mike Powell Aug 3 '10 at 1:12

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