Should I hang doors before or after I hang drywall? What are the pros and cons of each choice?
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1In the construction of hotels, the doors are always hung after the drywall, carpet and paint have been applied– hello motoCommented Sep 28, 2019 at 5:27
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All of these answers are great except I would finish paint after I trim because some people like to paint their trim and doors– Robert HoogerhydeCommented Sep 28, 2019 at 16:17
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Short answer: it doesn't matter. TL;DR answer: your construction Workers will, possibly immediately, remove the doors again (likely with some snide comments). Doors tend to get into the way during construction work, not only when carpeting/flooring. If you lay, for example, parquet fllor, the doors will probably need to re-fitted after that parquet is in place.– KlawsCommented Sep 30, 2019 at 7:01
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5 Answers
There's a huge amount of mess and potential for damage during the hanging, taping, and painting stages. You wouldn't want some of your most expensive and vulnerable woodwork hanging around through that.
Also, the hangers will likely use rotary cutters to zip around door openings. You make that much harder for them if even bare jambs are in place (and again increase the chance of saw or knife damage).
Then, there's a huge amount of moisture in the air during taping and painting. You don't really want your woodwork in the building at that time due to the chance of warpage and joint movement after installation.
Finally, you want to hang your doors with respect to the finished face of the walls. Sometimes slight misalignment of framing, heavy tape joints, and other variance means that you'd shift the jamb slightly from center of the wall for a better outcome.
Hang the doors after painting, after hard flooring, and before carpeting. There are no pros to hanging doors before drywall.
answered Sep 27, 2019 at 18:49
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One potential advantage to hanging before drywall finishing/sanding is dust containment. This is likely more applicable to remodeling jobs though--to keep dust out of areas not being remodeled.– peinalCommented Sep 27, 2019 at 19:05
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5@peinal they do dust containment with plastic sheets stuck over openings like curtains.... Commented Sep 28, 2019 at 4:08
I have always seen hanging doors as one of the “final fix” jobs so they don’t get hit by stuff being carried around.
This also means the doorways are wider and less obstructed.
answered Sep 27, 2019 at 17:30
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2Plus the door trim is kind of like baseboards and other stuff that is done after drywall - i.e., covers up any rough edges. Commented Sep 27, 2019 at 17:36
On commercial jobs with steel door frames and steel studs, you install the door frames when framing the walls. Then you hang drywall, tape, paint, then hang doors.
On residential jobs with pre-hung doors and wood studs, you frame walls, hang drywall, tape, paint walls then install door frames with pre-hung doors, then install the rest of the millwork.
My preferred choice is to hang and finish the drywall, clean the hell out of the area top to bottom, prime and paint both coats of finish on the walls. Then after everything else is done, go through and touch up any problem areas with the paint. If the area gets carpeted I like to let the carpet go in before the last coat of paint. The number of touch ups where the carpet rubs the wall, it's easier just to wait. Then get everything else installed and then touch up last. In the end that will save you hours of cutting in around the trim when you paint.
If you're going to use trim on the door frame it doesn't much matter the order you do it.
- Before - You can paint the opening freely without the frame in the way
- After - The trim will cover any paint gotten on the frame facing into the room
The exception here might be an exterior door. You'll almost always install these before you drywall, let alone paint.
Steel doors have trim that is proud of the wall. You have to install these first and butt the drywall up to them, then caulk after painting.
answered Sep 28, 2019 at 14:31
