How to hang an internal door

Hanging a door is a steady two-hour job for a confident DIYer: let the door settle, trim it to the opening, cut the hinge recesses, then hang it and check the gaps. Fire doors are different; see our fire door guide before you start.

You will need: tape measure, pencil, door wedges or offcuts, a sharp plane or power plane, a 25 mm chisel and mallet, a combination square, a drill with pilot bits, a screwdriver, and three hinges with the right screws.

1. Let the door settle. Lay it flat on a clean, level surface in a dry, heated room for about a week before fitting, out of freshly plastered rooms and cold garages.
2. Mark which side the hinges go and which face shows to each room, so you trim and drill the right edges.
3. Offer the door up on wedges and mark what has to come off for an even gap at the sides and top and clearance at the floor.
4. Trim the same amount from each edge, planing from the corners inwards so the edge does not split. Seal any cut edge straight away.
5. Mark the hinges. A common layout is the top hinge about 150 mm down, the bottom hinge about 225 mm up, and a third hinge in the middle. Solid and heavy doors need three.
6. Cut each recess with the chisel to the depth of the hinge leaf, so the hinge sits flush with the door edge.
7. Drill pilot holes, screw the hinges to the door, then offer the door up on wedges and mark the matching recesses on the frame (or use the old ones).
8. Fix one screw per hinge first, check the door swings freely and closes evenly, then put in the rest.
9. Fit the latch and handles (see our handles and locks guide), and adjust the striker plate so the door closes without rattling.

Check before you finish: gaps even all round, the door stays where you leave it without swinging, and the latch catches without slamming.

Browse our internal doors and door frames.

See it before you buy: try our doors, handles and frames in a photo of your own doorway with Door-R-View, or call us on 0208 599 0200.