Door hanging

[phil harold]

I have a bunch of 8' tall MDF 1.75" thick doors to hang by myself
I am not the man I used to be these doors are beasts
any tips for hanging these thing?
Thanks!

[peter gagliardi]

Have a very accurate level, and tape measure, then install the jamb perfectly and pop the door in the opening. Use a shim stack under the hinge side to line up the door and jamb hinge knuckles. Work smarter not harder.

[Mike Schuch]

Stanley door hinge template! Perfect spacing and perfect gaps every time. I replaced every interior door in my house with solid wood doors. The template worked perfect once I learned how to use it... my father.

321942

[Tom Ewell]

Sounds like a load.
I normally get the jambs right, at least the hinge side fixed nice and plumb and maybe the head and strike side 'tacked' in place allowing for tweaking later.

Often use a piece of pipe, maybe 1/2" or so (emt, pvc, whatever) to help with handling the door. Lay the pipe under the (upright) door allowing you to roll, lever and move the door over the floor into position for the hinge side (think dolly).

Carpet with pry bar, dowel, whatever you can figure out to take the weight of the door as you work it to the hinges. I've also used one of those foot operated drywall lifters.

Once the door is hinged up, pretty much just a matter of working the jambs to right fit without too much lifting.
A long screw into the framing at the upper hinge will help prevent sagging down the line, one at each hinge won't hurt either.

PS, if I'm hanging in existing jambs with hinge positions already established I make up a story pole to mark the positions and transfer them to the new doors.

[Jeff Ramsey]

I've used this one, and it works very well.

http://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-59381-Hinge-Butt-Template/dp/B0000224KV/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1443004921&sr=1-2&keywords=porter+cable+hinge+jig

[lowell holmes]

I have an air wedge that helps lift the door when hanging. Check this link. I prefer it to my drywall foot lifter.

http://www.amazon.com/Winbag-15730-Wedge-Alignment-Inflatable/dp/B00NESAU0U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443009082&sr=8-1&keywords=air+wedge

[Jim Dwight]

Particularly if the jambs are not already cut for hinges you can make your own template guide for the hinges in a few minutes out of plywood scraps and a piece of 1x. I like to use a top bearing bit and then the opening in each template is the hinge size. With heavy doors, 3 hinges would be the minimum so you need three templates. Screw them to the 1X. Index the jig to the top of the opening and use a nickel to space it down when cutting the jamb. Tack it in position with a 23 gauge pinner. 2 or 3 pins will hold it fine. Then put the 1X flush with the top of the doors, tack the jig in position, and cut the doors. Only having to lift the doors once into position will help a lot.

The other possible issue is the opening not being the right size for the door. You don't want to have to trim the door either. Careful measurements and a tracksaw can get you there but I hope you don't have the problem. Messy openings are a serious pain. If jambs are not up and trimmed, the hinge side needs to be solid to the studs with minimal shims and plumb. You might want to just install the other side after the door is up so you can move it where it needs to be. I think it's a little sloppy but the catch side can even just be held by the casing if they are interior doors.

[John A langley]

There is a simple ideas I have used for years on commercial doors , three-quarter inch conduit on the floor on the hinge side set the bottom edge of the door on conduit roll The door to the bottom hinge and set the bottom hinge first

[Rich Engelhardt]

I did similar to John only I used a 1/2" dowel.

[Peter Quinn]

Get a helper! Nothing is going to make those mdf slabs lighter except dividing by 2. The edges are mush and very easily get banged up behind easy repair, any 8' door is going to be heavy. I'd hang them all in the shop if that's not already done.

[Ole Anderson]

Wish I would have read this a couple of weeks ago. I replaced a boatload of doors in my son's house-to-be-flipped. They were just pressed MDF 6 panel ones, but still a lot of work to fit slab doors to existing jambs. I was too cheap to buy a full hinge template so I did one at a time with a plastic PC template and a tape (26" exactly between hinges here). New 5/8" radii hinges and the bit that came with the kit worked well with my PC trim router. Drilled the locksets with an inexpensive Stanley (I think) kit. Got good use of my Ryobi planer to fit to width. Between the slab doors and the bifolds, I painted 35 slabs, both sides, 2 coats. Stood them up with a screw in the bottom to keep them off the ground, put them at 90 degrees to each other with a stick at the top to hold them in place and used a $300 Graco airless gun. Total paint time was less than an hour. Setup and cleanup is another story.

By the way, those eight foot doors can really set the house off from another with normal doors.