Home Improvement Saturday - Replacing Interior Doors

So, in this house we replaced all of the interior doors minus the furnace closet with solid wood (pine) doors. It really isn't that hard to do - although it isn't cheap to use solid wood doors as we found out (and to stain them)!

Here is how you do it:

1. Remove the trim around the existing door. Try to not damage the drywall when you pry the molding off unless you plan on replacing it (or retexturing like we did). To prevent denting the wall, first score the edge with a knife (to cut the paint). Then slide a putty knife behind your pry-bar to get the molding off. It takes time, but it isn't hard.
2. To save yourself some back-breaking work, remove the door from the hinges. You can either pull the hinge pins or unscrew one side of the hinges - it doesn't matter.
3. Now you need to remove the frame. The easiest thing to do is cut the screws/nails with a reciprocating saw. If you don't have one, you can try to just pull the frame in pieces (we did both actually - neither is too hard).
4. Now you need to clean the area up and get ready for the new door. I would recommend replacing the doors when you are going to replace the floors as well, so you don't have to worry about damaging the floors. The doors should go in first if this is the case. Make sure to vacuum the area and hammer in any nails, etc that are sticking out.
5. Now you can slide the door into place. You want to keep the actual door in the frame - do not remove it until the frame is installed! Get the door centered right to left (or where you want it). Then check for plumb (is the door leaning in any direction?).
6. Once you get one side plumb (both directions), nail or screw it into place. Nails are easier to cover (finish nails), but screws hold better. We used nails via a nail gun. Place nails or screws in two places - between the hinges. You will need to place shims between the opening and frame to keep it in the right place BEFORE you nail/screw!
   
7. Next, you need to make sure the door is square and the other side is plumb (use a level and a tape measure). Once you have this done, you can nail the other side.
8. Now you can open the door and see if it swings well. If it catches anywhere, try to figure out why and fix the problem. The easiest thing to do is cut/break the shims out and then adjust the door. Removing the shims should give you some play in the frame.
9. Once the door opens and closes smoothly, you can finish the door and frame. We removed the door at the hinges so we could stain on a horizontal surface. We have also seen people stain/finish before installing, but you runt he risk of damaging the frame this way.
10. Once the door is ready for use, you can reinstall the trim as well. Agian, if you are replacing the floor, I would wait until the floor is in before replacing the trim so it doesn't get damaged.

That's it. AJU1 actually installed some of the doors without my help, so it is a one person job if you are strong enough! But, two people are handy because it makes the leveling/plumbing easier!

(Picture is of master bath door and entry to master closet. We place on installing bi-fold doors for the closet, but we haven't yet.)