How to Replace Doors When Replacing Flooring

Open the door halfway, and take the weight off by wedging up the bottom with two wooden shims. Remove the screws holding the lock set and latch mechanism to the door with a Phillips screwdriver. Remove the old lock set and handle, and slide the latch mechanism out from the edge of the door.

Tap the hinge pins out of the hinges from the bottom as far as possible with a nail set and hammer. Grip the top of each pin with a pair of pliers and pull them out of the hinges. Slide the old door out of the opening, unscrew the hinge plates from the edge of the old door and place the hinge plates and door on one side.

Measure the height of the opening with a steel measuring tape. Add 1/2 inch to the thickness of your proposed flooring, and subtract this figure from the opening height.

Place your new door on top of a pair of saw horses; ensure that the lock set side is facing toward you and the top of the door is on your left. Hook your tape measure over the top, and transfer the modified opening height measurement to the bottom of the door.

Draw a parallel cut line across the bottom of the door with a pencil and a large square. Adjust the fence of your circular saw so that the inner edge of the blade lines up with the top of the cut line. Turn the saw on, and carefully trim off the bottom of the new door.

Apply a coat of your chosen varnish or enamel paint to the raw wood on the bottom edge of the door with a paintbrush; allow adequate drying time before continuing. Note: This edge will be inaccessible once you hang the door.

Lay the old door on top of the new door. Line up the top edges, and the side edges containing the lock set opening. Clamp the two doors securely together with suitable adjustable clamps. Check the hinge side to ensure that both doors are the same width. If the widths match perfectly, go to Step 10.

Draw another cut line across the long hinge side of the new door if the widths don’t match; use the old door as a straightedge while doing so.

Remove the clamps, and stand the old door against the wall. Trim off the long edge on the hinge side of the new door with the circular saw as described above. Place the old door back on top of the new door, and replace the clamps.

Insert the tip of your pencil into the large lock set hole on the face of the old door, and trace its outline onto the new door.

Place a combination square over the edge of the old door, line it up with the sides of the hinge mortises on the old door and transfer the mortise positions to the new door with a pencil.

Measure and mark the position of the top edge of the hinge mortise between the two lines on the new door; remove the clamps, and lay the old door on one side.

Cut out the necessary hinge mortises on the edge of the new door. Mark the hinge outline with a hammer and chisel, and then shave out thin layers of wood with a sharp chisel until the depth of the mortise matches the thickness of the hinge.

Insert the hinge plates removed from the old door into the mortises, and secure them with suitable wood screws.

Slide a door installation drilling guide template over the lock set edge of the door. Slide the template sideways until the large opening in the template lines up with the previously marked lock set opening on the face of the door. Secure the template to the edge of the door with the screws provided.

Clamp the correct size hole saw into a cordless drill/driver. Insert the hole saw into the large hole of the drilling guide template. Bore a large hole through the face of the door to accommodate the new lock set.

Bore a second hole through the edge of the door for the latch mechanism with the correct size spade bit; insert the bit into the relevant guide hole on the edge of the drilling guide template; hold the drill parallel to the door, both vertically and horizontally, and drill through the edge of the door until the bit exits into the large lock set hole drilled earlier.

Fit the new lock set to the door as directed in the instructions supplied with the hardware.

Install the new flooring prior to hanging the door.

Prepare two wooden shims the same thickness as the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor, and position them on the floor. Lift the door and lower the bottom edge onto the shims.

Line up the hinge knuckles protruding from the sides of the door jamb with the hinge knuckles protruding from the edge of the new door. Maneuver the door until the hinge knuckles slide together.

Insert the hinge pins removed earlier into the top of the hinge pin openings and tap them home with a hammer.

Open and close the door to ensure that it fits correctly to complete the installation.