How to Frame in an Interior Door

Hanging a new door inside the home adds a fresh dimension to your home design, improving the look of the wood in the room and adding color accents or glass accents to the room. Framing a door properly prevents the door from snagging or scraping the floor, ruining carpet or linoleum. Pre-hung doors make installation a breeze, as long as the framing is done properly.

Level
Scrap wood
Shims
8d finishing nails
4d finishing nails
Hammer
4-inch 1-by-2
Knife

Instructions

- 1
  Check the floor and the jambs with a level to ensure the surface is level. Measure the amount by which the floor or jambs is off level, and trim the opposite side as needed to level the door to the surface.
- 2
  Nail two small boards--scrap wood will do--at the top of the rough opening for your door to hold the door up so it doesn't fall backward.
- 3
  Push the door and the frame into the rough opening. Open the door and put a shim (small piece of wood) underneath.
- 4
  Center the frame inside the rough opening and slide a tapered shim in between the gap of the door frame and the jamb. Slide the door forward so that it sits tightly against the shims you put in place earlier.
- 5
  Place a shim 4 inches above the floor on the hinge side. Make sure the hinge side is plumb, then pound a nail into the shim with 8d nails. Repeat this process in the center of the frame on the hinge side.
- 6
  Nail in a 4-inch 1-by-2 to the front edge of the strike side of the door frame using 4d finishing nails. The strike side is the side of the that has the hole for the door handle.
- 7
  Place a shim at the location of the strike plate of the door and nail the shims into the rough opening using 8d nails.
- 8
  Score the shims with a knife then break them off.
- 9
  Nail the trim to the door to finish.

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