How to Install a Door in a Hallway

Separate the door and the frame, and set the door to the side. Place your level on the floor and check to see if the floor is level. Place a shim -- a thin, tapered wood piece -- on the floor if necessary to build up one side of the base to make it level and tack it in place with a finish nail. Check the sides of the enclosure to see if the framing is plumb; nail some wood shims in place if required, using the level as a guide for plumb. Place the shims roughly every 2 feet as required.

Maneuver the frame into place within the enclosure that was framed into the hallway, resting the frame on the floor and the shim (if you needed one) that you placed there. Pay attention as well to any shims lining the vertical sections. Examine the frame after you have maneuvered it in place with the level, checking for plumb and level. Adjust it as necessary with more wood shims to plumb the door casing against the framing of the opening.

Lock the frame in place with finish nails, but don’t set the nails all the way into the wood. Nail into the precast frame through the sides, through the wood shims and into the rough wood frame that was already in place with the house framing. Maneuver the door into place and check to see if everything lines up properly. If everything is square and plumb, you can finish pushing in the nails with a smooth-head hammer. Use a nail punch to recess the nails past the surface of the wood.

Mount the door to the frame. The hinges are already attached to the door or the frame (depending on the manufacturer), so you simply need to place the door in its position and attach the door hinges to the frame (or door) with a drill, using the screws that came with the entire kit. For best results, replace one of the screws of the upper hinge with a 3-inch wood screw that goes all the way into the wood framing of the house to help hold the door in place over the years.