If you’re looking for an easy way to spruce up a room then why not give it a facelift with a new door? Here’s our latest five-minute read to getting things done.
Hanging a door can be a tricky task, but it’s not the hardest job in the world. Instead of paying a fortune for someone to come and do it, why not just do it yourself? Follow these steps and you’ll have a lovely new door hanging in no time. Well, almost no time.
What you need:
Gloves
Goggles
Pencil
Ruler
A wood-planer (electric or manual)
Screwdriver
Sand paper
Chisel
Hammer
Step 1: Measure
Take down your old door and measure it up against your new one. There may be a slight difference in height and width so if there is just use a pencil to mark out the difference.
Step 2: Planing
Now that you have the difference marked out you can get planing. It’s up to you whether you use an electric planer or a manual one – each have their benefits: electric will be easier, manual will be better for your biceps. Just be sure to wear protective gloves and goggles when you do.
Step 3: Marking the hinges
Once the new door is the correct size you can begin to put on the hinges. Line the two doors up side by a side and use the pencil and ruler to mark out the positions of the hinges from the old door onto the new one.
Step 4: Chisel time
Now that you know where the hinges go, you can begin to chisel away at the door. Use a box-cutting knife to outline where the hinges are to go. This makes life easier when you being to chisel into the door.
A good tip is to chisel out the hinges in small bits and not to go at them in one fell swoop, which will more than likely result just in splitting some of the wood.
Step 5: Screw the hinges
Once you have a gap in the door the size of your hinges you can begin securing them to the door. Use a screwdriver drill-bit to drive them in.
Make sure the hinge sits flush against the door before attaching securely
Step 6: Hang the door
Now it’s time to hang the door up to see how it fits. It’s best to get a helping hand with this one, so call in one of the lads to give you some help. Using door wedges to help move the door up and down slightly comes in extremely handy. All you have to do is kick the wedge in and the door moves up, pull it out and the door comes down. Simple.
Step 7: Check the frame
Once you have the door lined up nicely you can begin to attach it to the doorframe. Make sure it’s absolutely precise before you secure it completely, because if it’s off by even a fraction you’re going to have to take it back down.
Step 8: Finish it off
Once you’re happy with your newly hung door you can begin to think about what colour you want to paint it, or if you’re happy enough the way it is. Either way, you can enjoy your newly hung door. Who said doors can’t be exciting?
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