Door Installation

Can I hang a door in a frame that was made to be doorless? My house has a regular, single door size entryway to the dining room. There is no door, but there is a frame around the entry. The frame does not have the door jam (Not even sure I am wording this right, but I’m referring to the center thin strip of wood that a door would rest against inside of a frame) that I see on other frames with existing doors in the house. I obviously have no idea what I’m doing, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just discovered it’s called a cased opening that I have, If that helps.

Welcome.

The thin strip the door rests against is call door stop and it prevents the door from swinging thru the opening.

If you install cafe doors or double acting hinges or a door the swings both ways on pivot hardware, you do not need the door stop, it would be useless.

A standard interior residential door ca be installed in the opening, the difficulty of which is determined by the distance between the jamb legs.

Interior doors are relatively light, so I wouldn't be too worried that the door frame can support a door. I would think that could be easily tested just by grabbing a hold of the existing casing and checking to see if it is securely attached to the wall ( I only mention this because lately I have seen just how sloppy flippers and lazy homeowners can be). Then you need to figure out if a standard door can fit in the frame. If so, then hinges can be attached to the casing and door added. Add the door stop trim so the door has something to rest against when it is closed.

Thank you so much for the responses. I already measured the frame and bought the door and hinges... that’s when I realized it was a bigger job than I initially thought. (I know :1, I’m rolling my eyes at myself) Can I add the door stop after I install the door?

Absolutely. Residential door hinges are either square corner or radius, and aesthetically it's a + to match those in the rest of the dwelling.
You should be able to purchase a single hinge jig where you purchased the hinges.
You can also drill the door for the latch set you are intending to use.

1st, place the door in the opening to see if it fits squarely, because you can make adjustments prior to installing the hinges.

2nd, measure another door, not the jamb, in the dwelling and mark the new door where the hinges are to be placed. Measure from the top of the door, and the bottom of the door.

3rd, assuming you hinges are 3.5", which are common, a hinge jig will tell you the depth into the door style to set the hinge, and there are those that you can cut the style with, by hammering. However if choose to do this free hand, hold the hinge 18" away from the other edge of the door and trace with a pencil, then you gouge out the hinge space with a sharp 1/2" wood chisel, being careful not to exceed the hinge depth.

The jamb is addressed in the same fashion, except that you subtract 1/8" from the placement dimensions of the hinges.

4th, set the hinges in place and using a #6 VIX bit, drill the pilot holes and set the screws.

Once the door is hung and latched, you can set the stop, leaving room for the paint.

Angelica M said:

Thank you so much for the responses. I already measured the frame and bought the door and hinges... that’s when I realized it was a bigger job than I initially thought. (I know :1, I’m rolling my eyes at myself) Can I add the door stop after I install the door?

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Exactly how wide is the opening and how high is the opening?

AS mentioned, both the door edge and the casing need to have mortises cut to accept the hinges. This is not difficult so don't be intimidated. Just measure the hinge locations and get the door done and then after the hinges are on the door, use them as a pattern to mark the location on the casing jamb. Look at your other doors to see how they were done and follow that example.

nealtw said:

Exactly how wide is the opening and how high is the opening?

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The opening is 33 x 81. I bought a door that is 32 x 80.

mabloodhound said:

AS mentioned, both the door edge and the casing need to have mortises cut to accept the hinges. This is not difficult so don't be intimidated. Just measure the hinge locations and get the door done and then after the hinges are on the door, use them as a pattern to mark the location on the casing jamb. Look at your other doors to see how they were done and follow that example.

Click to expand...

I’m working on getting the hinges on the door now. Using a wood chisel is not as easy as YouTube makes it seem.

The correct manner of addressing the 1" disparity is to add a jamb leg to either side of the opening, which also requires you removing the casing legs from one side and the header, shorten the header and reinstalling, and also the patch, prime and paint repair to the wall and casing.

However, another solution is to add both jamb and header pieces to the opening, (most of the box stores will have these in 3/8" thickness), for your jamb width.

Yep, Utube doesn't tell you the level of experience of the poster. Take your time because you can shave with a really sharp chisel.

Adding the 3/8" jamb fillers to each side should be fine, just done set your hinges too deep. Leave an 1/8" gap at the top of the door and header and whatever you end up with at the bottom should be fine. After the door is installed, add the stops all around.