If your interior doors look worn out or if they’ve been damaged, it may be time to consider changing the interior door in your home. Alternatively, if you simply want to give your space a new look, replacing old doors with new ones can be a fantastic option for breathing life into a home.
Once you’ve considered your options, made a solid door value comparison, and contemplated painting wood panels, you’re ready to get into the details. How long does it take to install an interior door? The answer is—it depends.
This post will dive into some of the options that affect this answer and help you on the road to giving your home a facelift.
The Basics
Based on the type of interior door you’re going to install, installation time can vary quite a bit. If you’re considering installing a wooden interior door, it can take around three to six hours.
Several steps go into installing an interior door. You must replace the frame, remove the trim, and adjust the rough opening. Furthermore, there can always be setbacks that delay your progress and increase the installation time.
Square Out the Opening
This is a quick step that can usually be done in around thirty minutes; you need a long level and a carpenter square for this. The goal of this step is to make sure that the opening for the door is square. Not having a perfectly square opening can cause some unwanted issues.
If the opening is not completely square, you’ll have to rebuild the rough opening. This will turn thirty minutes of your time into a day's worth of work.
Install the Frame
Now, it’s time to install the frame of the interior door. This step usually takes around an hour or less to complete. Make sure everything is level, and add shims to center the frame if necessary.
Ensure the jambs are flush with the door, and make sure everything remains square and level. Nail the frame and shim into the studs, then add shims on the other side of the door and even on top of the door frame as needed. Keep checking that everything remains level.
The thing that is most likely to go wrong in this step is leveling. Keeping everything level throughout the whole step can be challenging–take your time.
Secure the Frame
After ensuring that the door works flawlessly, it’s time to secure the frame. Drive the nails all the way through into the frame, and trim off the exposed shims. This last step can take around thirty minutes to an hour to complete.
Install Hinges
After installing the frame, you should be ready to install your door–but before that, line up all the hinges on the door slab where you want to place them and then mark them. Create holes in the marked areas and screw the hinges in.
After this, it’s time to secure the door to the frame using pins. All of this should take around an hour.
Create a Doorknob
If you used a slab of wood for your interior door, then you probably have to drill out your own hole and install a doorknob.
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To Wrap It Up
Several factors come into play when determining the installation time of an interior door. Whether the door is prehung or a slab is a factor, as is the installer’s experience. A skilled carpenter can do all of the above in about three hours; if it’s your first time, it will likely take longer. Don’t rush yourself, and you’ll end up with a finished project you’ll enjoy for years to come.
