How to hang an internal door, the right way

Hanging a door is one of the most common carpentry jobs and one of the easiest to do badly. A door hung wrong sticks in summer, latches on the third try, swings open on its own, or won’t shut at all. A door hung right closes flush, latches first time, and stays where you put it.

This is genuine DIY work in every Australian state. No structural change, no electrical or plumbing involvement.

The setup decides the job

Three scenarios, decreasing difficulty:

1. Replacing a door in an existing frame (easiest), order a standard-size door, transfer the hinge and latch positions across, hang it. 2 hours.
2. Pre-hung door kit into a new opening (medium), set the kit into the rough opening, level and shim, fix to studs, hang the door (which is pre-machined). 3 hours.
3. Door from scratch into an existing frame (hardest), cut hinge mortises, drill latch, machine the strike. 4 to 6 hours.

Most DIYers should buy a pre-hung kit or replace an existing door, not machine from scratch.

The 12 minutes that decide the job

Before any cutting, do this checklist:

• Measure the frame opening at top, middle, bottom. Aussie standard internal is 2040 x 820mm. Older houses are often 2040 x 762mm.
• Check the frame is plumb (vertical) and square. Most aren’t, exactly. A spirit level on the hinge jamb tells you.
• Note the side the existing hinges sit, and the handing (left or right)
• Note the floor finish: bare timber, carpet, tiles? Affects the bottom clearance you cut to

Buy the door slightly oversized if you have to plane it down. Buying undersized means new door.

Common problems and fixes

Door sticks at the top after a few months, hinges loosening. Replace top hinge’s longest screw with a 65mm structural screw that reaches the stud behind the jamb lining.

Door binds in summer, timber swelled with humidity. Mark the binding edge with chalk, close the door against it, the chalk transfers to where it’s tight. Plane down lightly.

Latch won’t catch first time, strike plate is misaligned. Loosen the strike plate, close the door, mark where the latch actually hits, re-fix. Usually 1 to 2mm of adjustment.

Door swings open or shut on its own, hinges not vertical. Loosen one hinge, check with a long spirit level along the hinge jamb, re-fix.

Squeaky hinge, drop of oil on the hinge pin. WD-40 if loud; sewing machine oil for long-term silence.

When to bring in a chippy

• The frame is so far out of square that even with shimming the door doesn’t close right (frame replacement)
• Heritage rebated doors with complex mouldings (specialist work)
• Heavy solid timber or steel-clad security doors (different hardware, structural fixing)
• Sliding cavity doors (different system entirely)
• Door sets being matched across a house for a renovation (skill premium for consistency)

For standard hollow-core internal doors in modern frames, this is genuine weekend DIY.