How to Put Hinges on an Interior Door

Interior door slabs provide an affordable option for homeowners who need to exchange a door, but not the door frame or trim. The one area of installing a door slab that often overwhelms homeowners is mortising hinges. A mortise is a recess made in the door, which allows the hinge to sit flush with the door's surface. Most, but not all, hinges need to be mortised. If you have hinges that don't require a mortise, skip Steps 6 through 8. The rest of the layout and installation procedures are exactly the same for surface-mounted hinges.

Things You'll Need

• Hinges
• Phillips screwdriver
• Hammer
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Sharp wood chisel
• Drill
• #2 Phillips screw tip

Instructions

1. Disassemble the hinges by removing their hinge pins. A hinge pin resembles a large, unsharpened nail. The base of the hinge pin is the tapered, dull "point." With one hand, hold the Phillips screwdriver vertically on a hard surface. Place the hinge on top of the screwdriver with the base of the hinge pin resting on the tip of the screwdriver. Steady the hinge and screwdriver with one hand. With the other, lightly tap the hinge with the hammer to loosen the pin. Pull the pin from the hinge.

2. Measure the location of the hinges on the old door. If you don't have the door, measure the distance from the top of the door frame to the bottom of the top hinge and subtract 3/16 inch.

3. Stand the new interior door on edge, with the narrow hinge side of the door facing the ceiling and the top of the door facing to the right. Measuring from the right, place a mark for the bottom of the top hinge. Measure the distance between each additional hinge, always measuring from the bottom of the last hinge to the bottom of the next.

4. Step into the door frame, face the hinges and note on which side of the door frame the mortises for the hinges are located. If the mortises are located to your left, you will need to place the half-hinge on the right side of the door, and vice versa.

5. Lay a half-hinge on the narrow hinge side of the door, align the bottom of the hinge with one of the hinge marks, and trace the outline. Orient the hinge on the left or right as described in Step 4. Slide the knuckle cut-outs (where the hinge pin slides in) against the face on the door. Trace the outline of the hinge on the door edge with the pencil. Repeat this step to trace each hinge location.

6. Mark the depth of the mortise where the knuckle cut-outs meet the face of the door. Place the hinge back in the traced area. Slide the hinge off of the narrow hinge side and onto the face of the door. Align the top face of the hinge with the surface of the interior door that will have the hinges installed. Run the pencil along the bottom surface of the hinge. Remove the hinge. You should see a pencil mark roughly 1/8 inch down from the hinge edge on the face of the door.

7. Score the outline of each hinge with the wood chisel and the hammer. Place the wood chisel on the pencil line, with the bevel facing toward the area that will be mortised. Strike the chisel with the hammer. Continue the process until the entire pencil outline is scored.

8. Mortise the door. To make the mortise easier, place a score from the back line of the hinge to the face of the door every 1/4 inch. Place the wood chisel on one of the score lines that are 1/4 inch apart. With the wood chisel's bevel lying on the edge of the door, strike the chisel with the hammer. The wood from within the mortise will pop free. Continue to procedure until all the wood is removed from the all of the mortise areas. Even out any high spots within the mortise with the wood chisel.

9. Attach each half-hinge to the interior door. Place a half-hinge on the hinge area of the door. If the area is mortised, ensure that the hinge sits flush with the surface of the door. Make sure that the knuckle cut-outs are tight to the door. Insert a Phillips screw into one of the half-hinge's outermost mounting screws with the drill and the #2 Phillips tip. Insert another screw into the other outermost mounting hole of the hinge. Repeat the process with each hinge. Hand tighten each screw with the Phillips screwdriver.

10. Secure the other half of each hinge to the door frame. Insert a Phillips screw into each one of the hinge's mounting holes. Hand tighten each screw with the Phillips screwdriver.

11. Place the door into the hinges mounted to the door frame. Insert the hinge pins into the hinges to secure the door to the door frame. Close the door to ensure that it closes properly.

12. Adjust the hinges, if necessary. Remove the hinge pins and set the door aside. Remove the screws from the half-hinges that are mounted to the door. Slide the hinge to accommodate the adjustment. Reinsert the Phillips screws to re-secure the half-hinges to the door. Rehang the door by inserting the hinge pins back into the hinges.

References

• Ace Hardware: Installing Hinges