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Troubleshooting a Prehung Door Installation

If you know where things go wrong, you can install a door that will swing the way it’s meant to for years to come

Even when the factory has mounted the hinges and assembled the jambs, prehung doors still can be tricky to install. Finish carpenter Tucker Windover begins by assigning one carpenter to each side of a door. This team approach makes installation faster than two people working solo. In this article, he outlines nine steps for a basic installation of a solid-core prehung door, then gives solutions for five potential problems: (1) A bowed jamb above the top hinge creates a gap that's too tight on the strike side; (2) the gap at the head is too tight on one side; (3) the gap at the head is too big on one side; (4) the door doesn't close evenly against the stop; and (5) the door doesn't close properly because the hinges are binding or because the hinge-side gap is too big.