Page 228 - 2018 National Home Improvement

2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 186

Prehung Doors
Prehung doors (door, hinges, jamb and casing) cost a little more than slab doors (the door alone) but
save money on labor because they require less cutting and fitting. Prehung doors come with the hinges
attached, casing set, jamb assembled and door bored for a lockset. Exterior prehung doors usually
include an adjustable threshold. The main jamb is attached to the door and is installed from one side of
the opening. The other half of the jamb installs from the other side of the opening. When assembled, the
two halves fit snugly together. Split jamb prehung doors have a tongue-and-groove joint behind the jamb
stop that adjusts to fit the actual wall thickness. The casing will extend about 2" beyond the door edge
at both the head and side jambs.

Prehung doors are easy to install. Allow about 45 minutes for an interior prehung door and 60 minutes
for an exterior prehung door, assuming the opening is plumb, square and flush. But the door you order
has to be exactly the door you need. It’s impractical to make changes at the job site. All of the following
are set at the mill:

•Door width and height
•Left or right hinge
•Inward or outward swing
•Jamb depth that matches the finished wall thickness
•Bore diameter and setback.

Identify the “hinge” of a prehung door by opening it away from you. Right-hand (or right hinge) doors
swing out of the way to the right when fully open. Left hand doors swing to the left. Inward swing is most
common for exterior doors.

Closet Doors
Old homes tend to have larger rooms, higher ceilings and completely inadequate closet space, at least
by 21st century standards. Even if there’s enough closet space, it may not be well-arranged for good
utility. Adding or rearranging closet space is a popular home improvement project.

One easy closet improvement is to replace a conventional single closet door with doors that open the
full width of the closet. You’ll need to remove the wall finish and enough studs to provide the opening
needed for accordion, bypass or bi-fold doors (Figure 9-16). If the closet wall is a loadbearing wall, install
a header across the new opening: two 2 x 8s for a 5' opening; two 2 x 10s for a 6' opening; or two 2 x
12s for an 8' opening. No header is needed for non-loadbearing walls. Frame the opening the same as
for any new door opening. The rough opening should be 2-1/2" wider than the door or set of doors.