Putting in Pre-Hung doors?

Question

All the demonstrations on installing pre-hung doors indicate the jam should be in line with the drywall. However, they never mention what to do if the wall is a little out of plumb & lining the jam up with the edge of the drywall would put it at a slight angle. This will cause the door to line up with the edge of the jam on top or bottom, but not both, or have the molding somewhat twisted. How do you handle this?

Update:

The wall on the opening side of the door is out of plumb, but the other side is in line.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

that's a pretty common issue - and yes the trim gets installed somewhat twisted since you need the jambs to be parallel for the door to close right

some times you have to offset the jamb at the top and bottom if the wall is that bad 
if the trim still won't sit decent you may have to cut back some drywall, just enough to get the trim to touch the frame and lay against the wall - if they are plaster walls I would back cut the trim instead and/or remove the plaster ground but be careful so the plaster wall doesn't chip out

no · Answer

To start with, you'll need a good 2 foot level and wood shims. Start with the hinge side of the door and level and secure. Then secure the latch side of the jamb, making sure the gap between door and jamb stay consistent around top and sides. Shimming to fill in the small gaps before you secure the jamb. If you are installing an exterior door, then you have to pay close attention to the threshold, for proper sealing. An interior door generally only needs enough clearance of the floor to open and close without dragging on the floor.  Once the frame is secured and level you can break off the part of the shims sticking out of the frame and install the molding in line with the jamb.

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Putting in Pre-Hung doors?

2 Answers