Fitting internal doors correctly to your home so they last for years

Have you recently bought one of our excellent internal doors? We have provided some advice set out below to show how they are fitted, follow this link for how to measure an interior door.

Accurate measuring and cutting is required when you fit a door, please refer to the following DIY pages after reading these paragraphs for further advice. If you are not the most experienced of DIY enthusiasts it is advisable to ask someone experienced to assist you.

Timber doors and/or frames, you will need to check that your door is or can be one of our standard sizes which are regularly used, if it is not, either refer to your preferred choice of door within our web site, email for advice on altering the standard door to size or choose to purchase a Bespoke (made to size) door.

We can, in most instances, offer an alternative idea before you go to the expense of buying a bespoke door, the Standard sizes we use for Exterior Doors and Interior Doors are numerous; please refer to our web site.

You can in most cases cut solid timber Exterior doors to fit a smaller size opening by up to 20mm (3/4") from each of the four edges. Please allow the new door to sit somewhere dry overnight to acclimatise.

Do not stand the door against an external wall as this can encourage it to twist or bow, always try and decorate the door before fitting and choose a dry day to fit it.

Measuring doors and Frames; When measuring either your interior or exterior door ignore the current door size and follow this advice and any relevant advice offered throughout our DIY pages.

Width: Measure each door between the frame at the top, the middle and the bottom.

Tell us or choose a door(s) to suit the widest size, always remember that you are responsible for making sure that the widest size can be adjusted by you to suit the narrow area of any part of the opening without compromising the stability or affecting the look of the door.

Height: Measure from the carpet/floor covering to the underside of the timber lintol.

Thickness: Now and only now do you measure the door to find out how thick it is at present, with Interior doors you may have to compromise and fit a slightly thinner door, this does not normally present any problems.

REMEMBER WHEN MEASURING FRAMES; The above advice may be different if ordering a door and frame, always check the overall outside sizes of the frame against the overall inside sizes of the frame and choose the correct combination of those sizes to suit the opening and to ensure the frame will go in to the opening, this may involve you ordering a frame that is slightly smaller than the current frame, now measure the frame breadth, ie; from the inside face to the outside face, you can always add a sub frame or concealed plates to make a frame fit the width or height but it can be very difficult and sometimes impossible to adjust the frame if you have ordered it too big.

Take a little look at our page dedicated to door casings and linings.

Beware: Do not assume all interior doors in your house are the same size or thickness, check them all.

Please Note: The DIY advice provided is only a guideline for the installation of interior or exterior doors. We cannot accept liability for any mishap, injury or damage caused to you, your property or a third party while using any of the above tips and advice.

All our advice is offered freely but you should always take care to ensure that your interpretation of the advice is sensible before proceeding with any project however small.

See the above DIY info and read the following detail for more advice, especially if ordering or fitting a timber frame.  

1. Stand the door in front of the frame. If the door overlaps the frame or if it is tight between the door and the frame then mark with a pencil where the adjustments are required.

There should be a 2mm or 3mm gap between the door and the frame on both sides and the top.

If you do need to cut the door down to size, keep in mind that you need to cut all four sides of the door equally whenever possible to retain an accurate shape or pattern if the door is panelled.

2. For small adjustments in size, use a plane to shave the wood. Always start at the outside of any door edge and plane in towards the middle of the door thickness.

If you need to make a more substantial adjustment it is advisable to use a panel or circular saw.

Please be aware that circular saws are quite capable of (jamming) kicking back. It should be obvious, but isn't always, you should never place your hand anywhere near the side or the front of the circular saw blade.

Video showing how to fit internal door hinges: