Door Hanging Guide

The door delivers a pleasant greeting, whether it is trendy or timeless, modest or extravagant. However, sometimes, doors start to become damaged, or they begin to decay. This is when you should replace your door and install a new door. However, internal door installation can sometimes be hard to do.

In this article, you will learn what you need to know about door hanging and what comes with it. So, if you are thinking about installing new internal doors, then this article is for you. If you are installing a door on a budget, then you will find out the average costs of door hanging and if you can DIY.

Sometimes, when it comes to hands-on jobs, we think we can DIY, but therefore we have tradespeople because they are qualified to do these types of jobs. This article will also cover the advantages and disadvantages of door hanging, so you will know what direction to head in.

Also, if you are looking at switching up your internal design, we will talk about what types of doors you can purchase for your home, and the time it will take to be complete. However, if you are looking at hiring someone to do so, you can also learn what to look out for.

What is Door Hanging?

Door hanging is when you need to install a new door by replacing an old one in your home. Most people don't see needing new internal doors as a priority in life; however, by keeping old, damaged doors can risk your health and safety at home. Damage, decay, or warping of your front door are important signs that it needs to be replaced.

Any harm to your front door might also be a security issue, risking the protection of your home, belongings, and family. Wooden doors can last for decades, but they are extremely vulnerable to environmental influences and can rot or deteriorate as a result.

Due to this, if you install a new door in your home, you most likely will not need a new one for decades! It is growing increasingly popular to purchase new doors and upgrade your home as it adds value to your home when you want to sell it in the future.

However, when you've decided it's time for a new door, be sure it's professionally installed by a skilled crew. This group should be dedicated to high-quality work and meticulous attention to detail. Here are some of the most important advantages of hiring a professional to install your front door.

Types of Doors

There are different types of doors with different types of designs. Each door holds a different quality that would be best for your home. In this section of the article, you will learn more about the different types of doors and probably get an idea of what door you want for your home!

Wooden Doors

For most people, the wooden door is the best option. It's a high-end option for your home's interior and exterior, with a distinct sense of character and beauty. Wood was used to make a lot of ancient doors.

A wooden door with attractive yet useful design possibilities can be custom manufactured. It is used as a rotating door, a security door, or an entry door.

A wooden door is easy to install, has a smooth surface, master sculpture, and is long-lasting. However, a wooden door does require maintenance, so it stays at its best quality!

Metal Door

A metal door has a long service life, excellent dimensional precision, and excellent corrosion resistance. It's used to secure the entrance of a formation and keep the elements out.

It resembles a barricade and can resist storms and earthquakes. We can preserve it for a long time if paints are used, and because the cost is low, it is affordable to individuals of all economic groups.

On the other hand, it does weigh a lot, so installing this door may be hard, and it also can begin to rust over time.

Fire Door

When it comes to fire safety, the basic steel fire door has a long history. These doors are usually relatively inexpensive, making them an easy choice when seeking to save money. They are extremely safe as they help you in a case of a fire.

However, steel doors need a large amount of space in a building's design. Because the doors must have adequate area to swing shut in the event of an emergency, they can easily obstruct design aesthetics.

Glass Door

Glass doors are often made up of glass panels set within a wooden frame. They're frequently chosen at the back of the house, where views will be most obvious because privacy is a concern.

Natural light is unquestionably beneficial but be aware that they are more difficult to maintain and, in general, more expensive than other types of doors. So, although they are aesthetically pleasing, if you are on a budget, this probably isn't the door for you.

Hinged Doors

You've probably got a few of them spread about your home and then some. These are your standard passage doors, with one end of the door hinged to allow it to swing in and out of the room. These are the most popular doors as they are affordable and easy to install in your home.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Door Hanging

Sometimes people tend to know when something in their home needs fixing; however, they choose to ignore it due to costs and time. Replacing your old door and installing new ones has a great advantage on your home as well as health and safety.

It does also have its disadvantages that you should know before you install a door in your home. Therefore, this part of the article will help you know the advantages and disadvantages of door installation and what to expect when you install your new doors.

Pros

• There are a variety of doors that you can now install in your new home that comes with different designs. They enhance the aesthetic of your home. Having a new door with a new design can grab the eye of your home due to its modern look.
• New doors have better security on them. Therefore, if you are feeling unsafe and worried, then a new door might help you feel at ease. This is because the quality of the doors will be so much better than the old one, as the strength and the weight is amazing. So, if anyone tries to break in a new door would make it almost impossible.
• Once you have installed a new door, you will not have to worry about needing a new one for at least 35 years, as the durability of new doors amazing! So, although the pricing of installation on a door is annoying, it is worth it in the long run.
• New internal doors can also bring the price of your home up when you want to sell in the future.

Cons

• The price is an obvious problem when it comes to wanting to install new doors in your home. The type of door you choose will affect your price as some doors are more expensive than others, depending on what they do for your home, or the size of the door needed.
• Fitting a door yourself can be difficult, so most of the time, a tradesperson will come out and help you install your door. This can be more time consuming than it needs to be, as waiting for an appointment can take a while.
• They are also very heavy, which could cause problems to the muscles and nerves in your body when lifting.

How Much Does It Cost to Hang a Door?

The price is a problem for many people as the door hanging cost can be expensive depending on what design you want. Hiring a tradesperson also adds to the price due to the labour costs.

An internal door installation normally costs roughly £240, which includes the material and labour. It should roughly cost about £50 per door with the labour costs.

However, the additional costs can sometimes add up and seem more expensive than they need to be. For example, hinges have an average cost of around £1.80 - £6 each.

Other factors that you don't think you are paying for all add up, such as handles, doorknobs, lining, frames and locks! However, this all adds up to the overall price that you pay after the job is done.

How to Hang a Door?

Once you have chosen your internal door, then it is time to hang it up! If you are planning to hang your own door, you should look at our step by step guide on how to hang an internal door.

Even if you're not planning a DIY job, this article will help you understand the process, including the preparation and each stage of the door installation.

How Long Does It Take to Install a Door?

The timescale of doing tasks can sometimes be annoying as not knowing the amount of free time you will need to take up for someone to complete a task in your home or how long it will take you to DIY.

On average, it takes about five or six hours to replace an external door. An inside door can be installed faster because it does not require the same amount of caulking, flashing, or other weatherproofing.

In most cases, an inside door may be installed in two to four hours. However, the different types of doors will be broken down and explained why they take less or more time.

This depends on how many doors you want to install in your home. With a standard wooden door, it will take About 6–8 hours for high-quality work. If the door and hinges are properly measured, a door without any trim or paint might be completed in 30 minutes.

If it is just one door, it will take less time, but replacing all the doors in your home will take about 6 hours. This is the easiest and quickest door to install.

Hinged doors and glass doors normally take about the same time to install as a wooden door, as the way to fit the door is the same method as installing a wooden door. Once again, depending on how many doors and the size of your door frames could affect the time scale of installing doors in your home.

Metal doors provide a significantly better level of protection for your home or business. Steel doors are resistant to warping, fading, splitting, and cracking.

Therefore, metal doors are a lot heavier than wooden doors, so they might need more help or for the tradesperson to be a lot more cautious as it could cause an injury.

Metal doors take about 2-4 hours to instal on average. Once again, it could take longer depending on how many doors are being installed in your home.

Fire doors are almost the same as metal doors as they are heavy and made from a strong steel material. Therefore, the dangers of lifting and hanging them are something to keep in mind when installing a door.

A professional fire door installation takes about 2-2.5 hours on average. However, if you are trying to hang a door on a DIY basis, it will most likely take longer as you will be learning as going along.

Building Regulations or Planning Permission for Door Installation

To decrease energy loss, replacement doors must now fulfil specified Building Regulations standards. This means that you must follow the Building Regulations while installing replacement doors in both residential and commercial buildings. Improving the performance of existing buildings is now a need to meet national energy-saving targets.

Under the building regulations, DIY projects or installations by non-registered enterprises require Council clearance, which may be your responsibility in the end. As a result, make careful to inquire about an installer's ability to self-certify.

If not, either they or you will be required to submit a Building Regulations submission to the council for consideration.

Although you will be building regulations, you probably won't need planning permission when installing a new door. Due to doors being one of the more straightforward home upgrades, they rarely require planning clearance.

Normally, this installation is referred to as a "permitted development." When permission is needed, it is usually granted if the change does not affect the building's main elevations at the front of the house.

Regardless of whether you require planning approval or not, you may be required to file a building notice to your local government to comply with building laws. You'll need to get in touch with a Building Control Body (BCB), either through your local government or a private BCB.

Door Repairs

Sometimes, your door doesn't need replacing, it just needs to be repaired. Door repairs are usually simple and can mostly be done by DIY.

Here are some common door problems which you can fix yourself.

Sticking Door

If your door sticks and doesn't swing cleanly open, the size of the door relative to the entryway needs to be adjusted. Clean the hinges first to eliminate any debris and build-up, then tighten them with a screwdriver. If it doesn't work, sand down the part of the door that's sticking on the frame.

This type of repair has no cost, as if you already have a screwdriver, you can do this for free. However, the only thing you may need to buy is sandpaper which you can buy from the majority of your local shops.

Loose Handle

This is a cheap and easy fix as it costs nothing again and only requires tools you probably have at home. Tightening a loose handle is simple, especially if you have a door with exposed screws and recent hardware. If this is the case, start by simply tightening the handle with your screwdriver.

Locate the button on the side of the doorknob and use a screwdriver to press it in, and take the knob off if you have an older door with no visible screws. Finally, press the release notch with the screwdriver to release the cover plate. You'll be able to tighten the screws after that.

Loose Door

All you have to do if your door swings open, even if it's slightly ajar, is bend the hinge pin. To keep the door from moving, place a wood shim between it and the frame. Then, using a nail, drive out the higher pin and bend it slightly with a hammer. If the door continues to swing open, replace the bottom hinge.

This repair is a bit awkward as you have to concentrate on doing it properly. However, it is a priceless repair and would save you a lot more money than getting a new door installed.

Door with a Dent

A damaged steel door is a very simple door repair, but if you don't have the door's original paint colour, you may need to repaint it entirely. Firstly, remove the paint from the area around the dent and roughen it up using sandpaper.

After that, fill up the dent with car body filler and a wide putty knife. (If the dent is particularly deep, more layers of filler may be required). After the filler has dried, sand it down to make it flush with the rest of the door, then paint over it.

This requires more tools that could add up. Therefore, it would cost about £20 to repair; however, you will save a lot more money than buying a new door.

A Door that Doesn't Latch

Your home may settle over time, and your doors may no longer latch the way they used to; you may have to pull up or down on the door to close it. Instead of adjusting the striking plate, simply expand the strike plate hole with a rotary tool specialised for metal cutting. Put on your safety goggles and shave the hole down somewhat.

If the door does not lock, continue shaving in small increments until the opening is the correct size. This is a bit more dangerous as it will be a lot of wood shavings, so make sure you have safety goggles on!

Replacing Door Hinges

Because there are several types of door hinges, the best thing to do in this circumstance is to remove the door from its frame and remove the hinges. Then, take the hinges to your local home improvement store to ensure that you get the correct ones.

Before tightening the mounting screws, make sure you replace the hinges in the same way you removed the old ones and that they're exactly aligned. You can buy new hinges in places like B&Q or buy them online for £5 to £20.

Questions to Ask When Hiring a Door Specialist

Nobody wants a poor job done on their house, but unless you're fortunate enough to know trustworthy tradespeople, it's not always simple to know where to look. So, these are a few questions to ask the door specialist who is installing in your home to make sure you are not being scammed!

Are you qualified?

Always double-check the qualifications of anyone you're thinking of employing to work on your house. All members must adhere to government-approved criteria, providing essential assurance that anyone you hire is truly qualified. You can google door specialists near me, and multiple companies will show up so you know you will get a specialist from a company.

Do you have any past work?

This is a positive sign if you can discover a tradesman who is prepared to show you examples of their previous work. Take the time to look at their previous work images if they have them. Also, if they have references, ask for a copy and follow up with a phone call to make sure they were happy with the work.

Do you have insurance?

You must find out if your builder is covered by insurance for any potential harm to your home. Even if they've never had a problem before, mistakes do happen, so make sure they're covered if anything goes wrong while the work is being done.

Can you see their license?

Obtaining the specifics of a tradesperson's licence is one of the most basic items to ask before beginning any task. Take note of the licensing information and double-check that it is current and genuine.

You could need them later, and it's likely that if something goes wrong, the tradesman won't be ready to give you the details at that point, so obtain them now and keep them secure.

How long will the job be?

Always receive a documented estimate of how long your job will take. If you require work to be done by a specific date, inform the tradesman and request that it be set down as an estimate if they believe they will be able to meet that deadline. Never sign a contract that doesn't have a clear end date.

FAQs

Sources

https://www.sashwindowslondonltd.co.uk/5-signs-you-need-to-replace-your-front-door/
https://www.lifetimewindows.net/benefits-of-a-new-front-door-installation/
https://civiltoday.com/construction/building/118-door-types-of-doors
https://smokeguard.com/blog/2014/july/13/the-disadvantages-to-a-classic-fire-door
https://www.doubleglazingontheweb.com/news/how-long-will-it-take-to-install-my-upvc-door/
https://www.mdmsecuritydoors.co.uk/steel-security-doors-faq/
https://www.buildingcontrolpartnershiphants.gov.uk/building_regulation_applications/window_and_door_replacement/intro.aspx
https://re-aluminium.co.uk/do-i-need-planning-permission-for-bifold-doors-and-french-doors/
http://www.premdor.co.uk/advicecentre/detail/90
https://www.vibrantdoors.co.uk/choose-your-door/internal/advice/painting-internal-doors