Door hanging 2

Door hanging 1

Once the door fits well with correct clearance all round, use your wedges again to wedge the door in the frame in its correct position. Remember to wedge it up to the correct height for floor clearance.

You will need two 100mm hinges for a standard door, but heavier solid doors should be supported on three hinges. Three hinges will also be required where one side faces an area substantially hotter or more humid than the other, such as an airing cupboard.

Marking the rebates for hinges

marking hinge Holding the hinge against the door, mark both the door and frame for the top and bottom of each hinge.

The hinges should be set 175mm from the top and 250mm from the bottom. If there is a third hinge, this should be midway between the two.

Remove the door and steady it, hinge edge upwards, in the vice of your workbench. Protect the faces with cardboard.

Lay the opened hinge against the appropriate marks. Its spindle section outermost, projecting from, and parallel to, the edge of the door.

Mark around the edge of the hinge with a pencil. Repeat for the other hinges.

Cutting the recess

Measure the thickness of the plate and mark this on the door face with a pencil line.

Using a sharp chisel, cut into the door edge along the outline to this depth. Use the chisel so that its flat edge is against the line.

cutting out for hinge

Now make a series of cuts across the grain within the outline. This is then pared out by using the chisel at a shallow angle to the door edge and working from the centre to the ends of the recess. The chisel is held so that its curved face is against the surface, to scoop out the waste rather than dig in.

The recess may be made very slightly deeper at the inner edge so as to prevent the hinge binding when the door is fully closed.

Door hanging 3