How to hang an internal door

Name what you are looking at

Leaf, lining, stops and viewpoint

The leaf is the moving door. “Door leaf” is also used as a named timber-doorset component in the Door & Hardware Federation source record. The surrounding assembly may be called a frame, lining or casing in different instructions. In ordinary lining language, the two upright pieces are jambs and the top piece is the head; terminology can overlap between publishers, so use the words printed on the exact product. The limited terminology evidence is recorded under Door Superstore’s frame-size source.

Stops are the narrow pieces that the closed leaf meets. Loose stops may be fitted or adjusted after the door has been checked, while a rebated frame already defines the closing face. Do not mistake an architrave—the decorative trim over the wall joint—for the surface that carries the hinge.

Declare the observer

Handing words become ambiguous when two people stand on opposite sides. Start by saying whether you are on the pull side, where the door moves towards you, or the push side, where it moves away. Then record whether the hinges appear on your left or right from that same position.

The worksheet below deliberately returns a full sentence. It does not turn the observation into a bare “left-hand” or “right-hand” code because supplier conventions and viewpoints can differ. Put the sentence on the job note, drawing or order query so another person can reconstruct the observation.

Hinge boundary

Choose and position the hinges as a separate job.

Confirm the hinge type, quantity and instructions for this leaf and frame. Hold the door to the recorded datum, keep hinge knuckles on one aligned axis and check that the leaves close without binding. The complete marking, recessing, pilot-hole, fixing and transfer sequence belongs to the dedicated guide: fit and mark the hinges.

Troubleshooting without guessing

Stop when the condition is outside the worksheet.

If a door rubs, misses the latch, springs open or drifts, keep the symptom and contact point in the record. Use the door-not-closing diagnostic sequence before planing an edge or moving hardware. It is easier to compare hinge movement, gap changes and latch height when the original dry-fit values remain on the sheet.

Pause the job for a loose or damaged lining, movement at the wall, severe twist, split leaf, uncertain load path, concealed services near proposed fixings or hardware that does not match its instructions. Get the relevant product information or competent help before continuing. A general page cannot decide the cause from a symptom.

Fire doors and doorsets need particular restraint. Do not use this generic worksheet as permission to alter one, change its hardware or declare its performance. Within the scope of official England guidance, an inadequate existing fire door requiring replacement should be replaced by a competent person and fire doors should be kept in good order; see the GOV.UK fire-door source record. Follow the exact doorset evidence and the responsibilities that apply to the building.