Gary Katz, Dean of Finish Carpentry, University of Hard Knocks. Thanks so much for being one of the pioneers in the business of finish carpentry instruction for the then emerging digital media market. (Yea the tapes were analog but I'm talking big picture here) Even though I had the benefit of a structured apprenticeship, the fine points and systems approach you teach weren't developed as much as they should have been in my training. So when I started production finish carpentry in the tracks in California your books and tapes were a terrific investment. They imparted the knowledge and confidence that allowed me to become a successful specialty installation contractor. I'm so happy that you are releasing them here on YT to help the next generation of carpenters master this complex and demanding area of the trade.
Thanks for your note, Paul! I feel the same way. I've known so many extremely talented carpenters/teachers who bemoaned the 'loss of craftsmanship' but did nothing to record their own experience for the next generation. I have one more project I want to complete--the book on mantelpieces, and then I'll feel content. :).
True Master of this Genre! I stumbled onto this video to find an answer related to hinge bending technique you show in a different video but couldn't find the answer in this series as well - could you potentially share why the "spread" function can't be achieved by bending the knuckles as you do with the "squeeze". Isn't that in essence what it's doing is bending the knuckles when you force the nail set in there? Thank you!
No, that's not what's actually happening. When you 'spread' the hinge leaves, you're 'opening' knuckles on both leaves. Try bending the knuckles on both leaves with a wrench and you'll see what I mean. Best if you experience it yourself.
So grateful to you for sharing your knowledge! I just wish you had a few more videos. I've watched and re-watched but I'm still not feeling confident enough to tackle my exterior door yet. I just ordered your book hoping that will give me what I need to feel better about what I'm about to do! Did I miss where you address the header not being level? You mentioned it briefly but I want to make sure I understand how to handle this. Is this just fixed but shortening the jamb length?
I’m a little confused on plumbing the door from interior to exterior side. Looks like the door just needs to be flush with drywall, but what if the wall is not plumb…? Wouldn’t the door close or open on its own. Walls aren’t always plumbing right?
What if the PLANE of the wall isn't plumb: Should the jambs be plumb and proud of the drywall at top or bottom, or should the jambs be flush with the drywall on both sides of the wall but not plumb (and will the door then fall open if not latched?)...
Love your videos, bought the dvd set a couple years ago, and now I’m happy I can watch it all on my iPhone. My wife tracked down a copy of your door hanging book for my Christmas present - thank you for the education Gary!
I have this DVD and am forever thankful to you for teaching me how to install doors. These days a homeowner has to know that, and also how to pre-hang the doors. All doors I found in my house have hinge screws driven crooked, and it was the same on a $3000 prehang I ordered from a big box store, with an addition that the door wasn't even positioned correctly in the jamb. (It's good they took it back.) I don't really know where to go to get a quality product, and you helped me learn how to it myself.
It would be opposite for installation on top of flooring. You'll want to start at the LOW point of the house so that you have material to cut off to level jambs across the house.
Great videos Gary. I had a question regarding the correction of crossleg on double prehung doors. You show moving the hinges in or out to correct, so on an 8-0 door with 4 hinges, do I need to move the bottom two or three hinges to make the correction or do I just start with the bottom and take it from there. Doesn't seem to flex much with just the bottom hinge off. Thanks
You'll have to loosen both middle hinges on a 4-butt door, for sure. Just think of how a 3-butt door will pivot around the middle hinge, but a 4-butt door will not.
Thanks for this. Last year I had to diy a bunch of doors done horribly in my house. Your later video on this subject was the only one out of an uncountable number I watched that really worked for me. I had to watch it more than a few times to get it, but I'm pretty sure you have the only videos on RU-vid that properly explain how to install an interior door. It's a real art.
Great video! However, I can't find even one single video that addresses my situation, which I think is crazy. I can't believe I'm the only person that has this question... or maybe I just don't know how to phrase it properly. We just bought this house, with a finished downstairs area, that is almost its own apartment space, with 2 "bedrooms" and a full bath in between. My wife and I are using one of the rooms as our bedroom, and the other as our office. The only problem is, the entrance to the "apartment" is an open cased frame, 32" x 80", with smooth sides (no door trim), which means our space is open when someone walks down the stairs, or comes in from the garage. So, I'd like to add a door there, but I am clueless as to where to begin. Is the trimming necessary? How difficult is it to add hinges & lock plates? I've looked at some 32" x 80" salvage doors, online, listed with hinges and knob, but not sure if that would be too big, of if the way it was previously hung would affect how I could use it? I know these may sound like dumb questions for the "handymen" out there, but I'm just a computer guy trying to figure it out. LOL!
32x80 is a true size of a door. (go to a big box store and measure doors there) It's standard. But the door has a 5/8" jamb, and add 1/8" on lock and top sides and 1/16 on hinge side for the spacing ("reveal"), plus maybe 1/2" opening at the bottom for airflow. So that's your total size. Your opening must have some casing or drywall inside - you must remove it, and then the whole assembly should fit with some space left all around for shims. The cleaned-out opening with the house framing exposed is called "rough opening" in this video. If your assembly doesn't fit, you might have to go to the next door size. Buy the long "contractor" shims, don't bother with short ones. And watch for this when you buy: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jli7JIfg0TA.html
@@whiplash0125 I've got a whiplash from hiring "carpenters", "plumbers", "tile setters" and other self-proclaimed "tradesmen". The real ones are hard to find and cost a fortune.
This is such amazingly good information and so well done! I’m in the process right now of putting my very first pre hung door in and have been absolutely pulling my hair out! It’s a Lowes Masonite (P.O.S) and between it and the horrible framing it’s been a real challenge to say the least. It was like a breath of fresh air to hear you touch on just about every single problem I’ve been having, I’ve been thinking I’m just that unlucky and God hates me lol. I wish I would have found this first! I was happy to see I pretty much went about it exactly as you described ( in my own inexperience way ) and it’s come out as good as I could expect except now I realize ( in the home stretch of course ) that the hinges aren’t mortised right! 🤦🏻♂️ The top hinge isn’t mortised far enough into the door or jamb by about an 1/8th of an inch and the middle hinge is too far into the door causing a bow. I didn’t catch it because I was so focused on all the other problems and now that it’s all attached and the gaps look really nice I’m not sure what to do. It’s about as perfect as I can get it and I’ve definitely had to do some fudging here and there but I’m pretty satisfied with it except for that. With door fully open and inline with the window on the opposite wall I can’t miss it😒
@ 38:00 ....SHIMS....it's best to put 2 shims opposing each other so the jamb moves perpendicular to the framing and door...with one shim only, it acts like a WEDGE, causing the jamb to "twist" inconsistently away from the framing.
I’ve been watching you for quite some time. I’ve learned a lot, and am thankful you continue to teach. Just installed a double steel firedoor and a single pre hung. Thanks to you I was prepared and all went well!
''Cutting Common AND Hip Rafters'' Comments are turned off for this video, I calculated 48 1/8'' theoretical length of the first rafter measurement using a common calculator (TI), the presenter has 53'' + - , as a noob to framing, I had a question. Subscribers and or the presenter could have cleared this up for me.
Whao! This is exactly what I need to grasp the technique of hanging a pre-hung door. Thanks a billion for your time and effort in putting this training video out.
Incredibly thorough video. It would have been awesome though, if at the end of the video, you had the wall fall down when you closed the door and walked away 😂
Evaluate how level the floor is for the entire house and then you evaluate how many doors your going to have to cut. If you pick the high point as your benchmark your going to end up too high for pocket doors when they require a grove cut into the bottom of the door for a floor guide. Which, for example needs a 7/16 gap. It can spin your head figuring it out, if you absolutely need all the head jambs to be level relative to each other. That said you can always pack up the floor guide. But generally I figure out the pocket doors prior to establishing the finished height/ elevation for the whole house. Pocket doors become the control points, all other doors are variables, with the goal, that your not going to have to cut more than 1/2 the doors. And the the smallest gap is 7/16 and no greater than 3/4, when your not modifying the door. When a house is really bad. Rip pull up the sub floor., add material to the top of the joists and then lay the subfloor back down. I know that sounds crazy. but i have done it. lol
Caring about the quality of work? It’s less Yeah, it’s less. If you run, full speed, holding a prehung door you just just mash it into an opening. Make dat money.
