The frame is now installed.
This is where we hang the door and find out what the installation is actually doing.
A door can be manufactured accurately and a frame can look right before the door is hung, but once the weight of the door is transferred onto the hinges, you can get small changes.
This is why I don’t consider hanging the door to be simply a case of putting the hinges together and screwing them in.
The door has to swing, close, sit correctly in the frame and maintain the required clearances.
The final checks need to be made with the door actually hanging and operating.
As always, the particular manufacturer’s installation instructions, certification and supporting test or assessment evidence take priority over general guidance.
Start With the Hinges on the Door
I always hang the hinges on the door first, rather than trying to fit the hinges to the frame first.
Make sure you have the correct hinges and correct handing.
Line the hinges up with the door and make sure they sit correctly in their prepared recesses.
Check that the required intumescent hinge protection is present.
This is also the point where I want to make sure the hinge recesses themselves have been correctly prepared.
If the hinge hasn’t been cut to the correct depth or position, you can create problems with the way the door sits before you have even started aligning it.
Made-Up Doorsets and Travel Braces
Made-up doorsets often arrive with the door already hung in the frame.
They will usually have a travel brace fitted.
The travel brace is often cut to the width of the doorset and can be useful for keeping the doorset in line during handling and installation.
It can also give you a useful reference for maintaining the width and helping to keep the doorset square.
There are different ways of installing doorsets and they can all work.
Personally, I prefer to take the door out of the frame and fit the frame separately, then hang the door afterwards.
That gives me more control over getting the frame installed correctly before transferring the weight of the door onto it.
Position the Door at 90 Degrees
When hanging the door, I normally position it 90 degrees from the frame.
Line the door up with the hinges.
Make sure the hinges are folded in the correct direction.
You don’t want to fix the first hinge only to discover that the lower hinges have folded behind the door and you now have to remove everything and start again.
I position the door so that it lines up past the hinge locations in the frame towards the rebate or stop lath.
Then I bring the hinges into alignment.
My First Fixing
I always start with the same hole every time.
For me, that is the bottom hole of the top hinge.
No other hole.
Tip the door into position and line up that bottom hole.
The top half of the hinge naturally angles away, which makes this a very useful first fixing point.
If the door is slightly too high, I can keep it in alignment and give it a controlled tap with my foot until it drops into position.
Once that first screw is in, the door is held.
It isn’t going to fall over.
Now I can work down the door.
Move to the Next Hinge
I then move to the next hinge.
This is where I use a chisel and a bar.
The chisel can be slid behind the lipping and frame and used to carefully lever the door out until the middle hinge positions line up.
I go for the bottom hole again.
Even though the hinges may have been accurately measured and cut to be in line, they don’t always line up perfectly without a little persuasion.
If the chisel is enough, great.
If not, I find a bar underneath the door works well.
You can use your foot to press down on the bar.
If you apply pressure and twist your foot slightly left and right, you can move the door in and out as well as up and down.
That gives you useful two-axis movement.
Once the hinge is correctly positioned, put one screw in.
Then move to the bottom hinge.
Get Every Hinge Sitting Correctly
Use the same technique on the bottom hinge.
At this stage, the important thing is not how quickly you can get screws in.
It is getting each hinge properly seated into the recess that has been cut for it.
Once the top, middle and bottom hinges are all sitting correctly in their recesses, you can install the remaining screws.
This approach also means that if something is wrong with the alignment, you haven’t already committed to every fixing.
Correct the position first.
Then finish the fixings.
Fit Every Screw
Once all the hinges are sitting correctly, put every required screw in.
This is something that gets missed surprisingly often.
People are in a rush, put a few screws in each hinge and move on.
Then the remaining screws get forgotten.
Get into the habit of completing the hinge fixings there and then.
It is very easy to forget them once you have moved onto the next job.
Intumescent Hinge Packers
Make sure the required intumescent hinge packers/protection are correctly installed, including the specified arrangement around the hinge.
Where the particular doorset requires protection on both sides of the hinge, make sure it is there.
Don’t assume that because a doorset has come from a manufacturer that every part of the installation has necessarily been prepared correctly.
The required protection needs to be checked on site.
Predrill the Hinge Fixings
This is another area where I have seen problems, including on manufactured doorsets.
The hinge screw holes need to be correctly prepared.
For hardwood frames, 3.5–4 mm is the usual range I find works well for many hinge screws, but the drill size needs to be appropriate for the actual screw, timber and manufacturer’s requirements.
Don’t force a fixing into a hole that is too tight.
That’s when you start chewing screws up.
I’ve seen screws cam out and become damaged to the point where further work becomes difficult or impossible without drilling them out.
I’ve also seen doorsets supplied with inferior screws that actually snap during installation.
I’ve had three screws snap in the same hole.
Good preparation prevents a lot of unnecessary problems.
Let the Screw Do the Work
This is something I have taught apprentices for years.
A lot of people seem to think you need to apply as much force as possible.
You don’t.
Let the construction and the mechanical fixing do the work.
The screw has a chamfered head.
As it reaches the seat in the hinge, the chamfered head grips and pulls the hinge into position.
Once the screw has reached its seat:
Stop.
Don’t keep driving it.
Particularly in softwood, excessive force can cause the screw to continue boring into the timber.
The screw effectively becomes a boring tool and starts rimming out the timber around itself.
Once you have done that, you have damaged the timber’s ability to retain the fixing.
In hardwood, with the correct pilot hole, the screw should go in properly and stop in the seat.
You don’t need to keep applying pressure.
Be Careful With Impact Drivers
In my opinion, impact drivers should be kept away from this type of delicate hinge fixing work.
They are probably one of the biggest reasons I see screws getting chewed up.
They can:
- cam out screws;
- damage screw heads;
- overdrive fixings;
- damage timber;
- snap poor-quality screws;
- make future maintenance much harder.
Once you’ve rounded the screw head, you’ve created a problem for whoever has to remove it later.
Controlled driving is far better than brute force.
Countersink Carefully
Where a countersink is required, only countersink the surface enough to accommodate the screw head.
Don’t go too deep.
Where the fixing needs to be hidden, use the permitted fixing location for the particular doorset.
Depending on the construction, this can include positioning fixings within the rebated intumescent seal groove or behind the stop lath where the tested/assessed construction allows it.
The aim is to leave the finished doorset clean while maintaining the required fixing arrangement.
Now the Door Is Swinging
This is the point where the real checking starts.
You have now transferred the weight of the door onto the frame.
Don’t assume everything is still exactly where it was before the door was hung.
Open the door.
Close it.
Watch what happens.
Listen for catching.
Look at the margins.
Look at the threshold.
Look at the relationship between the door and frame.
This is where you discover the small things that you couldn’t fully know before the door was hanging.
The Door Becomes Your Datum
Once the door is hanging, the door becomes the datum.
This is one of the most important things I use when doing final alignment.
Close the door carefully.
Use the edge of the door as your straight reference.
You can see very quickly whether the frame is sitting correctly against it.
Don’t just stand back and look at the frame.
The frame is there to carry and operate the door.
The door tells you what the finished relationship actually is.
Check the Door Is Square
Don’t just assume that the door is square because it looks square.
If required, check the diagonals.
Measure from one corner to the opposite corner and then compare the other diagonal.
If the measurements are equal, you have a good indication that the rectangle is square.
There are also practical methods that can be useful on site.
An old method is to use string across the four corners, crossing the strings in the middle.
When the frame is correctly aligned, the strings meet/touch correctly at the centre.
You can also use your laser or a long level.
The important thing is to use a reliable datum rather than judging everything by eye.
Check the Hinge Side
Look at the gap down the hinge side.
The door needs to sit correctly within the frame without being forced against it.
If the hinge side is wrong, investigate the hinge position and frame relationship before deciding to alter the door.
A hinge that has been cut too deeply towards the rebate can alter the position of the door.
This is one of the reasons I always want the hinge sitting correctly in its prepared recess before I complete all the fixings.
Check the Latch Side
I particularly prioritise the latch side.
This is where small errors can create a lot of problems.
If the margin is too tight, the door can:
- catch;
- snag;
- fail to close properly;
- struggle against the intumescent seal;
- fail to latch correctly once the hardware is fitted.
My practical target is 3–4 mm on the latch side, with 3 mm being the minimum I aim for where the particular doorset permits it.
Always check the actual manufacturer’s requirement for the doorset you are installing.
The important thing is that the door operates correctly without being forced.
Check the Head Again
Always check the head.
This is particularly important with double doors.
Sometimes a controlled fixing in the middle, with the appropriate packing arrangement, is needed to stop the head moving.
Even on a single door, check the head after the door is hanging.
The weight of the door is being carried by the hanging side of the frame.
That load can cause the frame to settle slightly.
I’ve seen the head run out because the hanging side of the frame has moved under the weight of the door.
Don’t assume the head is still exactly where you left it.
Check the Threshold
Always check the clearance underneath the door.
This is particularly important in old buildings where the floor can run out.
You might have a floor that rises towards one side of the opening.
You can calculate everything before fitting the frame and still need to check the actual clearance once the door is hanging.
The threshold needs checking again with the door operating.
If the floor rises and the bottom of the door starts to snag, you need to deal with the actual geometry of the installation rather than simply accepting that the frame must remain perfectly vertical regardless of what the building is doing.
Where necessary and where permitted by the particular doorset/system, a drop-down seal can sometimes provide a solution when the required undercut cannot otherwise be achieved.
Dealing With a Rising Floor
This is where a controlled frame/doorset lean can sometimes be useful.
If the floor is rising and the bottom of the door is going to snag as it opens or closes, I can lean the doorset slightly to deal with the actual floor condition.
The purpose is not to make the frame inaccurate.
The purpose is to accommodate the building and allow the door to operate correctly while maintaining the required installation parameters.
This needs to be a controlled adjustment.
You don’t simply throw a frame out of plumb because the floor isn’t level.
First establish what the floor is doing.
Check the threshold.
Check the door operation.
Then decide whether a controlled lean is appropriate.
Practical Geometry Guide – 3 mm Datum
A useful way of understanding the effect of a small lean is to look at the geometry.
Using a 3 mm datum and the standard widths below:
626 mm door
3 ÷ 926 × 626 = 2.03 mm
726 mm door
3 ÷ 926 × 726 = 2.35 mm
826 mm door
3 ÷ 926 × 826 = 2.68 mm
926 mm door
3 ÷ 926 × 926 = 3.00 mm
| Door width | Movement from 3 mm datum |
|---|---|
| 626 mm | 2.03 mm |
| 726 mm | 2.35 mm |
| 826 mm | 2.68 mm |
| 926 mm | 3.00 mm |
This is a practical geometric guide, not a fire-door tolerance.
It demonstrates how a small controlled change in orientation can produce a useful change at the opposite edge of the door.
The door/frame remains square; you are changing its orientation rather than deliberately distorting it.
If I need to establish the offset accurately, I have used a packer at the top of the laser datum to create the required offset rather than trying to judge a few millimetres by eye.
Check the Door Is in Wind
Once the door is closed, look at how it sits against the stop/rebate.
If it doesn’t sit correctly, it may be out of wind.
The edge of the closed door is your reference.
This can show you very quickly whether the frame is bowed or twisted.
Don’t automatically correct the visible edge without considering what is happening through the full depth of the frame.
A Frame Can Pivot Around a Fixing
This is an important thing to understand when diagnosing problems.
A fixing point with packing behind it can act like a fulcrum.
You can fix one point and then find that another part of the frame moves.
This can make the frame:
- bow in;
- flare out;
- taper;
- move towards the door;
- move away from the door.
It can be particularly noticeable around the top and bottom hinges.
A fixing higher up can effectively act like a long lever and influence the position further down the frame.
This is why you sometimes see a frame tapering in or out even though individual fixing points appear correct.
Natural Bowing
Don’t automatically assume that packers have pushed the frame inwards.
Sometimes the frame simply bows naturally.
You can fix the top and bottom and then find the middle needs to be pulled back into line.
The opposite can also happen at the very bottom, where the frame can want to flare out.
The important thing is to identify where the frame is actually wrong before making the correction.
Use the Door as the Straight Edge
If the frame is bowed, close the door and use the edge of the door as your datum.
Find the part of the frame that is wrong.
Then make a controlled correction at or near the appropriate fixing point.
If a small hardwood packer is required, position it where the frame actually needs support.
Don’t simply hammer packers into every available gap.
Once the correction is made, check the door again.
Be Careful With Hardwood Wedges
Hardwood wedges can be very useful for small precision corrections.
I use them.
But I try to keep them to a minimum.
The reason is that a wedge can create a problem that isn’t immediately visible.
For example, if you have a 55 mm deep frame and use a wedge to move the visible edge several millimetres, the front edge can move more than the rear edge.
You may therefore appear to have corrected the frame while still having a significant difference through its depth.
That can leave you with a frame that is still out of wind.
A wedge can move the frame and twist the frame at the same time.
A small 1 mm correction is one thing.
Trying to force a frame several millimetres is something completely different.
If the Frame Moves After the Door Is Hung
A small movement can happen when the weight of the door is transferred onto the frame.
If the frame moves by around 1 mm, that may simply require a final adjustment.
But if the frame continues to move, don’t keep adjusting it indefinitely.
Stop and investigate the structural opening and fixing arrangement.
The problem may no longer be a final alignment issue.
You need to establish why the frame is moving.
Correct the Cause Before Planing the Door
If the door catches, don’t automatically plane it.
Work out why.
It could be:
- hinge position;
- hinge recess depth;
- frame being out of wind;
- frame bowing;
- frame movement;
- seal resistance;
- floor conditions;
- another installation issue.
I’ve fitted frames for many years using this approach and have been able to avoid routinely planing doors into position.
That doesn’t mean a timber door can never need a small adjustment.
Wood is natural and sometimes a final minor adjustment is necessary.
But don’t use planing to hide a frame problem.
Using a Lever Under the Door
A lever can be very useful when making small corrections.
But take care.
If you catch the edge of the door with the lever, you can crush the door edge.
Always try to get the lever right underneath the door, preferably towards the middle.
Use something with a flat edge where possible so that the load is spread across the bottom of the door.
Some cheaper composite doorsets are particularly easy to crush.
The lever should move/support the door in a controlled manner.
It shouldn’t become a tool for damaging it.
A Useful 1 mm Settlement Technique
Doors naturally settle.
Over the first few months of use, the repeated movement can cause small changes in the frame and door.
Why wait for six months if you are only around 1 mm out?
One technique I’ve used for years is to help the assembly settle that final millimetre.
Use a block of wood against the appropriate part of the frame.
Tap the block carefully towards the frame.
If necessary, you can do the same from the other side.
This is not a beat-it-to-submission technique.
It is simply a controlled way of helping the timber assembly settle into the position you need.
Always hit the block of wood — never hit the door or frame directly.
Check Again After Every Adjustment
Every correction can affect something else.
So after making an adjustment:
- Operate the door.
- Close it.
- Check the latch side.
- Check the hinge side.
- Check the head.
- Check the threshold.
- Check the stop/rebate.
- Check whether the door is in wind.
- Check for binding.
- Check the seals.
- Open and close the door again.
The final check should always be made on the actual operating doorset, not just the empty frame.
Don’t Forget the Threshold After the Door Is Swinging
The threshold should be checked again after the door is operating.
This is especially important where the floor is uneven or rising.
The undercut should meet the required specification for the doorset.
If the floor condition means the door is snagging, investigate the geometry and consider the appropriate permitted solution.
A drop-down seal may sometimes be an option, but only where it is compatible with the particular doorset and its tested/manufacturer’s requirements.
Don’t Seal Everything Up Too Early
Once the door is hanging and operating correctly, you still need to make sure all your final checks have been completed before permanently closing everything up.
Don’t rush the final sealing.
Get the door:
- hung;
- aligned;
- operating;
- checked;
- adjusted;
- rechecked.
Then proceed with the appropriate sealing method for the particular doorset and wall construction.
Once everything is permanently sealed, remedial adjustments become much more difficult.
The Final Test
The final test is simple:
Close the door.
Then open it.
Then close it again.
Look at it.
Listen to it.
Feel how it operates.
Check the margins.
Check the threshold.
Check the head.
Check the latch side.
Check the hinge side.
Check that it sits correctly in the stop.
Check that it is in wind.
Check that it isn’t binding.
Check that the seals are behaving as they should.
If something isn’t right, find the reason before modifying the door.
One Last Warning
If the ironmongery hasn’t been fitted yet, be careful when closing the door.
I’ve seen it happen.
You close the door to check everything and suddenly realise there is no handle.
Now you’re trapped on the wrong side of your own doorset.
Keep hold of the door and make sure you can get back out.
It sounds obvious.
But when you’re concentrating on getting everything perfect, these things happen.
FINAL CHECKLIST
Before moving on from the hanging stage, check:
Hinges
- Correct hinges
- Correct handing
- Hinges correctly seated
- Required intumescent protection fitted
- Screw holes correctly prepared
- Every required screw installed
- Screws not damaged or overdriven
Door operation
- Door opens freely
- Door closes freely
- No binding
- No snagging
- Door sits correctly in the frame
- Door sits correctly against the stop/rebate
Alignment
- Door/frame checked for square
- Diagonals checked where required
- Laser/straight-edge datum checked
- Door checked for being out of wind
- Head checked
- Hinge side checked
- Latch side checked
- Threshold checked
Building conditions
- Floor checked
- Rising floor considered
- Undercut checked
- Any required controlled lean properly assessed
- Frame movement checked after the door weight is applied
Final adjustment
- Cause of any problem established
- Frame adjusted before unnecessarily altering the door
- Wedges used carefully
- Lever used carefully
- Any small settlement carried out in a controlled manner
- Door checked again after every adjustment
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Hang the hinges on the door first.
- With lift-off hinges, take care with handing and finger traps.
- Removing the middle female hinge temporarily can make a difficult lift-off installation much easier.
- Position the door approximately 90 degrees to the frame when hanging.
- Start with the same hole every time — my preference is the bottom hole of the top hinge.
- Get each hinge properly seated before completing all the fixings.
- Always install the required intumescent hinge protection.
- Pre-drill hinge screw holes correctly.
- 3.5–4 mm is a useful working range I commonly use for many hardwood hinge screw applications, but the actual fixing requirements always take priority.
- Don’t force screws into timber.
- Let the chamfered screw head seat itself.
- Don’t keep driving once the screw has reached its seat.
- Be extremely careful with impact drivers.
- Work consistently to one side of the laser line.
- Check the door/frame for square.
- Once the door is hanging, the door becomes your datum.
- Prioritise the latch-side margin.
- Always check the head.
- Always check the threshold again once the door is operating.
- A rising floor can require a controlled doorset lean where necessary to prevent the door snagging, provided the resulting installation remains compliant with the doorset requirements.
- The 3 mm geometric guide helps demonstrate the effect of that small change.
- Don’t confuse a square doorset that has been deliberately leaned with a doorset that has been distorted out of square.
- Use the closed door as your straight reference when checking whether the frame is out of wind.
- A fixing can act as a fulcrum and cause another part of the frame to move.
- Natural bowing and flaring can occur.
- Hardwood wedges can twist a frame if used excessively.
- A small final correction is different from trying to force a badly installed frame into position.
- If the frame continues to move after the door is hung, investigate the structural opening and fixing arrangement.
- Don’t automatically plane the door to hide a frame problem.
- Use levers carefully and never crush the door edge.
- A controlled block-of-wood technique can help settle a final 1 mm where appropriate.
- Never strike the door or frame directly.
- Check the door again after every adjustment.
- Don’t seal the installation prematurely.
- The final test is the operating door, not the empty frame.
CONTINUE THE FIRE DOOR INSTALLATION SERIES
Part 6 — Preparing the Fire Door Leaf
← Previous
Part 7 — Hanging and Aligning the Fire Door
YOU ARE HERE
Part 8 — Fitting the Stop Lath
Next →
RELATED FIRE DOOR GUIDES
- Fire Door Installation – Part 1: Introduction & Overview
- Fire Door Installation – Part 2: Preparing for Fire Door Installation
- Fire Door Installation – Part 3: Checking the Fire Door Before Installation
- Fire Door Installation – Part 4: Preparing the Opening
- Fire Door Installation – Part 5: Installing and Aligning the Fire Door Frame
- Fire Door Hinges Explained
- Fire Door Hinge Installation
- Fire Door Frame Guide
- Fire Door Gaps Explained
- Fire Door Binding and Intumescent Seal Problems
- Fire Door Stop Laths Explained
- Fire Door Closers Explained
- Fire Door Ironmongery Guide
- Fire Door Maintenance and Adjustment
IMPORTANT
This guide is based on practical installation experience and is intended to explain the installation process and the problems that can arise on site.
Fire doorsets are tested and assessed as complete systems. Always follow the installation instructions supplied for the particular doorset, manufacturer, hardware, wall construction and supporting certification/test or assessment evidence.
Where a manufacturer’s documented installation method differs from a general technique described here, the manufacturer’s approved method takes priority.
