# Quick Door Hanger



## brendanstl

WOW!!!!! These clips are great for HO but I would never even consider using them. Split jamb doors were made for a reason, and for everyone who is complaining about inserting a shim after the installed casing is nailed from one side maybe you should try taking a five gallon bucket and a few pieces of 2x6 pine or cedar cut to a little under 3 1/2" long and cut them on your miter saw to various thickness's so you dont have to worry about a tapered shim twisting the jamb. I run trim packages in very large homes with a lot of doors and I usually have 3 or 4 five gallon buckets in my trailer full of these shims at all times, it works great.


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## Trim40

:laughing:


brendanstl said:


> WOW!!!!! These clips are great for HO but I would never even consider using them. Split jamb doors were made for a reason, and for everyone who is complaining about inserting a shim after the installed casing is nailed from one side maybe you should try taking a five gallon bucket and a few pieces of 2x6 pine or cedar cut to a little under 3 1/2" long and cut them on your miter saw to various thickness's so you dont have to worry about a tapered shim twisting the jamb. I run trim packages in very large homes with a lot of doors and I usually have 3 or 4 five gallon buckets in my trailer full of these shims at all times, it works great.


Only 3-4 buckets of shims, what are you a lightweight :laughing:


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## brendanstl

Trim40 said:


> :laughing:
> Only 3-4 buckets of shims, what are you a lightweight :laughing:


Yep


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## RTRCon

I also have a bucket of assorted non-tapered shims I use to plumb the hinge side before I set the door.. Use tapered shims on the lock side.. I've never hung a split jamb door up here in 20 years of doing trimwork:blink: must be an eastcoast thing? I've only done 2 jobs that have had the casings come out pre cut..


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## custrel

I dunno. I've never used those clips, or the nail trim to one side of the door method, but they seem perfectly acceptable for HOLLOW CORE interior doors. I'd give them a try.

For solid core doors though... I'd be dubious about not shimming the hinge side of the door... or use clips on both sides. Which begs the question, are the clips cheaper than shims?

I can get a 42 pack of cedar shims for about $3, how much do those clips run?

Additionally, those clips won't work if you run into door throat issues where the rock has a huge WOW or the framing is way out.


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## naptown CR

You guys don't have split jambs
they are the greatest thin ever invented 
10 minutes to install, shim and case an interior door.
Best thing since sliced bread or the zipper.


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## Cjeff

No split jambs or pre-cased here.

I seen a guy who plumbs his shims on the hinge side. Installs door, Nails the hinge side, then squares the jamb to the door and nails/shims the rest. Then casing.

Anyone do that?


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## Tom Struble

no spray foam:shutup:never heard of such a thing:blink:


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## jarhead0531

Cjeff--

That is exactly how I hang doors. My 6' level has the most common hinge heights marked on it so I just put my level againts hinge side jack get everything nice and plumb, then I always check the floor/sill to make sure everything is nice and level there, if it isn't may lower/raise hing side jamb a bit and tack that puppy in place.

Then I usually shim two spots on the top, and 4 spots on the strike side to get the reveal looking good. If the door is decent quality I won't have to shim 4 spots on strike side, but most the time I do. Wish there was plenty of cheap/straight/stable wood for the door companies to use instead of that FJ crap they use on the cheap doors.


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## jlhaslip

Cjeff said:


> No split jambs or pre-cased here.
> 
> I seen a guy who plumbs his shims on the hinge side. Installs door, Nails the hinge side, then squares the jamb to the door and nails/shims the rest. Then casing.
> 
> Anyone do that?


That's what I was referring to above, but I use a plumb bob to set the shims rather than a level.
I've been meaning to get back to this thread and explain how and when I do this method.

Maybe tonight after supper... :whistling


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## Tonyeo

That is how I do it, shim and plumb hinge side before installing jamb.
According to the website $4:25 a pack of 6 can't beat that price


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## leakygoose

This is like the thread of ''Hack & Go carpentry'' ,it's freaking embarrassing.

Split jambs /sliced bread , :whistling Thats mobile home **** there buddy !


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## D.Foster

Early in my career i worked in a mod home company on the finish end. All they used were split jambs(no shims).They wanted those boxes movin!!! I was not a fan:no: Runnin Base in closets with no light!! I never SAW a mistake!:laughing:


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## katoman

Anyone also use a spreader piece to keep your jambs the same distance apart and parralel with each other?

Also keeps you square with the wall.


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## Willie T

katoman said:


> Anyone also use a spreader piece to keep your jambs the same distance apart and parralel with each other?
> 
> Also keeps you square with the wall.


When setting steel jambs in blockwork or formed concrete walls, we use a full sheet of plywood cut to fit square, and pull the jamb edges into square (perpendicular) with wires and turnbuckles.


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## Mike772

Never tried the clips......and just don't think they would suit me or my method. To each their own....

Years ago I was a trim carp for a commercial company. Speed, not quality, was their motto. (Infact they had a sign in the office: Don't tell me how good of a job you did today, instead tell me how much you got done today.)

We built a developement full of condos, and they ordered the prehung doors cased one side. Sure it was fast. But the punch list was long, fixing doors that were spring loaded. Meaning get them about an inch of closing and let go. (Tilted hinge jamb causing a bind) Some of them would spring back pretty hard. Note: I didn't set those doors, that was why I was put on punchlist. It sucked fixing those as they were shimmed from the outside only, which is why the jamb tipped so bad.

My normal method:
I start by nailing off the hinge jamb - pairs of nails. A set above the top hinge, set above the middle hinge, and a set below the bottom hinge. I shim both sides of the hinge jamb, shimming above or below my nails to get the effect I'm after. I constantly watch the head jamb, up at the strike side to see if it is aligned within the RO. If it isn't and needs to move one way or another, I pound in the appropiate top shim to cause it to move.

Then I plumb up the hinge jamb, using the door almost closed with the level on it noting margins and making plumb. Then plumb the outside of the hinge jamb with my jamb level. 

I don't need to bore you with the strike side, but I shim it as well from both sides as well.

I should also say that for insurance, I replace a top hinge screw with a longer one so I can catch the shoulder stud.

For my own custom homes, I pull the stop off at the stain shop. Doors get hung, knobs installed, then the stop gets nailed on. Clients really enjoy a door that shuts and has zero slop.


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## The Coastal Craftsman

Wow it would be nice to even find a wall in the houses i work in that is square and plumb to be able to even use a system like that. Seems i go ott when i hang doors though. I cut 6x4 pieces of ply in different thicknesses and then use them as shims behind the hinges and then use 1 3" screw through every hinge into the jacks. Same goes for the latch plate side.


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## TimNJ

BCConstruction said:


> Wow it would be nice to even find a wall in the houses i work in that is square and plumb to be able to even use a system like that. Seems i go ott when i hang doors though. I cut 6x4 pieces of ply in different thicknesses and then use them as shims behind the hinges and then use 1 3" screw through every hinge into the jacks. Same goes for the latch plate side.


All I do is hang doors and all I can say about that system is....in a perfect world. Of course he is hanging a closet door, so when you run into the bowed studs you don't see what is happening on the inside of that closet. 
I never hang a door in the jamb. I rough set the jamb alone (remove stops on interior doors) only on the hinge side top and bottom fastener, then pop the door on the hinges to fine tune the reveals and adjust for racked framing etc. Once I get the reveals good and make sure the door is closing square to the latch side jamb then I run long screws into each hinge. I also screw all my jambs instead of nailing. Screws let me tweek the jambs up and down the length to keep the reveals just right and when I'm done I put the stop back on to hide all the fastening points. I also use Kwikset latch plates because they have the little slot that lets you easily adjust the tang so you have a nice solid "shut".
Also for me hanging a door also means trimming it. So I guess I'll never win the fastest door hanger contest.:no:
That system reminds me of a lot of the entry doors I run into... 3 16's banged into the brick moulding and that's it.
PS. I spray foam all my jambs, not just entry doors.


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## BuildersII

So... they've invented L-Brackets?

Also, I don't consider a door "hung" until the casing is on, nail holes filled and the hardware has been installed. What they did with brackets, I can do just as quickly with a nail gun (or finish screws) and shims.


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## RMcBride

Cjeff said:


> No split jambs or pre-cased here.
> 
> I seen a guy who plumbs his shims on the hinge side. Installs door, Nails the hinge side, then squares the jamb to the door and nails/shims the rest. Then casing.
> 
> Anyone do that?



I have always done it that way.

I also feel like split jamb doors are the devil. I know they account for variances in wall thickness, but the ones you can get these days with the mills all laying off the experienced guys are so junky I'd prefer normal doors. We have a lot of problems with improperly routed split jambs and doors without the hinges mortised out completely.


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