# How Many Doors Set in a Day?



## Boda (Jan 18, 2013)

Hey guys,

I recently started doing interior trim with the company I work for, normally I'm a backout guy or framer. I'm wondering how many interior doors per day I should be setting.

These have hoops, but none attached to the jambs already, had to cut down the jambs on almost every one cause the floor wasn't level and a bunch of spots had to trim the casing to fit.

Figure an 8 hour work day, subtract 15 mins for break and probably 30 mins for roll out/up. Combine that with getting the other guy started on window trim ect, Id say I spent 7 hours total to get 9 doors in. Wondering if that's good or bad. I was averaging 35 mins per door.


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## country_huck (Dec 2, 2009)

Seems like a good pace to me. 

With custom trim its more of a its takes as long as it takes to get it right. ( with in reason)

Production well.... I don't know anything about that.


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

Sounds good to me. Before I finished reading I was thinking about a half hour a. Door. Sounds like your right above that mark. You'll get faster.


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## Deckhead (Dec 9, 2010)

Depends on who framed and who poured. 20min a door is fast. Crappy framer crappy concrete guy could be north of 45-60 min a door.

When I was mostly doing trim I would not leave without getting in 10 really good days were between 15-18, best ever was 22 (every opening was spot on).


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## skillman (Sep 23, 2011)

The most me and a carpenter did in one day was 35 . Was new construction home with two exterior doors and one basement to garage to basement door . Rest where pre-hung doors with top and side legs pre cut molding from lumber yard . Hung door then trimmed them out . Don't remember the hours spent .


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## Boda (Jan 18, 2013)

Sounds like I'm doing ok.

The framers butchered it pretty good and the flooring guys were pretty bad as well giving me headaches. I had lots of doors near another wall so I had to play with it in the opening to try and limit the times I had to rip the leg casing.

Its new construction all paint package trim btw.


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## skillman (Sep 23, 2011)

The next house we did we put trim on one side of door then installed them . Put door an frame on horses the put trim on that way . Made it really fast for new homes .


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## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

I can do about 8. 

When I hang a door, I assemble the jamb I made in the shop, install jamb, (routed hinges in shop)
route door hinges, bore lockset, hang it, install door stop, mark the latch plate, drill and chisel, install casing and usually install lock set as most to es the doors are already finished.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

it depnds on the make of the door, how the openings are working and what not. i build close to 95% of the jambs so its going to take longer but the actual process of hanging the door only takes me about 15-20 mintues in a ideal situation if the r.o is good.. 

the last time i hung a prehung i fought with it for close to an hour because the hinges were garbage, not only did they have an incorrect bend on the leaf but the top hinge wasnt mortised deep enough.. the bottom hinge was too deep.. so it required shimming behind the hinges with cardboard.. bending the leaf with a wrench.. 

some guys i know who do production trim locally working on high end homes and high end condos can do upwards of 25 prehungs in a day.. they say if someone cant hang atleast 15 when they start working with them.. start looking for another job


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

You guys will think I'M nuts,been reading Finehome Building since issue #8. Over 20 yrs ago,on the cover as big as life was Larry Haun A.KA. very efficient carpenter hanging doors. Not pre-hung, the article he wrote stated in his hay day in production building in Ca. he was hanging over 100 doors a day,i kid you not. He wrote the book very efficient carpenter. In that case i would say he must have been.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

production work, pre hung, casing pre-installed one side, cut for the other side, openings are fine, about 10 - 15 minutes per door. If you need to modify a door, a jamb, trim, or the opening there is no correct time. 

Standard from the pre-hung shops here is for the door to be cased on one side. Installation is fast. Plumb the hinge side, nail the casing to the wall, then adjust the gap and nail the headder piece, adjust the gap and nail the latch side. Shim and nail the jamb, then install the casing on the un-cased side. If things go smooth 10 minutes is plenty of time for one door.


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## darthdude (Dec 30, 2012)

Wow, granted I do lots of remodel stuff where walls and openings are almost never perfect and you have to fudge/scribe things often, but if I have 6 pre hung doors to set in a day I'm usually stoked to get them all done and trimmed:blink:. I did hang, strip flash, trim and head flash + install lock set on a exterior door yesterday in like 2.5 hours. It went into a perfect opening on an addition though..... 15 doors in a day sounds awesome!:boxing:


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Here is the article from '89 i previously mentioned.



http://www.finehomebuilding.com/PDF/Free/021053038.pdf


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## jlsconstruction (Apr 26, 2011)

fjn said:


> You guys will think I'M nuts,been reading Finehome Building since issue #8. Over 20 yrs ago,on the cover as big as life was Larry Haun A.KA. very efficient carpenter hanging doors. Not pre-hung, the article he wrote stated in his hay day in production building in Ca. he was hanging over 100 doors a day,i kid you not. He wrote the book very efficient carpenter. In that case i would say he must have been.


That's a door every 4.8 mins for an 8 hour day.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

jlsconstruction said:


> That's a door every 4.8 mins for an 8 hour day.






That is insane. I posted the article,it is in black and white, between 80-120 doors a day is how the article reads.


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## Deckhead (Dec 9, 2010)

Lumber yard sells doors precased one side and i won't touch them because it just seems to me that if i can't slide shims in each way it leaves too much room to one side of the jamb. I like to install my own stop because prehungs almost never are right after drywall etc.

When i used to hang jail doors i was able to hang about 90 a day to swinging but they were habersham and steelcraft doors which had the frame already set while masons were there. Hinge all doors one day fall back and swing them the next took around 5 minutes a door but i couldn't imagine wood doors and frames in that amount of time.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Just curious,do any of you guys have lumber yards that sell pre-hung doors with split jambs ? Those come cased both sides.


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## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

Boda said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I recently started doing interior trim with the company I work for, normally I'm a backout guy or framer. I'm wondering how many interior doors per day I should be setting.
> 
> ...


When I was in the carpenters union, if you didn't hange 10 doors a day, you didn't make wages. Sounds like you are right on track. :thumbsup:


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Split jambs seem to have gone the way of the dodo bird around here. Can't say I miss them.

While it's certainly possible to slam pre-hungs up in 10-15 minutes each, I'd need a perfectly plumb and square opening for that. Haven't seen one yet.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

thom said:


> production work, pre hung, casing pre-installed one side, cut for the other side, openings are fine, about 10 - 15 minutes per door. If you need to modify a door, a jamb, trim, or the opening there is no correct time.
> 
> Standard from the pre-hung shops here is for the door to be cased on one side. Installation is fast. Plumb the hinge side, nail the casing to the wall, then adjust the gap and nail the headder piece, adjust the gap and nail the latch side. Shim and nail the jamb, then install the casing on the un-cased side. If things go smooth 10 minutes is plenty of time for one door.


Ah, the production finish days....

Spread doors & casing. Nail casing on hinge side with pin tacker.
Set unit in opening, plumb hinge side & nail off. Set reveals & nail off. Shim other side & nail off. 7-10 minutes per door, whether it was out of whack or not....


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## EricBrancard (Jun 8, 2012)

I usually do one door in <30 min depending on the opening. 

Prehung door, bored with strike pocket already routered out. 2 sides assembled casing - mitered, bicuited, glued and Hartford clamped. Perfect joints before they even get to the site. 

Check opening, cut jamb legs to achieve level. Plumb and shim hinge side while making sure door doesn't become "loaded" - meaning it doesn't want to spring back at all because the jamb leg has a twist in it. Nail off. 

Set strike side according to reveal, shim and nail off. 

Cut legs on premade casings to length. Nail off.


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## Boda (Jan 18, 2013)

Well I should have mentioned these are on all hard wood floors or tile to hard wood, very few were carpet. So that makes it a bit harder.

Here was my process....

I would stick the door in the opening, no casing on one side (they sent the hoops but none attached). I would then check to see if I could get the 3 1/2" casing on if I was close to a wall (which most were) by pushing the door all the way to the strike side, so I wouldn't have to rip the casing.

Once I got the hinge side plumb, I found my margin on the head looked like dog crap and had to trim the jamb on the strike side to bring it down, since it was almost all hardwood I couldn't just slide it down below a 3/8" spacer like for carpet. I used a multi-tool (flush cut/ vibrator) which made it go quicker than taking the door out and lying it on its side and using a saw.

Then I would shim out the strike side and attached the hoops, which almost all of them needed 1 leg trimmed to match the jamb I had to cut down.

Then I would adjust the stop and nail it will longer nails.

That's it, no hardware or anything, we do that after paint on the final trim.

The openings where I had hardwood to tile in the bathrooms I had to check the pitch with my speed square cause the hardwood ramped up to the tile and cut the jambs before I put it in the hole.

I checked the floor on most of these and it didn't seem that badly out of level, I had to typically cut a 1/4" off every strike side jamb and once off the hinge side. It had me wondering if I was doing something wrong or if they were just making the jambs 2 different sizes!!


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## StrongTower (Mar 4, 2010)

Not to hijack the thread, but I've never understood the 'casing one side of the door' and hanging the door. I realize how fast this would make the process, but I want to know how the fit & finish 'actually' looks like given almost every opening is cross legged to some point, crowned studs and uneven drywall. I ask because I am a production style trim carpenter and always looking for a faster, smarter way.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

StrongTower said:


> Not to hijack the thread, but I've never understood the 'casing one side of the door' and hanging the door. I realize how fast this would make the process, but I want to know how the fit & finish 'actually' looks like given almost every opening is cross legged to some point, crowned studs and uneven drywall. I ask because I am a production style trim carpenter and always looking for a faster, smarter way.


A Single Jack and a 4x6 block adjusted wayward walls....

The doors actually came out pretty darn good with this method...:thumbsup:

*ALL READERS*, Please remember I am referring to straight up, no BS, Git 'er done production Tract work...


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

griz said:


> A Single Jack and a 4x6 block adjusted wayward walls....
> 
> The doors actually came out pretty darn good with this method...:thumbsup:
> 
> *ALL READERS*, Please remember I am referring to straight up, no BS, Git 'er done production Tract work...


Block and a sledge :whistling:thumbup:


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## Big Shoe (Jun 16, 2008)

Got a job coming up in a week or so. 5 doors. every opening screwed up. 4 of the doors are within arms reach of each other and all the headers are different heights And some of the most god awful texture I've ever seen.

Figured a day for install


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## darthdude (Dec 30, 2012)

Big Shoe said:


> Got a job coming up in a week or so. 5 doors. every opening screwed up. 4 of the doors are within arms reach of each other and all the headers are different heights And some of the most god awful texture I've ever seen.
> 
> Figured a day for install


See, this is what I was talking about:laughing:. Welcome to my 4-6 door a day world:clap:. I can see well under 30 minutes a door with a nail gun and decent framing. I always have to shim everything like crazy and we prefer to use screws which takes a little more time.


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## PCI (Jun 8, 2012)

Boda, I'm no production guy and it takes me about the same time you're taking. Sounds to me from the other posts that you are doing fine for time. 

I've seen guys install the jambs, case and then hang the door. I've never been able to do this with pre-hungs I've purchased. Like a previous poster said, the hinges are so poorly installed it is criminal.


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## chris klee (Feb 5, 2008)

best i ever did was a house that was basicly new construction. the house was rotted and we ended up replacing all of the walls and a whole new 2nd floor.
i trimmed the whole house myself. i spent 1 day stocking everything. the next day i set 12 pre-hung doors just after lunch. then after lunch i cut all the trim and went and nailed it off. 
this house was carpet, so that gives some wiggle room. i would set the door in the opening, shim so the hinge side was plumb, make the jambs the right to get revel right, then nail. shim the hinges and replace center screws with longer once into the studs. 
when doing the trim, i cut all the legs the same, and most of the widths were the same. i pre-cut all of it in an hour and put it up in an hour. 

the window trim i did similar.

on higher end houses with nicer trim, the floors are usually wood, so that makes it harder, plus doors that are close you have to level the heads so they look right. those types are much much slower.


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## skyhook (Mar 17, 2007)

Boda said:


> Well I should have mentioned these are on all hard wood floors or tile to hard wood, very few were carpet. So that makes it a bit harder.
> 
> Here was my process....
> 
> ...


I always back bevel both sides 2 degrees (to prevent hinge binding) and leave 3/4" undercut for air movement.
Applied stop makes it easy to get that _kadunk_ sound that everybody loves, if you put it on last. 
Also leave a CC thickness between the door and stop for paint.
A felt dot on the stop near the latch keeps it from slamming. :thumbsup:

I remember hanging a door for a sargent major in the Marine Corp. When I was done, he said Dayam, I didn't know it was gonna be a work of art. 
I took it as a compliment. :thumbup:


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## FramingPro (Jan 31, 2010)

jlsconstruction said:


> That's a door every 4.8 mins for an 8 hour day.


He just means setting the jambs and the door. Not the trim, the way he framed he would set the trimmers in a manner that would not require shims...set and forget.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

I used to do a 3200 sf house 9 doors - msg trim, wrap windows and base in 25 hours BY my self. Ohh and I did all the locksets 

The other guys did the house in 40hr x 2 men....so it would depend on your drive and motovation.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 17, 2008)

ive never understood why guys hang a door with the casing already installed.. ive been called in to fix prehungs that were hung simply by shooting through the casing to hang it plumb.. as soon as someone knocks that door frame with a piece of furniture when moving in or out the door frame is going to go out of alignment.. 

i shim my doors so their solid, then to lock it in even further ill remove the middle screw in the hinge and replace it with a long screw. plus glue my casing to the jamb and wall.. the only issues ive had is do to the door swelling from high humidity in the summer. simply plane off 1/16 and good to go again


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

FramingPro said:


> He just means setting the jambs and the door. Not the trim, the way he framed he would set the trimmers in a manner that would not require shims...set and forget.








That still is one heck of a fast process,i do not even think i could unpack 100 doors in 8 hrs. :laughing::laughing:


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## Roofcheck (Dec 27, 2011)

I like Griz's take here. It doesn't necessarily take longer to do it right, systematic everything is key. Trac builders do the same thing over and over and over and systematically build speed. 

Living in Charleston, SC I was able to get a dose of speed production. After 20 or so homes of the same repetitive motions. Working alone a house a day was difficult but 1300- 1700 sq ft houses with splits, 10-14 doors, sills with under case, base a day. The larger homes were deceptive as they had two floors yet basically the same amount if doors but I did it, 5 houses a week every week.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

StrongTower said:


> Not to hijack the thread, but I've never understood the 'casing one side of the door' and hanging the door. I realize how fast this would make the process, but I want to know how the fit & finish 'actually' looks like given almost every opening is cross legged to some point, crowned studs and uneven drywall. I ask because I am a production style trim carpenter and always looking for a faster, smarter way.





If the trim carpenters are not the same guys that framed the building if at all possible,visit building before dry wall is installed. Check to see if all blocking is installed where needed,bath,kitchen,stair wells,where chair rail goes etc. Also,this is the time to cross hatch all door openings with string lines "adjust" as needed as previously mentioned with jack or sledge. In a previous issue of Finehome Building,there was an extensive article that went into detail what a trim carpenter needs to check prior to dry wall to make his job go smooth.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

woodworkbykirk said:


> ive never understood why guys hang a door with the casing already installed.. ive been called in to fix prehungs that were hung simply by shooting through the casing to hang it plumb.. as soon as someone knocks that door frame with a piece of furniture when moving in or out the door frame is going to go out of alignment..


If the openings aren't plumb and square they need a new framer. A good framer knows that this is critical, getting it right isn't difficult, it is part of his job.

Casing installed one side speeds up the process. Nail the casing to the wall to hold the jamb and door in place, plumb and square, then shim, nail the jamb, then case the other side. If you cannot properly shim a door with casing on one side you aren't a finish carpenter. Really, it isn't rocket science.


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## EricBrancard (Jun 8, 2012)

thom said:


> If the openings aren't plumb and square they need a new framer. A good framer knows that this is critical, getting it right isn't difficult, it is part of his job.
> 
> Casing installed one side speeds up the process. Nail the casing to the wall to hold the jamb and door in place, plumb and square, then shim, nail the jamb, then case the other side. If you cannot properly shim a door with casing on one side you aren't a finish carpenter. Really, it isn't rocket science.


Kind of counter productive to speak in such absolutes. "You need a new framer," "you aren't a finish carpenter," etc. Textbook is one thing, real life is another. The wood today is horrible. Bowed, bent, twisted, etc. stuff moves after it is installed, there are variances with the sizing of lumber, etc. So, I would say that part of being a good carpenter is being able to create a good finished product with the flawed materials and conditions that are part of reality.


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## Birch (Jul 20, 2009)

Plumb, Level, Square, Straight, Perfection, are concepts . . . :blink:


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## EricBrancard (Jun 8, 2012)

Birch said:


> Plumb, Level, Square, Straight, Perfection, are concepts . . . :blink:


Are you really not getting what I am saying? Is every, single opening you frame perfect? Meaning, X, Y, Z axis perpendicular or parallel to each other when needed and all dead plumb and square? Now, does the same hold true by the time the finish carpenter comes in the set the door? How about 60 years later when renovations are being done to that same structure? If that was the case, every carpenter would be using flat shims that were exactly cut for the difference between the RO and jamb legs and all the casing would come pre cut to the exact side of the door ready to drop in place by any low skill laborer. But, as we all know, that isn't the case.


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## Deckhead (Dec 9, 2010)

thom said:


> If you cannot properly shim a door with casing on one side you aren't a finish carpenter. Really, it isn't rocket science.


Wow. I would never trust casing to hold the jamb AND the door on solid core hardwood doors but what do I know, I'm not a real carpenter.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

I would never hang a door without the shims at multiple locations


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## Birch (Jul 20, 2009)

EricBrancard said:


> Are you really not getting what I am saying? Is every, single opening you frame perfect? Meaning, X, Y, Z axis perpendicular or parallel to each other when needed and all dead plumb and square? Now, does the same hold true by the time the finish carpenter comes in the set the door? How about 60 years later when renovations are being done to that same structure? If that was the case, every carpenter would be using flat shims that were exactly cut for the difference between the RO and jamb legs and all the casing would come pre cut to the exact side of the door ready to drop in place by any low skill laborer. But, as we all know, that isn't the case.


Uhmmmm . . . Concepts . . . . General Ideas . . .


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Deckhead said:


> Wow. I would never trust casing to hold the jamb AND the door on solid core hardwood doors but what do I know, I'm not a real carpenter.





Snobnd said:


> I would never hang a door without the shims at multiple locations





Birch said:


> Uhmmmm . . . Concepts . . . . General Ideas . . .


Think outside the box....:thumbup:

My reference to this thread is it is pure production...

If you guys have not experienced pure production work, some of these ideas will seem very foreign/strange to you....


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## IrishAsh (Aug 2, 2011)

skillman said:


> The next house we did we put trim on one side of door then installed them . Put door an frame on horses the put trim on that way . Made it really fast for new homes .


Very good this is the way I do it and find it super quick unly need to plumb hinge side pop on you door throw level away just pack all margins till good you could be down to 10 mins a set with this system. 

But BODA to answer your question...
this is top time like you say badly uneven floor finishs, having to rip down architrave etc. All add minutes so I would say you are not doing badly at all my man as you get more under your belt you might squeeze another 2 into you day.


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## Boda (Jan 18, 2013)

EricBrancard said:


> Kind of counter productive to speak in such absolutes. "You need a new framer," "you aren't a finish carpenter," etc. Textbook is one thing, real life is another. The wood today is horrible. Bowed, bent, twisted, etc. stuff moves after it is installed, there are variances with the sizing of lumber, etc. So, I would say that part of being a good carpenter is being able to create a good finished product with the flawed materials and conditions that are part of reality.


Pretty much this. I noticed the floor was not level from jamb to jamb in most cases, but I stopped caring what the problem was after the first few. I just went about fixing it.

Because at that point there was nothing I could do about what was there, only the finish product I was producing.


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

griz said:


> Think outside the box....:thumbup:
> 
> My reference to this thread is it is pure production...
> 
> If you guys have not experienced pure production work, some of these ideas will seem very foreign/strange to you....


Last spring I did some siding on a production tract farm. My buddy warned me, told me to leave my custom, quality remodel mind at home. One box of caulk means one box of caulk. :laughing: It was hard for me, and I only did a couple houses so I never really got into the swing of things. The full time guys could do one a day by themselves. Lap fronts and trim backs and sides.

I did see the before and after effects of production framing,door setting, roofing, etc., though. In and out. I would be gone one day and the roof was roofed and they were on to the next one, during a rain storm. One day hang rock, next day mud, next day do it again. Of course, trying to trim a door that was 1/2 inch out of the framing was a bit tough. :whistling

Crazy pace, little money and lots of stress. Not my cup o' tea.


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## BlueRidgeGreen (Apr 21, 2012)

Hanging 100 doors in a day, or 1 in 10 minutes, is like riding with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

I read and gently weep for the state of fine American craftsmanship.


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## Spencer (Jul 6, 2005)

I cant imagine setting a door without shims giving support behind the hinge side either. I understand the cheap/don't last production carpentry concept but there is no way a door will stand up to any kind of heavy use if its just fastened by the casing around it.

I usually shim just above the bottom hinge, just above the middle hinge, and at the very top of the door. No shims behind top hinge and use long screws on top hinge. This allowed for adjustment in case of abuse or who knows what. If the door starts to hit after the kids put it through hell, you can just go in and give the long screw some adjustment and it pulls the door in and gets the margin right again. A guy showed me this and it is now SOP for me.


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## IrishAsh (Aug 2, 2011)

Boda said:


> Pretty much this. I noticed the floor was not level from jamb to jamb in most cases, but I stopped caring what the problem was after the first few. I just went about fixing it.
> 
> Because at that point there was nothing I could do about what was there, only the finish product I was producing.


Exactly mate just solve and correct your own problems to leave your unit 100%. Otherwise you will end up stripping the whole floor back to the joists haha

Unless of course its in your package and the client is willing to do it on hour rate?


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## IrishAsh (Aug 2, 2011)

BlueRidgeGreen said:


> Hanging 100 doors in a day, or 1 in 10 minutes, is like riding with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
> 
> I read and gently weep for the state of fine American craftsmanship.


There is no way I would hang large numbers like that 10 minutes is best possible time personaly.
You also have to understand we are talking about pre hung door units the hard work is already done ie. hinged, margins to an extend locks morticed out. This does not allow for cutting of architraves loading out moving from unit to unit etc. Just straight fitting.

Iv been told that I am good but not that good haha


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## JWilliams (Nov 11, 2008)

When I was doing commercial work I was able to do 2 to 3 units a day. the smaller units had about 6 to 7 pre hung doors. the bigger units had around 12 pre hung doors.How much I got done really depended on what units I were able to get into to hang them


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## blackbear (Feb 29, 2008)

i match all my top jamb heights. i hate inconsistent paint lines, especially with tight ceiling to door trim reveals. takes me a little longer than most but i dont do production so i get paid to do it this way.


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

1... one


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

country_huck said:


> Seems like a good pace to me.
> 
> With custom trim its more of a its takes as long as it takes to get it right. ( with in reason)
> 
> Production well.... I don't know anything about that.


Production is a different animal. I used to trim for Tilson on the side. Me and a buddy trimmed whole houses including doors in one day. I still have nightmares :whistling No shims, no screws, :laughing:

Thats what you get for what we were getting paid :whistling:laughing:


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

blackbear said:


> i match all my top jamb heights. i hate inconsistent paint lines, especially with tight ceiling to door trim reveals. takes me a little longer than most but i dont do production so i get paid to do it this way.


Exactly :thumbsup:

When I was doing commercial, I could set 7 Timely frames with solid cores an hour alone. High rises me and my crew could do a floor an hour. 

Different than custom :thumbsup:


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

We set one 387lb Pella door today. It took all we had to get it upstairs. That's right upstairs. Where else would you set a 387lb door than the second floor...


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

StrongTower said:


> Not to hijack the thread, but I've never understood the 'casing one side of the door' and hanging the door. I realize how fast this would make the process, but I want to know how the fit & finish 'actually' looks like given almost every opening is cross legged to some point, crowned studs and uneven drywall. I ask because I am a production style trim carpenter and always looking for a faster, smarter way.



I started setting my doors like this....

Set-up cross line laser to check plumb, level and square. Use a level to check how plumb and or cross-legged the walls is.

Cut jamb legs so the head sits level, laser makes this stupid easy.

Case one side of the opening, on smaller casing where its hard to get a strong joint, I just apply the legs and leave the head off.

Place jamb in opening, center it up and send one 2" nail home in the casing next to the top hinge.

Plumb hinge side with laser...nail off casing as you go.

Head should be level, but check and make any minor adjustments as needed...nail off head casing from hinge to strike side.

Plumb down the strike side with your tape measure. Make it parallel to the hinge side. Work top down, nail off as you go. 

Now you have a dead plumb level and square opening on one side....
If the jamb is cross legged, push the jamb in or out into plane, place shim behind jamb, nail through jamb, shim and into stud. Now your jamb is plumb, level, square and in plane.

I add shims behind the top and bottom hinges and at the strike and bottom of the strike side, nail off through jamb, shim and into stud, make sure your jamb is square to the wall while doing it...again I do it with a laser. I set it up perpendicular to the wall so the jamb gets set parallel with the laser.

Case other side.

Done.

It too me one and a half days to do these doors....including making the jambs and cutting the openings (framing was already done)


Single door went here...




There was a bunch of work to do to the doors themselves tho...


Double door here....


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## Mile011 (Jun 1, 2013)

Well,
I never did commercial work and hanging 9 or more doors a day is like a night more for me.
I do lots of exchanging old doors in 70 and more years old houses and if I can do 3 or 4 a day, that was a very good day
And I'm talking about 10 to 12 hrs day, lol


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

ohiohomedoctor said:


> We set one 387lb Pella door today. It took all we had to get it upstairs. That's right upstairs. Where else would you set a 387lb door than the second floor...


Third story.....

We packed sections of cabinets for my condo remodel up to the fourth floor..... Welcome to the lake :thumbsup::laughing:


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

Good point... It can always be worse.


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Exactly. .... theres always 4th and 5th floors. .. or 6th...


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## Irishslave (Jun 20, 2010)

Pre hung doors today.......the 6 panel cardboard finger jointed frames are junk. I hate them. I have fitted new solid pine doors in old jambs and done many in one day (can't remember how many) and this is more exacting IMO than slamming a pre hung. Square, level and plumb openings always speeds the process along. cutting heads, heavy shimming always slows things considerably


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## Jaws (Dec 20, 2010)

Irishslave said:


> Pre hung doors today.......the 6 panel cardboard finger jointed frames are junk. I hate them. I have fitted new solid pine doors in old jambs and done many in one day (can't remember how many) and this is more exacting IMO than slamming a pre hung. Square, level and plumb openings always speeds the process along. cutting heads, heavy shimming always slows things considerably


:thumbsup:


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