Included, and what it is not
- ✓ Measure the lining at head, middle and cill
- ✓ Trim the leaf for an even gap
- ✓ Mortice hinges and a latch
- ✓ Hang, adjust the keep, and check the swing
- ✓ Undercut for carpet or a hard floor
Ways this job is specified
Hollow-core
Light and cheap. Fine for a cupboard or a bedroom if the skin stays intact. Once the face is holed or the lock has been forced, there is little inside to repair.
Solid-core and engineered
Heavier, quieter, and worth three hinges. These are the doors people actually live with in halls and living rooms.
Oak and hardwood
Heavier again. They need a proper hinge pattern and screws that reach the stud, not only the lining.
Glazed internal
The glass is part of the leaf. We hang the door; we do not recut a sealed unit as a glazing-only job.
On the day
01
Measure the lining
Width and height at more than one point, plus how far the floor runs under the door. Imperial frames are written down before a blank is cut.
02
Cut and hinge
About 2–3mm at the head and the sides on a normal internal door, and a larger undercut over a carpet than over a hard floor. Hinges are morticed so the leaf does not bind.
03
Latch and leave
The keep is moved to the latch. We open and close the door, then clear shavings before we go.
What changes the price
Hanging an internal door in a frame that stays is typically £70–£150 in labour if you supply a door that is the right thickness. Supply and fit of a hollow or solid internal door is often £150–£400, more for oak. A new lining adds roughly £80–£200. A whole 3-bed house of seven to nine doors is often £900–£2,500 supplied and fitted. London and the South East sit higher. The quote moves with how many leaves, whether the lining is square, and whether the door is solid.
Symptoms people search
A door that sticks only in winter has usually swollen on the lock edge. A door that drops onto the latch has loose top-hinge screws or only two hinges under a heavy leaf. A door that scrapes after a new floor needs an undercut, not a plane across the face. A hollow door with a split skin is finished; easing will not put the board back.
Before and after the hang
If the leaf is solid timber, stand it in the room for a couple of days before it is hung so it takes on the house moisture. Prime the top, bottom and edges before hanging if it will be painted; bare edges soak up hallway damp. After the hang, do not force a swollen door — that tears the hinge screws. Wait for a dry spell or have the edge eased.
What fails later
A decent solid or engineered internal door lasts as long as you want it. What fails is the ironmongery: hinges loosen and latches wear. Hollow-core doors are the exception, because a damaged skin is not worth repairing. Fashion dates a door long before the timber does.
Doing it yourself
A competent DIYer can hang one standard internal door in a square, sound lining if they can mortice a hinge and set a latch. Allow a few hours the first time. Call a fitter when the lining is out of square, the door is oak or glazed, several doors are being done in a day, or the door is a fire door. A bad hang is obvious every time the door is used, and putting it right costs as much as doing it once.
Outside this job
- A door onto a stair or from a garage is a fire door, not this page
- We do not rebuild a masonry wall to create a new opening
- We do not plaster and decorate the whole room after a lining change
- We will not plane a certified fire door past the maker’s trim limit
Questions about internal door fitting
About 45–90 minutes for an experienced fitter on a square lining, longer if the leaf is oak, the lining is crooked, or a new lining is going in. A first DIY attempt is often half a day.
Yes, if it is the right thickness for the lining and wide and tall enough to trim. A door that is already too narrow or too short cannot be made larger.
Prime all edges, the top and the bottom before hanging. Faces can be finished before or after. Bare end grain at the bottom is what swells first.
About 2–3mm at the head and the sides is the usual carpentry clearance so the door does not bind. The bottom gap depends on the floor: more over a thick carpet, less over timber or tile. Fire doors use the gap in their own instructions, which is tighter.
A pocket door needs a stud cavity and is on the sliding-door page. Bi-fold room dividers are on the bi-fold page. This page is side-hung room doors.
The door has dropped, the keep is in the wrong place, or the lining has moved. Resetting the hinges and the keep fixes it more often than a new latch.
Other door jobs
Quote for internal door fitting
Say how many doors, whether you have already bought them, and the town. We reply with a written quote.