There are many projects around a home that are relatively easy to do on your own. At Nick’s Building Supply, we know that a lot of our customers that buy our pre-hung doors have some to a significant amount of experience in their own home repairs and renovations.

While some companies will tell people that buying a pre-hung door will allow them to save the cost of hiring a professional carpenter to do the installation, we are not one of those companies. Instead, we would like to explain why we recommend hiring a professional to do the installation, and then you can make up your own mind.

Pre-hung Doors are Heavy

Our pre-hung doors are solid wood doors, which includes the frame as well. Then, on top of the weight of the door you also have the solid wood frame and the glass in the door. If you have selected double doors, or doors with sidelights and a transom, the weight just keeps piling on.

Being able to move the doors around, to remove the door and place the frame in the rough opening, and then to ensure it is square and secured to the house takes more than just one person. While you may have helpful friends, if they don’t know what to do, the door and the frame can be dropped or banged around, resulting in damage or breakage of the glass before the installation is complete.

Level and Squaring Steps are Critical

While the pre-hung door comes with the frame in place and all constructed, it does have to be meticulously leveled and then effectively secured in place. If the frame for the door is not leveled, it will not sit square and will need to be repositioned, adding to the risk of damage or problems.

Secondly, if the frame is not leveled, squared and secured perfectly, the door will not operate correctly and this will get worse over time. This may include the door not closing properly, the door swinging open or closed on its own, or the door dragging or rubbing on the frame or the threshold.

The latter reason is why sometimes adjustments have to be made to the rough opening if this wasn’t done correctly. With a professional carpenter installing your pre-hung doors, these corrections can be made on the spot, allowing your door to be in place as soon as possible, also preventing any risk of damage while waiting for installation.