Hang a Pre-Hung Door: Hinge Side Plumb First, Then Chase the Reveals
The Problem
A pre-hung door looks like it should be easy — the door's already on the jamb — but there are two things to get right at once: the frame has to be plumb so the door doesn't swing itself open or shut, and the gaps around the slab (the reveals) have to be even so it looks and closes right. Chasing both at the same time, adjusting everything everywhere, is how first-timers end up with a door that binds.
The Technique
Split the job into two separate problems, in order.
- Hinge side first. Set the unit in the opening and shim the hinge jamb until it's dead plumb and straight — this side is the door's foundation, and nothing else gets decided until it's right. Get a shim behind each hinge location, so the jamb is solid exactly where the door's weight hangs.
- Then the latch side. With the hinge jamb locked in, shim the latch-side jamb with one goal only: making the reveals around the door even. The hinge side set the geometry; this side is purely cosmetic tuning.
- Heavy doors get a long screw. Pull one short screw from each hinge (or the top hinge at least) and replace it with a long screw that reaches through the jamb and shims into the framing. That's what prevents the slow sag that ends in a binding door years later.
A good rough opening makes all of this easier — plumb, square, and with room for shims. A bad one causes problems no shimming order fully fixes.
Pro tip: There are a lot of ways to hang a door and every carpenter has opinions — but hinge-side-first is the sequence worth internalizing as a beginner because it makes every adjustment independent: nothing you do on the latch side can un-plumb the hinge side.