Installing slab doors
#9
Anyone ever done it? How much of a b!tch is it? CO wants rid of the ugly brown doors for white 6 panel. House was built in '55 so plaster walls and casing/frames are in good shape. I've done prehung before but never slab. Any pro tips?
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#10
Careful layout  is key.    Lay old and new door together and use a square to transfer hinge locations being very careful to keeps doors in alignment.   Also transfer latch location.   If door had been trimmed mark that also.
 Make a simple jig for the router with a guide bushing to mortise the hinge plates.     Once you are set up with the jig it goes fast.   Roly
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#11
Install pre-hung doors, save yourself a world of grief.
Neil Summers Home Inspections




I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me.  She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.


... Kizar Sosay





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#12
From This Old House...

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-...erior-door

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-...erior-door

From YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_q...erior+Door
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#13
I've done it half a dozen times. My process is take off the old door, lay it on the new door and mark and trim new door to size where necessary. After it's cut to size, lay old door on new door and clamp it to the old door, then mark and cut the hinge locations and the lockset locations. I use a utility knife to mark the new door - more accurate than a pencil and scores the wood to make it easier to chisel out. I've never used a router jig, a sharp chisel is just as fast as getting out my router, setting up power, etc. If I were doing 5 or 6 doors at once, the router might be worth it.
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#14
I've hung a lot of slab doors. Mortised hinges and locksets with a hammer and chisel and with a router/jig.

When you lay the old door over the new slab, make sure you cut only the hinge side. Locksets tend not to fit if you remove latch side material.

Use a straight edge guide with a circular saw to remove a half inch or more, use a hand planer for less than 1/2". But only use the hand planer on sides, never top/bottom, because the planer will splinter the edges.

There are cheap hinge jigs and good ones. The best cheap one would be a single hinge jig. You set it up for each hinge. For one or two doors, it is fine. For ten doors, you better like the set up, because it takes about half an hour for a three hinge door. The multiple hinge jigs are expensive---$150 and up, unless you can find a used one. But, after initial set up, maybe 10 minutes a door.

Biggest gotcha(I learned this the expensive way after making mortises) is to set the jig backwards or upside down. Hinge spacing is not usually centered on a door, the top hinge is closer to the top of the door than the bottom hinge is to the bottom of the door. What I do now is to select the outside side and put a piece of painters tape on that side at the top latch side of the slab. Then wrap another piece of tape across the latch mortise area. Then I mark the hinge mortise sites in pencil, with the correct position of the hinge. Generally hinges are mortised so they extend out from the inside , so I look for the tape in the corner. If I see it, wrong side.

Now, having said all that, I can replace a prehung door much quicker than preparing a slab. And, if you want to buy the mulitposition hinge mortise jig, buying prehungs will not only be faster, but much less expensive.
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#15
I have hung hundreds of slab doors some with just a chisel some with a home mad jig and a lot with a good 3 or 4 hinge jig.  Had to hang 70 in a hospital that was a pain as they are 4 ft solid core
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#16
I have hung many slab doors. I started in 1963 when prehungs were rare in commercial work. I have used the Porter Cable folding door mortising jigs and the Bosch type also. I preferred a shop made jig made from 2" x 2" x 80" aluminum angle. Once the mortise notches are cut the jig cannot be bumped out of alignment like the other jigs you buy. If you only have a couple of doors then a single jig will suffice. 
First plane or saw a 1or 2 ° bevel on the lock side. Either 1° or leave unplanned on the hinge side. Interior doors usually are 1-3/8" thick and may not need to beveled on the hinge side. Be careful the bevel is on the correct side of the door, don't ask me why I warned you.
Here is how I would go about it with a single jig. Make a story rod with 2 small pilot holes for a couple of brad nails in about the center of the top and bottom mortises. Attach a 1/8" piece of metal to the top with an overhang to catch the top of the door. Some L shaped corner brackets are 1/8", anything that works will do.
Now tack the story rod on the jamb with the metal against the head. Carefully mark the mortise with a knife or sharp awl. If you want you can darken the knife marks with a sharp pencil. Remove the brads and place the story rod on the doors edge. Transfer the knife marks to the door edge. 
Now you can install the jig and rout for hinges. Rout a scrap piece first so you get the correct depth. Move the router from right to left on the lading edge to prevent tear out. Then rout left to right to finish the mortise. If you use square corner hinges the radius needs to be removed. I have corner chisels made for this but a sharp wood chisel works fine. If you don't have a Vix bit , buy one. Make sure you have the correct size or you can buy a set.
I believe they run about $10.00. Vix bit assures the screw is centered in the hinge hole. 
hope this helps,mike
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