Hardwood Door Jambs
A solid and strong door jamb is crucial for ensuring that your door stops, opens and closes properly. A broken or damaged jamb can make it difficult to open and close your doors, as well as lead to damage to your hinges.
How to Install a Door Jamb
The first step in installing a hardwood door jambs is to determine the proper width for your door opening. For this, you’ll need to know the wall stud thickness and the sheetrock thickness.
You can use a stud finder to measure the studs. Then, use the rough opening measurements to choose a jamb that will fit inside the wall and be flush with the wall framing.
Once you’ve determined the jamb width, cut the two side jambs to length and fasten them to the studs with 8d finish nails. Leave at least 1/8 inch of space between the jambs for door clearance.
Hinge Mortise
Next, cut shallow recesses, called hinge mortises, into the jamb to support the door hinges. You can do this with a router, or by hand with a sharp wood chisel.
Test-fit the hinges to the jamb and the door, to ensure that everything works properly. You’ll need to position one hinge 5 inches from the top, one hinge 5 inches from the bottom and the third hinge equidistant between the other two.
You’ll also want to use a level with some thin wedges to plumb the hinge-side jamb against the rough opening framing. Cedar is an excellent material for this purpose, but you can also use other types of softwoods if you prefer.
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