Having built a few homes, I have learned that there are certain things that really need to be done right. One of those things, is having your doors installed correctly. If you are in the middle of building or remodeling, I would suggest that you make sure the doors are installed correctly. How can you tell? First, check the reveal around the door. The reveal is the distance between the door itself and the jamb. The reveal is usually around 1/8”. The reveal should be consistant all the way around the door. Second, make sure the door is level. You'll want to check it in the door opening and on the surface of the door. There is more to installing a door than I have mentioned here. The reason I bring it up is that if the door is not hung properly, it may have an effect on the Door Knob that you install. Sometimes if a door has to be forced closed because the door catches on the jamb or whatever, the latch mechanism may have too much stress on it. I would just double check with your Home Builder or carpenter and make sure he takes the time to install them right.

Recently, I was at a family member's apartment. Their bathroom door was hung very poorly. Apparently whoever installed it didn't use any shims at all because the hinge side of the door was nice and snug with the appropriate reveal, while the latch side had nearly 3/4” of reaveal around the door latch. The problem? There was a 1/4” gap between the door and the jamb so anyone walking by could see into the bathroom, and secondly, the door latch barely catch the strike on the jamb so the slightest bump could open the door even if it were locked. Why do I tell you all of this? This morning I was out working on a project installing some doors Unfortunately, we had to correct some mistakes made by the framer to get the doors in the hole and hang them correctly. I think a lot of times, subcontractors are in too big of a hurry to take the time to fix a door opening before installing the door, and as a result the door never opens correctly. Luckily I had an experienced carpenter with me, we rebuilt one of the door openings and modified the others so that they all open smoothly and are level in the opening.

Its important to have your doors installed correctly not only so that your doorknobs work properly, but also to keep your doors closing snug to keep the elements out. We live in a colder climate, so a nicely hung door is a nice benfit to keeping a home warm, and reduce heating costs. Plus, its just nice to walk in a room and not have to force the door closed because its rubbing on a door jamb or something.