Hotbacon
New Member
I'm installing a prehung door in a basement. When I check the floor for level in the rough opening, the hinge side of the opening is about 1/4" lower than the latch side. Most tutorials I've seen just say to throw the prehung door in the opening and fix the jambs as you go. However, if my hinge side is low and I plumb and attach that jamb first, the latch side jamb will be too long to get a the proper reveal (and level) at the top of the door...right?
This Old House says to shim up the hinge side jamb, which would account for this issue I'm imagining. But why doesn't anyone else discuss this? I'm considering trimming the 1/4" off of the latch side of the door rather than shimming the hinge side since I'm using laminate flooring under this door. The jambs are both 1" longer than the door bottom to allow for carpet clearance. Is it typical to trim the jambs down a bit when laminate is going under the door so there isn't a huge gap between the finished foor and bottom of the door? If so, how much is normally trimmed off? I'm thinking I can trip the latch side by xx" + 1/4" and the hinge side by xx".
This Old House says to shim up the hinge side jamb, which would account for this issue I'm imagining. But why doesn't anyone else discuss this? I'm considering trimming the 1/4" off of the latch side of the door rather than shimming the hinge side since I'm using laminate flooring under this door. The jambs are both 1" longer than the door bottom to allow for carpet clearance. Is it typical to trim the jambs down a bit when laminate is going under the door so there isn't a huge gap between the finished foor and bottom of the door? If so, how much is normally trimmed off? I'm thinking I can trip the latch side by xx" + 1/4" and the hinge side by xx".