# 9 foot tall interior doors



## cfullen (Apr 9, 2012)

I am installing a trim package that has 9' tall solid poplar stiles and rails with MDF raised panels. These doors are very heavy, at least 120lbs each. They are pre-hung in finger joint poplar with 4 heavy duty ball bearing hinges. After installing the 8ft doors on the second floor (built the same way), the doors swelled a great deal and I didn't have much adjustment due to the fact that I shimmed the doors at the hinges. I think that I am going to have to take some out of the hinge sides after its all said and done. Should I leave the shims out of these doors and trust the casing to hold these beasts in place???


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## NivekD (Mar 3, 2012)

With doors that heavy I would make sure the hinge side jamb is VERY secure to the rough opening. Don't make the casing take all that weight.


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

Absolutely not.......
Never use the casings to support ANY doors.
Use 3-4" screws through the hinges and directly into the framing.

....hope this helps and that I understood your question....:shifty:

Tom


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Can you gain enough by removing the shims and use long 3" screws into the studs? I wouldn't trust the poplar casings much personally. You can possibly use 2 thinner shims or a piece of 1/16" ply to fit exactly behind each hinge where needed. The 4 b-b hinges should be very adequate. :thumbsup: bill


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Are we talking shims between the hinge plate and the casing, or between the stud and the casing at the level of the hinge?

If they're between the casing and the studs, then methinks you either need to reduce the relative humidity of the place or plane the edges of the doors (and recut the mortise depth)


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## cfullen (Apr 9, 2012)

I was referring to the shims I put between the jamb and the cripple. I split them on top and bottom of the hinges so that I can have small adjustibility later via a couple screws under the hinge. I have hinged deeper in the past to make doors shut properly. I actually spoke with the door supplier today and he told me that shims were not necessary just so long as I came back later with a few long ass screws.


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## cfullen (Apr 9, 2012)

Also, the relative humidity in this house is quite low. The general contractor has been running a de-humidifier since the walls were closed up.


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

cfullen said:


> The general contractor has been running a de-humidifier since the walls were closed up.



That's great, of course... were the doors exposed to a high RH, as measured by a meter? Were they stored in the house before it was closed? Were they there when anymud went on?

Since they swelled, there's been a change somewhere along the line. Without air circ a dehumid unit in this room over here might take a long time to make a difference to a door in the far end of the house, especially if the mudders have been in the place recently. If (or once) the little needle or digital RH meter says your doors are in happy air space, they may need time to shrink again.


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## cfullen (Apr 9, 2012)

Truthfully I hadn't even been upstairs in the house for a couple of weeks yesterday when I wrote the thread. I went up today to be pleasantly surprised to find that the doors had shrunk up a little and seem that they will be a breeze to adjust once the humidity in the house is at an ambient temperature and rh. These doors are large and in charge. Definitely kicking the ass of myself and my crew.


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## jessrj (Mar 30, 2012)

You have to shim behind the jamb, especially with doors that big. Make sure the doors have had time to adjust to the house climate and moisture content.


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