question about hanging doors

[brainless]

Have a bit of a problem....I am planning to hang French type doors in between old area of home and new addition. Plan to make door jam myself as cost of pre-hung doors was quite high. Have purchased all materials and just beginning project. here is problem I have run into....I just now was checking the level of the wall, and it is off level about 1/2 inch....the wall leans out at the top, and the doors will open in. no other problems that I can see. not sure what to do..I have to hang the doors level, so should I just split difference and be off 1/4 inch at top and bottom? I could remove plaster from inside area, and put in some furring strips to level, then drywall. but then door opening would 1/2 inch wider at the top. and I am not sure but guess I would have to cut door jam in same fashion, the side pieces . If I try to leave the way it is the trim will look odd I think...couple other things-the floors is level and wall thickness is odd size - 6 1/4 inch. I am using solid oak 1/2" X 8" X 8' which am thinking to cut and attach 3/4" plywood strips the same size - using 1/2 inch oak to keep cost down. any ideas?

[SteveBell]

I just installed a door today in a wall with that same problem. I installed the door plumb and square, then made jamb extensions so the trim didn't have a gap.

The top edge came out fine. One side only needed a straight 3/4" piece, but the other required a 3/4" piece that tapered to 5/16" at one end. Luckily for me, this is a utility shed, and I'm to rip out all the soggy wallboard and insulation from the inside, then build shelves, so inside appearance isn't important.

Yeah, that's right, wallboard in a garden shed. Sheesh. It's on both the inside and outside of the stud walls, and it's all soggy.

[hrhofmann]

Hang the doors plumb, if you don't they will tend to open or close on their own, and that is much more annoying than having to make up the errors in the trim. The odds are that the trim won't be noticed if the seams are closed and the finish work is high quality.

Bob Hofmann

[Edee em]

Ahhhh, the dreaded cross-legged jamb. I posted a similar concern here a while back (you can search for it in google groups). One of the worst answers I got was to hit the sole plate with a sledge hammer to plumb the wall. The best one I got was to shim the drywall outward so that the trim will sit flush. Do not hang the door unlevel. The doors wont fit right and certainly won't operate the best they can. Another solution if you don't want to shim the drywall out, is install the jamb level, trim the jamb on the side it will be out on, and then, cut out the drywall on the other side as wide as the casing will be. Try to plan so the trimmed side will be the one not in full view. Hope this helps.