Installing pre-hung door with screws instead of nails?

[Yolanda]

Hi Group,

A guy who installs doors for a living told us that it would be ok to use screws instead of nails to install the pre-hung doors we bought for the inside of our home.

Do screws have what it takes to hold a door in-place? How do they compare to nails?

(The door guy said that he removes the stripping along the inside of the door to put the screws in, then reattaches it with finishing nails so you can't see the screws.)

-Yolanda

[A.M. Wood]

I always use screws. Haven't had any issues with strength. (There is not much stress on the jambs of an interior pre-hung door) It is also much easier to keep the frame plumb when you don't have to pound a nail through it or accidentally whack it with a hammer.

Shim the frame, pre-drill & countersink and screw it in place.

[BobS]

Yolanda,

Yes, you can most definitely use screws. This past summer I made a French door set and a standard door for my niece's remodeling project and the frames were made from hard maple. You won't drive nails through those frames! I used trim screws which use a torx type screwdriver to install them. I first pre-drilled the hole (3/32") then drove in the screws. The doors were being painted but even if they weren't, the trim screw heads are small enough to almost be invisible.

Even for an inside door, it's a good idea to remove one screw from each hinge (usually a short #10 screw) and replace them with a longer #10 size screw that will go thru the frame and into the rough frame. You set the door, square and shim it using shims behind each hinge and drive in the long screws (pre-drill through the shims so as not to split them).

The nice thing about using the screws is that if the door is not perfectly square and flush when you think you're done - you can easily back a screw out and re-shim. No need for pry bars or hacksaw blades to cut nails.

Bob S.

[kwoodhands]

Screwing the jamb is a good way. The door guy removed the doorstop molding and screwed behind it. You can also screw the hinge mortise, the hinge covers the screw. You may need a step by step lesson that would be a long post. If you need more info ,email me and I will give you detailed instruction. mike

[kwoodhands]

Screwing the jamb is a good way. The door guy removed the doorstop molding and screwed behind it. You can also screw the hinge mortise, the hinge covers the screw. You may need a step by step lesson that would be a long post. If you need more info ,email me and I will give you detailed instruction. mike

[Mike]

Screws will work fine and might be easier for you if the alternative is to nail them by hand. I don't think screws are necessary though as jambs have been installed for quite sometime using only nails. IMHO nailing the trim to the jamb and the framing does more to secure the jamb than any of the nails or screws we put through the jamb into the framing.

Mike O.

[Patriarch]

Mike wrote in news:jjqa119o4goolmknpob46iqgqb5k1ut70n@

4ax.com:

For the less experienced, screws mean reversability, or the ability to iterate until acceptable results are obtained.

Not everyone gets it close enough the first time. I know I don't.

Patriarch

[Yolanda]

Thanks All,

I just took delivery on the doors. It's going to be a long 3-day weekend. :)

-Yolanda

Patriarch wrote in news:Xns9600DF8B96983patriarchatcomcastdo@216.196.97.136:

news:jjqa119o4goolmknpob46iqgqb5k1ut70n@

installed

[Tom]

I just had a new front door installed - to meet code in South Florida they had to use 22 tapcons thru the jamb

tom

[Mike Marlow]

Holy Cow! There's no wood left after running 22 TapCons in.