How to Install Interior Swinging Doors

1

Buy two doors to fill your space. Measure the doorway and divide the number by two. Each door will need to have a width roughly this size. Also subtract the width of the hinges on each side, generally 1/4 to 1/2 inch of space. Plan for your doors to barely touch in the middle or allow for a small gap between them. Length is up to you--partial or full--as long as the automatic doors swing freely at top and bottom.

2

Use spring hinges. Install these just as you would regular door hinges. The advantage: They allow the automatic swing doors to open in both directions and swing back to their original positions. Spring hinges, available at most home-improvements stores, often cost more than a standard hinge.

3

Determine how far apart to place hinges. Install two or three hinges, depending on the door's length. For example, on a 4-foot-long swing door, you would use two hinges spaced three feet apart. For longer doors, add a third hinge in the middle. Measure the door's side edge and mark it six inches from the top and six inches from the bottom.

4

Line the hinges up in the doorway. Measure from the doorway's top and mark the frame the same distance down on both sides. Also measure an equal distance across the side of the doorway on both sides and mark. Now the top hinges should line up both vertically and horizontally. For the bottom hinge placement, measure down from the top hinge line on each side of the doorway, using the distance between hinges that you measured on the automatic door. Make a mark at this point on the door frame.