From: John/Charleston 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Interior Door Replacement
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 13:55:00 -0500

On 15 Feb 2005 09:41:46 -0800, "lenny fackler"
 wrote:

>
>v wrote:
>> On Sun, 13 Feb 2005 22:27:01 -0500, someone wrote:
>>
>> >Glad to hear you've done it before yourself.   I'm 49 and have been
>a
>> >carpenter all my working life.   I've done both versions many times.
>> >In my professional opinion (and that of every other carpenter I
>know)
>> >pre-hung door units are much easier to install.
>> >That said, it still might not be the best route depending on
>trim/wall
>> >finishes, whether repainting is going to happen anyway, etc.    I
>was
>> >merely suggesting another choice.
>> >
>> No argument with your own experience.  As a former landlord who did
>> his own basic maintenance, I have indeed changed out damaged doors
>> from time to time.  Also routinely installed locksets.  Since I only
>> did it sporadically, I didn't have all the time saving specialized
>> tools that a professional carpenter might - just the basic ones.  I
>> didn't think it was that big a deal to do this kind of work.
>>
>>
>> >I charge far more to hang a new door in an old frame than to hang a
>> >pre-hung door.
>> >
>> Do you also do the demo, does your price include the materials, what
>> about drywall repair, painting, etc. - would that be by you or would
>> that be a different tradesman?  Not trying to ream you, and you did
>> acknowledge these were issues.  I'd agree that to hang a pe-hung unit
>> in a bare rough opening only takes minutes - that's why they make
>> them.  I think its a closer Q when its already a finished space with
>a
>> cased door in place, and the cost of the unit plus the replacement
>> casings, plus the demolition effort is added in.
>>
>> I'm thinking that OP perhaps has the whole rest of the place
>decorated
>> to their liking, now just leaving the doors.  I am not confident of a
>> DIY's ability to demo the old casings and frame without nicking the
>> walls.  Then they will be posting here about how to repair drywall
>> (also something I have had reason to do MANY MANY times) which seems
>> to really frighten a lot of DIY's (who will go to great lengths not
>to
>> disturb sheetrock whereas someone more experienced will just cut an
>> access or exploratory hole with few qualms because its "only"
>> drywall...)
>>
>> Well, either way.  Opinions like a-h's, everybody has one and its
>> always the other guy's that stinks!
>>
>> ;-)
>>
>>
>
>I recently replaced a closet door using a plain door.  It fit perfectly
>so it was a fairly simple job.  It would've been much more work to take
>out the old frame and install a prehung, not to mention a waste of good
>material.

Yep, sometimes that's the case and sometimes it's not.  That was my
point when I called it "Another alternative"...