Install Doors Before Carpet

The important consideration particularly for pre hung doors is how high to install it above the subfloor.

Install doors before carpet.

This is for timing. A really thick shag carpet can make it difficult to judge how high to place the trim. I enjoyed john spier s article on installing pre hung doors what about when the floors will be carpeted. By having all the doors and trim up first the painters can come in and spray everything out and get the first coat of color on the walls.

The last time i had new carpet installed i ended up removing all of the doors and trimming them down on a case by case basis. You don t need to. Sliding doors can be confusing to install on carpet because instead of small corner brackets they typically are installed with track brackets that run the width of the closet opening. Then the flooring installers come in and do their thing.

I don t like for the doors to drag on the carpeting but i do like it when they are as tight as they can be to the floor. If you re in one of these situations follow these instructions to install the trim after the carpet. Install the carpet install the carpet all the way against the wall. Or you may be replacing the baseboards but leaving the carpet.

In my article hanging pre hung interior doors jul 16 i discussed the process i ve developed for installing interior doors in a fast and efficient manner. If you were installing vinyl or tile you would do the same but hold off on any quarter round trim until you re done. Baseboard goes down then the 2nd coat of paint goes on. Baseboards are often installed before flooring since they must be finished in place with either stain or paint and this is much easier without worrying about staining the hardwood tile or carpet.

On a professional job all the doors are hung first then cased.