Hanging Heavy Doors

As the punch-list guy for a high-end builder in Osterville, Mass., I end up installing plenty of top-quality solid-core doors. These doors are at least 1 3/4 inches thick and weigh 100 pounds or more, so I have to work smart. And because the door hardware is likely to be removed and re-installed by the painters and flooring installers after the initial hanging, I have to make sure they don't fall out of adjustment. Here's how I approach the job.

Typically, the doors are prehung units shipped in the jambs without any trim applied. When I remove the shipping cleats, plastic straps, and protective cardboard, I pocket any small shipping screws. They'll come in handy later. The hinges are usually of the heavy-duty 4-by-4-inch variety with a drop-in pin and a decorative screw-down finial. To...