A timber door is a solid or panelled wooden leaf hung on hinges within a lining or frame, and "well hung" means it swings freely, closes cleanly against its stop, and sits with even gaps all round. Get the hanging right and the door looks and feels effortless; get it wrong and it sticks, springs open, or drops over time. This guide explains what separates the two, how internal and external timber doors differ, and the role of linings, frames and ironmongery in the result.
What makes a door well hung?
A well-hung door comes down to consistent clearances and accurate hinge work. The leaf should have a small, even gap along the top and the two long edges — roughly 2mm to 3mm — with a slightly larger gap at the bottom to clear flooring and carpet. The face of the door should sit flush with the frame when closed, neither proud (sticking out) nor recessed, and it should not bind on the stop or rub the lining.
The hinges carry the whole story. Each hinge is set into a shallow recess, called a mortice or housing, cut into both the door edge and the lining so the leaves of the hinge sit flush. If those recesses are too deep, the door is "hinge-bound" and won't close; if too shallow, the door sits proud on the hinge side and the gap closes up on the latch side. The two recesses must also be perfectly in line, otherwise the door twists as it swings.
Other signs of careful hanging include:
- The door staying put wherever it is left, rather than drifting open or swinging shut — a sign the hinges are vertically aligned and the frame is plumb.
- The latch engaging with a single, soft click, with the keep (the metal plate on the frame) lined up to the latch bolt.
- No "snipe" or springing — that judder you feel when a door is forced against a binding edge.
- Clean, even reveals you could check with a coin slipped down the gap.
Much of this depends on the opening being true before the door arrives. A frame that is out of plumb or out of square forces compromises, so hanging a door well is partly about reading the opening and adjusting the leaf to suit, rather than assuming everything is square.
Internal versus external timber doors
Get the hanging right and the door looks and feels effortless; get it wrong and it sticks, springs open, or drops over time.
Internal and external doors share the same basic principles but answer to very different demands. Internal doors divide rooms, manage privacy and sometimes resist fire; external doors hold back weather, deter intruders and keep heat in. That changes their construction, their weight and how they are hung.
Internal timber doors fall broadly into two types. Panelled doors have a framework of vertical stiles and horizontal rails with infill panels, giving a traditional look and modest weight. Solid-core doors have a continuous engineered or timber core faced with veneer or paint-grade material; they feel heavier and more substantial, deaden sound better, and are often the basis for fire doors. A fire door — usually rated FD30 or FD60 for 30 or 60 minutes' resistance — must be hung with the correct intumescent seals, controlled gaps and certified ironmongery, and these specifications should not be altered on site.
External timber doors are built to take the weather and the strain. They tend to be thicker, made from durable hardwoods or engineered timber, and finished with paint or microporous coatings that let the wood breathe while shedding water. Because they expand and contract with damp and sun, the gaps are set with that movement in mind, and weatherseals and a threshold (the bar across the bottom of the opening) keep out draughts and driving rain. The hinges are heavier, frequently three or more per door to carry the weight and resist sagging, and security fixings such as hinge bolts are common.
Weight is the practical dividing line. A light internal panelled door can sit happily on two hinges; a heavy solid-core or external door usually needs three, and sometimes ball-bearing hinges that cope better with constant load. Hanging a heavier door also calls for fixings long enough to bite into solid framing rather than just the lining.
Linings, frames and ironmongery
The door is only half the job — what it hangs on matters just as much. A lining is the timber surround inside an internal opening; it is usually lighter, sits flush with the wall finish and carries the door stop as a separate planted strip. A frame is the heavier surround used for external doors and some internal ones, often rebated (with the stop machined into the timber itself) and fixed into the structural opening to take the load and the weather.
For a door to hang well, the lining or frame must be fixed plumb (truly vertical), level across the head, and square in the corners. It also needs to be packed and fixed so it cannot flex; a frame that gives even slightly will throw the gaps out as the door is used. The stop is then positioned so the closed door sits flush, with just enough clearance for the latch and any seals.
Ironmongery is the collective term for the metal fittings: hinges, latches, locks, handles, keeps and any closers. The choices here shape both function and feel:
- Hinges — typically butt hinges in steel, brass or stainless steel. The number and size are matched to the door's weight and any fire rating, not chosen by looks alone.
- Latches and locks — a tubular latch for a simple internal door, a sash lock or deadlock where security or a key is needed, and certified locks on external doors.
- Handles and knobs — selected to suit the latch's backset (the distance from the door edge to the spindle) so the handle clears the frame comfortably.
- Keeps and strike plates — the frame-side plates the latch and bolt engage with, which must be morticed in line with the door's hardware.
On fire doors and external doors, ironmongery is often specified together as a tested set, and substituting parts can undermine the rating or the weather performance. For ordinary internal doors there is more freedom, but the same logic applies: heavier doors and harder use ask for stronger, better-fitted fittings. Anyone planning work can usefully ask a joiner how the gaps will be set, how many hinges a given door needs, and whether the opening is true before the leaf is ordered — questions that tend to reveal how carefully a door will be hung.