Install Doors Before Carpet

A really thick shag carpet can make it difficult to judge how high to place the trim.

Install doors before 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. 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. 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. Baseboard goes down then the 2nd coat of paint goes on.

This is for timing. Or you may be replacing the baseboards but leaving the carpet. If you re in one of these situations follow these instructions to install the trim after the carpet. 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.

Install the carpet install the carpet all the way against the wall. On a professional job all the doors are hung first then cased. The standard procedure is to install carpet after the doors and trim are installed. The important consideration particularly for pre hung doors is how high to install it above the subfloor.

I enjoyed john spier s article on installing pre hung doors what about when the floors will be carpeted. 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. You don t need to.

If you were installing vinyl or tile you would do the same but hold off on any quarter round trim until you re done.