Interior door installation in Boston takes longer than most homeowners expect — particularly in older buildings where door openings aren't plumb and square and where careful fitting is required to produce a professional result.
A straightforward interior door installation in a reasonably plumb and square opening — pre-hung door unit, existing frame in good condition, shimming and nailing — takes 1.5–2.5 hours per door for an experienced installer. In older Boston buildings where openings are out of plumb and out of square (which is the norm rather than the exception in pre-1960 construction), add 30–60 minutes per door for careful shimming, scribing, and fitting work. A project replacing 8–10 doors in an older Boston home typically takes 2 full days including hardware installation and touch-up painting. WDMA door standards →
Out-of-plumb walls are the primary cause of extended installation time in older Boston buildings. A door frame must be shimmed to plumb and square within an opening that may be neither — this requires careful measurement, progressive shimming on both jambs, and checking plumb and square repeatedly before nailing off. Doors installed in out-of-plumb openings without proper shimming bind at the top or bottom, don't latch reliably, and show uneven reveal gaps at the frame. Getting it right takes time. Getting it wrong means callbacks. This Old House door installation →
Door installation in pre-1978 Boston properties involves disturbing existing trim and door frames that likely contain lead paint — through cutting, sanding, and nailing. EPA RRP protocol applies when this disturbance occurs in homes where children under 6 or pregnant women are present. We follow all required protocols and document compliance. For projects where lead paint is a known concern, we factor the additional prep and cleanup time into our estimates. EPA RRP requirements →
A complete interior door installation includes: removal and disposal of existing door and frame if applicable, assessment and correction of the rough opening if needed, installation of the pre-hung door unit with proper shimming for plumb and square, nailing off the frame, installing casing trim on both sides matched to existing profiles, drilling and installing lockset hardware, adjusting the strike plate for reliable latching, and painting the door and casing. A door that's installed but not painted or trimmed isn't a completed installation. We scope complete projects, not partial ones. HomeAdvisor door installation costs →
Need Door Installation in Boston?
AURA Painting Inc serves all Boston neighborhoods. Licensed MA #193121, fully insured, 2-year warranty. Free estimates — most jobs scheduled within the week.
Call (617) 777-7700 ← Back to Door Installation