How to hang a plumb door in an extremely un-plumb wall

I’ll show you a hack to set a door plumb in an extremely un-plumb wall. Your door will stay where you leave it and your trim will look great.
Tools I recommend:

[bobmckeown]

This is the best video I've come across that explains my problem and what needs to be done to fix it.

[stephenkakasuleff]

Well done and said. I’ve been a trim carpenter 40 years and this problem is happening in brand new builds still today. Some builders simply don’t walk through their homes with a level and make the framers fix this crap. Compound miter those corners a tad too. 😅

[onedaviecooper]

It's great to find someone who likes to do things properly.

[CBBC]

Vancouver Carpenter (YouTube channel) has used a combination of shaving and what he calls "mud framing". He's more of a drywall guy than a carpenter, given that the majority of his videos are about tackling wall finish problems. Anyway, he uses a Darby to broadly skim coat walls to make the plumb (mud framing). He also shaves drywall to get casings to fit plumb.

[justpassingthrough]

I'm dealing with this exact issue. I've been searching for a solution and you've given it to me. I'll give it a try. Thanks for posting this.

[victormoreno]

Great job! I have run into this problem a couple of times myself.

[kamoke]

Thanks boss!
It's always a question of finding that sweet spot between making something plumb and level, and following lines so things look parallel.
I think doors are a good example of prioritizing plumbness. Doing so, in examples like this, leaves you with the problem of hiding these faults when it's time to trim.
You've done an excellent job of problem solving, and we thank you for taking the time to put this up on the internet.
Taking the little extra time to do this work now, will save you from the lifetime of future regrets every time a door slams behind you in the middle of the night.

[jeffreykarg]

Just awesome dude. I could find the exact explanation like this elsewhere! Thank you.

[nnhltOn]

Good stuff. After spending 5 hours trying to understand why I couldn't align my door frames with the drywall, I finally realized I had this issue. Thank you for posting this.

[zsetrmr]

nice work, i have some what the same problem, my house was built back in 1975 and the hall way closet door was looking really whacked, so i checked the walls, they are plumb, i check the doors and yes both are not cut right at the bottom and i check the top where the top railing goes and it is not true on the right side. plus i checked the inner walls where the doors would touch and on the left side the wall is not true or plumb either, i can shimmy the top, but the left side wall, i think i can get 2 pieces of would and clamps and build up the wall from mid to top with plaster, what do you think, at the bottom it is 71 inches, but at the top of the left wall, it is 71 and 1/4 inches, so i would need i think to build up the plaster on the inner wall to make it 71 inches all the way from top to bottom ?

[ollisterrible]

Searching for ideas on how to solve this exact problem and found this. Much appreciated. I can't understand how they could put walls up so far out and have any satisfaction in their work.

[Sarnatch]

OMG. This is my problem, but it’s with my old shed which I had lifted off the ground recently and I’ve made a dutch door for it. Now I know what to do! Thank you so much!

[Tiffsolstice]

Thank you. Ugh! 52 female trying to hang a bathroom door following This old House video. Forgot how crappy my place was built.(found a 1970s soda can in my neighbors dryer duct that feeds into my crawl space when I cleaned it out. And the other doors and products in here…..such crap) ….I thought I was Nuts until I finally Put a level along the wall and realized why it wasn’t working on the striker side……. I so miss quality anything-humans & products. Building stuff is so much more fun when it’s all square-lol

[georgerrumph]

I totally agree with your observation and clarity that people don't take PRIDE in their work. I'm doing a door hanging job for a mobile home and encounter the same problems. Thanks, there are a FEW that care about their WORK.

[getdirectins]

Oscillating Multi-Tool works great for burying the trim into the drywall to fix for out of plumb. Deff easier than leveling the whole house foundation 😂

[mattstallbaumer]

Thank you! I was using the quick door hanger brackets. Big mistake. Watched your video and perfect closing door ready for my daughters to slam when they grow up. lol

[scurtis]

Omg thank you for this. I don't feel nearly as bad about my house as I did 5 mins ago. Very insightful, regardless

[lawrenceschall]

Thanks for the video. I have one door frame with similar problem. More like 1/2" top to bottom. Your method should work for me

[vcj]

Helped me out immensely. Mine was 1/2" out of plum

[libertobrospainting]

I’m dealing with a job like this we just route the back of the trim board