Should I Buy A Pre-Hung Door Or A Slab Door?
A customer called and said someone told her to buy a pre-hung door, but she didn't know what that was. There are different doors for different situations. When you are installing a door, there are basically 2 styles; either a pre-hung door or a slab door.
A slab door is just the door itself. Imagine if you unscrewed the hinges from the door and removed the door. That's what you get...no hardware, just the door. You can get slab doors that are flat or paneled, for the interior or exterior.
A pre-hung door is a slab door and the door frame, hinges included. It is a swinging door ready to be installed (excluding the handle/lockset). When you buy an exterior pre-hung door, you will also get the threshold already attached. An interior pre-hung door does not have a threshold.
A slab door is good for a direct replacement of an interior door. For example, if you have a standard size interior door that has been damaged, you can replace it with a slab door. You will have to mortise the hinges and maybe trim it for width, but it should swing well without making too many adjustments.
A pre-hung door is good for installing a door into a rough opening. A common use here is when you have a master bedroom and bathroom adjoining, but there is no door in the opening...just drywall. A pre-hung door will fit nicely, and you will just have to trim it and paint. The nice thing about a pre-hung door is that if you install it correctly, it will swing beautifully from the start. Here are some instructions on how to install a pre-hung door.