As you know, the main function of the door is opening and closing. The durability and reliability of operation depends, to a greater extent, on how well the door leaf was installed in its correctly exposed and fixed frame. When we think about a new door, we first of all imagine the door leaf, and when we buy it, we pay attention mainly to how it looks.
At the same time, one should not forget that “mounting the door” does not mean simply hanging the door leaf on the hinges.
One of the first and main stages of door installation is the correct installation of the door frame in the opening.
Only in the case when this stage of installation is carried out in accordance with the established building codes and regulations, you can hang the door leaf on the hinges and enjoy high-quality and reliable doors. Installation of doors must be done with great care. Of course, you can hire specialists for installation, but if you understand a little the intricacies of installation, then you can easily do it yourself.
If you invite a team to perform these works, then you also need to know the basics of proper installation in order to control the quality of the work. You need to know exactly what points you need to pay attention to when accepting work. Doors should not only be a beautiful attribute of the room, but fully fulfill their functional purpose.
One of the most important elements of the door is the frame.
The frame serves to decorate the opening, and is also an element of the door on which the wings are directly attached. Usually the frame consists of three main elements: one horizontal (upper) part and two vertical ones. They are connected to each other with dowels or spikes. In some cases, the frame is manufactured and assembled by the manufacturer, but in most cases it has to be assembled by yourself, directly at the installation site. The frame must be assembled strictly following the recommendations in the attached instructions. Recently, some of the most popular door frames are those made from MDF or laminated wood.
MDF frames can be veneered or laminated. Wood frames can be lacquered or also veneered. On one of the vertical elements of the door frame there are hinges (the so-called hinge post), and on the other there is a special hole for the lock. Some frames can be additionally equipped with sealing elements.
Currently, there are two types of frames on sale: adjustable and fixed.
permanent frames. The simplest design has a permanent frame. It is usually produced in thicknesses of 6 cm or 10 cm. If the interior walls are of exact dimensions, then there is no need to overpay for adjustable frames.
adjustable frames. They have a more complex structure and are equipped with special enclosing strips that allow this frame to be adapted to any wall thickness. They are recommended for use if the wall thickness is more than 7.5 cm, but does not exceed 30 cm. Some manufacturers offer regulating frames that allow you to cover the wall up to 50 cm. In these frames, the adjustment step is usually 2 cm. This type of frame is easier to use. dismantling and installation. They justify themselves perfectly in cases where the wall and doorway do not “hold” the required size. Adjustable frames are an order of magnitude cheaper, but when installing one door, the difference will not be very noticeable. If you have to change a large number of doors, then, consequently, the costs will increase significantly, and the amount will be tangible.
Many door manufacturers recommend using not only mounting foam, but also pegs (for frame walls) or dowels (for stone) when mounting the box. Thanks to this, the door frames will be more reliable and more stable, especially at the moment of slamming. Preparatory work. Before proceeding with the installation of doors, it is necessary to prepare the slopes accordingly. The slopes on each side must be at least 1.5 cm larger than the outer dimensions of the frame planned for the installation of the door. All recesses in the slopes must be filled with mortar, have a flat plane.
Before starting work, carefully read the installation instructions supplied by the manufacturer. Prepare the necessary tools and materials for installation. To do this, we need: a hammer, a drill, a puncher, drills for wood and concrete, wooden pegs, dowels, a plumb line, a level, a square, mounting foam, a knife, screwdrivers (flat and Phillips), mounting glue, silicone, a special cleaner for removal of uncured polyurethane foam.
Door installation. First of all, it is necessary to carry out the correct installation of the door frame. In the slope we remove dust and other types of pollution. We slightly moisten the place of contact of the wall with the frame with water, which will allow the mounting foam to be better fixed. We insert the frame into the opening. Using wooden wedges, we pre-block the frame in the appropriate position. Using the level, we determine the vertical position of the hinge rack of the frame, and then fix it with wooden wedges. Using a square, we check if we have violated the right angles between the upper beam and the vertical racks of the frame.
In order to fully verify this, it is necessary to measure the diagonals of the frame, they must be absolutely equal. Then in the loop stand we make holes for the dowels. At least two of them must be placed on each rack, one at a distance of about 20 cm from the floor, and the second about 20 cm from the horizontal beam. Through these holes, we drill holes in the wall with a perforator. The thickness of the drill must be selected according to the diameter of the dowels, and the depth – according to their length.
Carefully drive in special expansion dowels into the prepared holes. Care must be taken not to deform the door frame. Dowels should be driven in until a slight resistance appears. After that, it is necessary to hang the door leaf on the hinges and check whether the frame holds the horizontal and vertical, check whether the door closes correctly, if there are any distortions in various planes. If necessary, adjustments can be made by loosening or driving in wooden wedges.
After adjusting the door, we remove it and mount the second rack of the frame in the same way as the first. Before starting the next stage of installation, we advise you to paste over the frame with a protective masking tape. Further, with the help of wooden spacer wedges, the length of which is 1–2 cm longer than the width of the frame clearance, we block the frame in the “correct” position. In order not to damage the decorative coating of the frame, it is recommended to place soft pads under the wooden wedges. After that, we fill the gap between the wall and the frame with mounting foam. Mounting foam must be accurately and evenly dosed. Too much foam can bend the frame or push it out, making it difficult to close the doors after it is completely dry. For these works, it is necessary to choose a foam with a low coefficient of expansion. The gap must be filled to half its depth. Carefully fill the space above the jamb with foam. Use flexible foam during installation, as otherwise it may crack due to vibrations caused by opening, closing or accidental slamming of the door.
When performing work, although the frame is protected with masking tape, the frame may be contaminated with mounting foam. For quick and high-quality removal of it, just in case, stock up on a special cleaning agent for removing uncured polyurethane foam. After the foam has completely solidified, its excess must be cut off with a knife. Then carefully remove the wooden wedges, and also fill the places where they were with mounting foam.
If you value time a lot, then you can choose a special two-component foam for mounting the door frame. It cures completely in just 4 hours, and the excess can be cut off after 15 minutes. The holes in the frame, through which the dowels were mounted, are covered with special plugs that can be selected to match the color of the frame. Next, we trim the horizontal and vertical trims to the desired length and, using special eccentric couplers, connect them to each other at an angle of 450. We apply silicone or mounting glue dots into special channels cut out in the frame, after which we apply screwed trim.
We carefully seal the places of their contact with the wall with an elastic acrylic sealant or sealant. We hang the sash on the hinges. The last stage of the door installation is the adjustment of the hinges, the installation of the lock with the handle in the sash and the fastening of the latch plate in the post opposite to the hinge post. As you have already noticed, there is nothing difficult in the installation of the door.
We hope that our advice on the correct installation of interior doors will help you to do this work with high quality, and the installed doors will delight you for many years.