Check List |
- Make sure that your new door is the right size for the frame (Height and Width).
- The door frame is in good condition especially where your new hinges will be fitted.
- Ensure the door frame is securely fixed.
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Before making a start, the type of weatherproofing to the bottom of the door and step must be decided upon. In this project, I will be dealing with the most widely used system, the aluminium threshold; a detachable weather and draught proofing bar that is fitted to the step or sill.
Making a Start
The objective of the exercise is to shape the door to fit the door frame. Achieving this means offering the door up to the opening a number of times as the required adjustments are made. As the door takes shape, you will realise that this shape is unique and would not necessarily fit the same opening if the door was turned around. It's therefore important to keep this in mind at all times as failure to do so could mean the hinges being fitted on the wrong edge or cuts being made that could ruined the door. To ensure that this costly mistake does not occur, the door must be marked in such a way that you always know which edge is which. Before this can be done though, you will need to decide which side of the door will be the 'outside' face. To determine this; if the door has glass panels, beading will be provided for holding the glass in place, this beading must be on the inside of the door, so that when the door is closed, the beading is not accessible from the outside. If the door has no glass, the panels that make up the door (on mass produced doors) usually fit into grooves and have no rebates, so there will not be any beading, in this case it's up to you to decide which face goes to the outside. If the door has been produced for you, there is the chance that the timber panels do fit into rebates, in which case there will be beading.
Because you will always be working from the inside when fitting the door, it follows that the identifying markings should also be on the inside. You could place a 'T' to indicate 'top', 'HS' to indicate 'hanging' or 'hinge stile', and 'L' to indicate on which stile the lock is going to be fitted. When you come to fitting the door, you will need to do so with these marks in mind, so that when the door is placed in the opening or when working on it away from the frame, you will not have doubts about its orientation.
If translucent paint is going to be used to finish the door, care must be taken as the marks could show through. Either ensure that the markings are faint and can be easily sanded off later, alternatively, stick pieces of masking tape onto the door first and place the marks on the tape rather than the door.
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