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In a perfect world, all door casings would be square and in perfect alignment, and fitting a new door would simply mean placing it into the opening, and that would be the job done. However, in the real world of door fitting you will quickly come to realise that the majority of door casings (for a variety of reasons) are far from perfect, which can at times make fitting a door a challenge.
Doors are produced in standard stock sizes, and checks must be made of the existing against the door chart provided to ascertain the required size. It will more than likely be found that the door that is to be replaced is slightly smaller than the standard, this is quite normal, it simply means that the door has been reduced to fit that particular door casing opening. Because not all door casings are as one would like, a slightly larger door is in fact the ideal situation, which allows the fitter to shape each door to fit any particular casing, resulting in the perfect fit. I should stress though, that the amount that can be safely taken off a door is minimal, so choosing the correct size to start with is very important.
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Getting it right
With the new door ready to fit certain things must first be determined, such as; which edge of the door is going to be hinged, where the latch will be, and which end is the top. On a solid wood panel door, this is pretty straight forward, because the bottom rail is always deeper than the top rail, and the latch and handles can go on either side, however, in the case of 'Hollow Core' doors things are different. with hollow core doors, the manufacturer will mark the door with information as to the location of what is know as the 'Lock Block', these marks are at the top of the door where you will see stamped: 'Top' or 'T', and to one side; 'LOCK', 'LB' or 'L'. This is telling you that the 'Lock Block' is either to the left or right hand of the door, and the latch and handles must be fitted on that side, it follows that the hinges go on the opposite edge.
Getting Marked
Next, it must be determined the side on which the door is going to be hung in relation to the door casing. When this has been decided, it is usual practice to mark the door accordingly to avoid expensive mix-ups later. As mentioned earlier, the door about to be fitted will be shaped to fit an opening that may not be perfectly square, and after being shaped, this would mean that the same door would not fit that same opening if turned around. With this in mind, and working from the marks on the top of the door, offer the door up to the casing with the hinge stile of the door to the hinge jamb of the casing, and mark the letter 'H' indicating hinge side, 'LB' for lock and 'T' for top. Thereafter, every time the door is offer up to the door casing, it will always be the same, and the right way round.This is also important when it comes to fitting the hinges, as the marks will serve as a constant reminder |
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as to where the top of the door is, and from which face one should be working from. I will later be discussing the fitting of the hinges, and will be referring to the 'face of the door', which is the face that has the mark on it.
Defaced?
If the door is to be stained or varnishing, pencil marks on your door could present problems. In this case it would be a good idea to put to strips of masking tape onto the door first, and place the marks onto the tape rather than the door. |
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