Door frame installation. Do-it-yourself door frame installation

The final stage of renovation work in residential or commercial premises is the installation of interior doors. High-quality assembly and installation of the box in the appropriate opening is the key to reliable locking of the canvas, the correct operation of the main and auxiliary mechanisms.

The door frame is mounted in the wall opening, therefore it is a key part of the finished structure, to which the door leaf is attached to the hinges. We will figure out how to assemble a door frame with our own hands without the involvement of third-party specialists, following a simple step-by-step instruction.

Choice of box sizes

Boxes for interior doors are made of reliable and practical materials - MDF, chipboard and wooden beams. The design of the box consists of several functional elements, therefore, for its installation, it is necessary to know the dimensions of all components.

The dimensions of the door frame of the interior door are determined by the thickness of the walls and the dimensions of the door leaf:

• For walls made of bricks with a thickness of 7.5 cm - a box with a thickness of 10.9 cm;
• For walls made of wooden paving stones up to 10 cm thick - a box 12 cm thick.

The thickness of the door frame from foreign manufacturers may differ from the indicated dimensions, amounting to:

• 8 cm;
• 10 cm;
• 12.5 cm;
• 14.5 cm;
• 18.5 cm;
• 20.5 cm.

The correct ratio of the parameters of the thickness of the box and the wall opening excludes the occurrence of violations in the future. With a wide wall and a narrow box, the finished structure must be expanded with wooden planks or boards installed in special grooves.

As standard, the frame for the opening is equipped with a special cutout, the depth of which is equal to ¼ the thickness of the door leaf.

Modern models of interior doors can have different dimensions, but the standard size is 80 cm.The width of the door frame is presented in two ranges:

• Height - 2 meters, width - from 60 to 80 cm;
• Height - 1.9 meters, width - from 55 to 90 cm.

Finished products can be regular and profiled, and the width of standard elements can be from 1.5 to 4 cm.

Tools and materials for work

The installation of the door frame is carried out using the basic tools and the necessary materials.

To work you will need:

• Wooden beams and wedges.
• Electric cutter.
• A hacksaw equipped with a miter box.
• Screwdriver.
• Drill.
• Self-tapping screws, nails with small heads.
• Construction level.
• Polyurethane foam.
• Construction pencil.
• A knife with a thin, sharp blade.

For installation work, the room must be dry and well ventilated.

The box is a frame-type construction, consisting of vertical guides - a hinge and a false jamb. The hinge bar takes the load of the installed door.

Preliminary assembly work

Do-it-yourself installation of interior doors is performed after finishing work on leveling wall surfaces, installing floor cladding and other finishing work.

Finished slopes should be vertically checked at several locations. If a difference of up to 5 cm is detected, the slopes are leveled. The horizontal jumpers are checked in the same way. A technological gap of 15 mm should be observed between the floor surface and the door.

Competent assembly of the door frame determines the stage-by-stage work:

1. Using a cutter, small indentations are made for hinge joints in the door leaf. The distance from the edge of the fabric to the edge of the loops (top and bottom) must be at least 18 cm.
2. Slopes are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. The surfaces are carefully cleaned and trimmed, applied to the canvas and marks are made where the hinges will be placed on the jamb. Using a cutter, recesses are made for the door hinges.
3. The finished hinges are inserted into the existing grooves in the canvas, with the help of a drill holes are made for self-tapping connections. In this case, it is recommended to choose a drill, the diameter of which is equal to the diameter of the screws. At the end, the hinges are fixed to the door leaf.

Installing the handle and lock

The next stage of work is fixing the handle and lock on the door, which is performed after installing the hinges.

• The canvas is turned over in the horizontal direction and at a distance of 85 to 118 cm on the side opposite to the hinges, a recess of the required diameter is drilled to install a lock with a latching mechanism.
• The lock is inserted into the recess, the edging is made with a pencil. Using a cutter, another recess is made for attaching the front plate with a latch.
• A latch is inserted into the canvas, while its body should be located at the level of the door end.
• Further, on the door with a pencil, marks are made for the recesses for the handles, which are drilled with a drill.
• The lock latch is mounted in the recess from the end part and fixed with self-tapping screws.

Finally, self-tapping handles and decorative trims are installed using a simple hex wrench.

Complete assembly and installation of the box in the wall opening

At the final stage, the door frame is completely assembled and installed in the corresponding wall opening.

• In the transverse box, the ends are trimmed at a 45 degree angle with a hacksaw. This will ensure an even and reliable docking of all elements. In this case, the width of the opening should exceed the dimensions of the door leaf by 6 mm.
• The drill makes holes in the corner-type cuts for the correct connection of the box. Many door models, which are equipped with platbands and slopes, are equipped with special cuts and fasteners. In this case, there is no need to drill additional holes.
• Further, the slopes are carefully shortened in accordance with the dimensions of the finished door, observing the technological gaps between the floor and the bottom of the door of 15 mm.
• All elements of the box are folded into a structure in the shape of the letter P on a flat surface and are securely connected with self-tapping screws.
• In the grooves that are intended for mounting the hinge, a through hole is made to fix the assembled box to the wall surface. The box is fixed at the top of the opening with a long self-tapping screw.
• The vertical position of the rack, to which the door hinges are fixed, is checked by the building level. Correction is performed using wedges driven into the groove between the post and the slope.
• A similar procedure is carried out with the second rack.
• The horizontal arrangement of the lintel should be parallel to the floor surface. Correction is performed with wedges.
• After a complete check of the position of the box, the structure is securely fixed from below on self-tapping screws.
• Further, it is recommended to hang the door in order to check the correctness of the work.

The step-by-step instructions for assembling and installing the box involve another important step - hanging the canvas.

Hanging the canvas is carried out using self-tapping screws, while the hinges reliably hide the fixing elements. When properly hinged, there should be no random opening / closing of the door.

After securely fixing the box and installing the canvas, the wooden wedges are removed from the technological gaps, and the existing slots are filled with polyurethane foam, having previously closed all the installed fittings with masking tape.

Even a novice craftsman, with the necessary tools, can perform his first door installation, be it an apartment, house or bathhouse. The main thing is to observe all stages of work and carefully check the correctness of fixing all structural elements.

The door frame is fixed in the entrance opening of the wall and is part of the door structure, on which a sash is hung with the help of hinges, which serves as an obstacle to entering or exiting the room. The box is made of MDF, chipboard or timber 75-85mm thick. With a wall thickness of more than 85 mm, additional strips are used, which are installed in special grooves of the beams. The door frame has a 1/4 cutout equal to the thickness of the door leaf.

For the installation of the hinges in the box, material samples are made for an amount equal to the thickness of the hinge sash. This is necessary for a snug fit of the door leaf to the frame jambs. Butterfly door hinges are installed without a tie-in.

The door frame is a frame structure. Its vertical components are called jambs, one of which is looped, the other is feigned. The hinge beam carries the main load of the door leaf. The horizontal top box lintel is called “headroom”, and the bottom one is called “threshold”. The threshold in the box is optional. It is installed when it is necessary to eliminate drafts, blocking the gap under the door leaf. Threshold doors are often installed to contain spilled water from entering adjacent rooms. The gap between the floor and the threshold hides the thickness of the floor covering. Therefore, the assembly of the door frame with a threshold is carried out before laying linoleum, laminate and other materials used for floor finishing.

Types of connections of door frame elements

The whole procedure for manufacturing the frame structure of an interior door consists of connecting the individual elements of the box to each other into one product, which looks like a closed or open loop, depending on the presence of a threshold. There are three types of connection of the box beams:

Tools and materials

Accurate door frame assembly requires tools and supplies. You will need the following:

• Roulette, pencil, masking tape;
• The miter box is a device for cutting timber at different angles. Required for baguette joints and trims preparation.
• Hand saw, drill with wood drills, construction knife;
• Perforator - it is necessary for fixing the interior door frame to a brick or concrete wall;
• Chisel - needed to cut out the places of the box for attaching the hinges;
• Mounting foam is necessary to seal the space between the door frame and the opening.
• Acrylic paint for wooden surfaces.

Assembling the door frame

Most DIYers choose a simple assembly scheme, which involves joining the box elements at a 90 degree angle. To assemble the door frame for ease of use, it is recommended to lay out all the details of the future structure in one horizontal level. This can be done on a cardboard floor, a couple of tables pushed together, or four stools. Correct assembly of the door frame implies the following order of work:

From the foregoing, it is noticeable that assembling the door frame with your own hands is not particularly difficult. A positive result of the work can always be obtained by observing the rules of the exact sequence of actions.

Doors are one of the few types of joinery that does not forgive mistakes. If you took the dimensions incorrectly or cut off the parts at the wrong angle - that's it, you won't be able to correct the dimensions, you will have to redo everything and use new materials. If the angle of the cut does not match, then it is useless to cover the resulting gap with a sealant. It may become invisible (although this is unlikely), but the strength of the structure will be significantly reduced. The individual elements of the box will not touch across the entire surface, but only at several points. Accordingly, the loads on the bars increase significantly, such a door will not last long. Moreover, you have to use the door very often and with various efforts.

We mean that all work on the assembly of the door frame must be done very carefully and carefully. Technological gaps between the blade and the box, the threshold and the floor are 2 ÷ 3 millimeters, with the same accuracy it is necessary not only to measure, but also to cut off all individual blanks, to make exact allowances for the kerf width.

You need to know your instrument and its “technical specifications”. The tool must be sharp and serviceable, and the hand must be "firm and confident." We strongly recommend doing all cuts with an electric saw with a revolving table.

Why not miter box? The answer is simple. If you use a miter box, then with great confidence it can be argued that you rarely make saws, otherwise you would have bought an electric saw long ago. And since you rarely trim materials at an angle, then there is not enough practice.

How to take measurements

Measure the doorway first. Standard door leaf sizes are 2000 mm high and 900 mm, 800 mm and 700 mm wide. The inner dimensions of the door frame increase by 3 mm along the entire perimeter (technological gap), the outer dimensions of the frame are 70 mm larger than the dimensions of the door leaves. This is the standard thickness of the box slats. If your slats have a different size, then the outer dimensions of the door frame also change. And the gaps between the doorway and the frame must be at least three centimeters.

Now you can check if your doors fit the doorway. If not, you will have to either expand or reduce the doorway. This is the worst option; the dimensions of the doorways must be carefully monitored at the stage of assembling the bathhouse.

Another important point in terms of size is the gap between the door frame and the floor. Depending on the specific place of installation of the door, this gap is regulated by the provisions of SNiP 41-01-2003.

Set of rules. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning

The gap varies within 10 ÷ 15 millimeters and should provide the minimum required air exchange rate for each room. Any natural ventilation of premises works according to the supply and exhaust principle. If there is no supply of fresh air, then, of course, there will be no exhaust.

In order to save heat in the premises, some owners want to install doors without a ventilation gap, for baths this option is possible, no one is going to spend the night in them. But here inexperienced builders can create a problem for themselves. The minimum gap between the door leaf and the floor within 1 ÷ 2 mm can cause them to jam or difficult to open / close. The fact is that flooring in baths rarely has such horizontal accuracy. To avoid problems with the door leaf and not to cut it after installation, you need to measure the floor level at the corners of the frame.

It is quite difficult to do this, we will tell you in detail about two methods.

1. Using the hydro level. Very carefully place two marks on the doorway on both sides. The distance from the marks to the floor level is approximately 20-30 centimeters. Use an accurate ruler to measure the distance from the floor to the marks you made. In most cases, the discrepancy will be at least 2 ÷ 3 millimeters. This must be taken into account during the manufacture of the vertical sidewalls of the box, and the minimum gap between the door leaf and the floor will increase by the amount of discrepancy between the horizontal level of the floor. In one position, it will be, for example, two millimeters, and in the opposite place it will increase to 4 ÷ 5 mm. If you do not take into account the level of the floor, then the door frame may not open completely at all or will open with a big "creak". You will have to remove and cut the canvas, and this is highly undesirable.
2. Using a laser level. Align the laser beam exactly horizontally, approximately 10 cm from floor level. With a ruler (preferably on a square), take measurements at the corners of the doorway, take into account the violation of the floor height during the manufacture of the box. This method is much easier, measurements are made faster, but on one condition - you have a rather expensive device available.

Door frames can be with or without a threshold. With a threshold, they are often installed as entrance and rarely as interior doors, without a threshold, doors are installed only as interior doors.

Door frame prices

door frame

Assembling a door frame without a threshold

Let's start with an easier option. Initial data: material for making boxes - profiled timber made of natural wood. For MDF doors, the technology is almost the same.

Step 1. Bring the door elements into the room.

Very important. Never place them near heating appliances, you do not need to dry them, you need the wood to gain equilibrium moisture content and stabilize its linear dimensions!

What is equilibrium humidity? It is necessary to dwell a little on this topic, it concerns not only door frames, but all wood products. Wood has two indicators of moisture: absolute and relative, they depend on various conditions and processing technology. But all types of wood have a sorption effect - the ability to absorb moisture from the air. Initially, the humidity can be at least zero; when it enters the room, the humidity rises to an equilibrium state under these specific conditions. If the products were stored in damp conditions in the warehouse, the doors will dry out a little, if they were stored in very dry conditions, the doors will pick up moisture until they are in equilibrium. We hope that this is understandable and now you will not believe the advertisements claiming that the moisture content of their products is 8-10%. Such humidity can be at the exit from the chamber or vacuum drying, but over time, the tree will inevitably pick up water and increase its performance.

Step 2. Check the height and width of the openings, make sure the box will fit with a gap of about 3 centimeters. Using a water level or a laser level, find out the horizontality of the flooring at the corners of the doorway.

Step 3... Jog the box blanks on the turntable circular saw - they may have been damaged during transport or storage. You can also cut it with a regular hacksaw, but there is a high probability of veneer peeling. If you still have to work with a hand tool, then you need to cut the workpieces from the veneer side, let the chips be on the invisible side of the beams. It is better to use a special hacksaw with fine teeth or a hacksaw for metal.

Step 4. Mark the top of the box. To do this, place a block on top of the door leaf and make marks with a gap of 2 ÷ 3 millimeters. For the gap template, you can use packing cardboard, it just fits in thickness. Marks can also be made with a pencil, but it must have a very sharp end. It is better to cut the workpiece later, first you should install the hinges on the door frame.

Step 5... Place the door leaf on its side in an upright position. You can rest it against the walls or make an elementary device to hold it in the desired position. On a piece of board at an angle, nail two spacers at a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the door leaf. Place a piece of soft cloth on the accessory to prevent damage to the corners of the blade. The device is very simple, it is much more convenient to cut the loops with it.

Step 6. Measure the location of the loops.

It is recommended to place them at a distance of 20 centimeters from the bottom and top of the canvas. But make a specific decision yourself, it all depends on the characteristics of the door leaf. The main thing is that in the place where the hinges are installed, the sidewalls of the canvas are as strong as possible. Measure twenty centimeters at the top and bottom of the canvas, attach the loops to the marks and make marks along their length.

Step 7. Now you need to mark the position of the hinges on the door frame.

In order for them to match exactly, put one of the box boards on the side of the door, measure the gap between the floor and the canvas in the lower part. It is recommended to do it within 10 millimeters.

Important. If you want to have a minimum gap between the door and the floor, then you need to take into account the indicators of the difference in floor height at the corners of the opening. With a sharp pencil or a construction knife, make notches of the location of the hinges on the board of the box. On vertical bars, be sure to make a difference in the height of the floor, otherwise one of them will either sag or not enter into place. Pay attention from which corner of the doorway the floor is higher; on this side of the door frame, the side board should be shorter by the same value.

Step 8. Cut the door frame boards on the machine according to the marks made. If your door boards are veneered with natural veneer, then problems may arise during the gash. Natural veneer has a thickness of up to 1 mm, with the same slope the board will abut against the guide during cutting. Using a sharp chisel, carefully remove the strip of rolled veneer from the back of the board. It is not necessary for the entire length, only washed down in places. This is the only way to guarantee the perfect gash and the most tight fit of the individual elements of the box.

Step 9... Saw down two side and one crosswise door frame blanks at an angle of 45 °. We remind you once again - check the dimensions several times, if the box is shorter, then you will have to throw it away and buy new materials.

Step 10. Install the hinges, they should hang with the manufacturer's logo up. Place the loops exactly according to the notches made earlier on the bar and circle the outline. You can choose the material for the hinges using a hand-held milling machine or an ordinary chisel.

We cut out the groove for the loop with a chisel

If you have a hand router, great. By the way, it will always come in handy during the construction of a bath, and not only a bath. Set the width of the recess on the machine according to the width of the buttonhole and the depth according to the thickness of the buttonhole. Place the machine on the board of the box and, according to the marks, mill the hinge seat. Remove the roundness in the corners with a chisel. Carry out the work carefully, do not allow cracking of the material.

Video - Hinge milling

Working with a chisel is somewhat more difficult. First, you need to beat off grooves with a chisel along the drawn contour, which are approximately equal to the thickness of the loop. Then carefully begin to select the material for the buttonhole. If you have a MDF box, then the work is a little easier. If the box is made of natural wood, then pay attention to the direction of the grain. Never work the chisel "against the grain", you will always have deep seizures or cracks. The first layer of wood is removed by tapping on the chisel with milk; a more precise fit must be done manually. The chisel must be sharp, while working, observe the angle of inclination of the tool. If the loop is a little drowned in the canvas, there is nothing to worry about. The main thing is that it does not protrude, it can prevent the door from closing. The hinge has to go into the socket with little force, otherwise a strip of material will be visible.

Step 11. Before screwing the hinges to the box, drill holes in the attachment points with a drill with a smaller diameter than the diameter of the screws. This technique will eliminate cracking of the box board.

Hinge attachment

Step 12. So that the heads of the screws with which the door frame will be attached to the wall are not visible on the door frame, you need to sweep under their heads under the hinges. Take a wood drill of the appropriate diameter and drill holes for the sweep on the hinge nests made. You have already drilled holes for the screws, this will help you choose a place for a large screw or dowel so that its head does not fall under the screws. The holes for screws or dowels should be located exactly in the middle of the box board.

Step 13. Collect all the elements of the box together. Self-tapping screws must enter at an angle of 90 ° to the cut surface. Make sure that they do not overlap the technological grooves of the telescopic box. During assembly, accurately align the parts, do not allow mutual displacement, then it is very difficult to correct this displacement. To facilitate the connection, you can first drill holes with a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the self-tapping screw.

Important. When assembling the parts, press them down with maximum force. The fact is that the self-tapping screw can, before starting to screw into the second part of the box, turn a little in the first - a gap forms between them.

The box is assembled, now it needs to be installed in the doorway. The works are very important and accurate, we will tell you how best to do them.

Door leaf prices

door leaf

Installing the frame in the doorway

Step 1. Place the box carefully in the doorway, temporarily secure it with pieces of styrofoam or packing cardboard. Check the level of the box for verticality from the side of the hinge attachment. For a firm installation of the box on the level and adjusting the gaps, wedges will be needed. They can be cut from the waste boxes of the box on the machine at various angles.

Step 2. Install wedges under the hinges, in these places will be placed dowels or a fastening screw. Additionally, hammer in one wedge in each upper corner. To prevent the box from moving during wedging, you need to drive in two wedges from opposite sides with the overlapping of the cut parts. Check the position of the box with a level, do not rush, accurately check the position of each element. The door frame should be flush with the outer wall of the room, on the other side, add-ons will be installed. Make sure that the wedges do not protrude beyond the plane of the wall.

Step 3... Fasten the box through the holes made for the screws in the hinge seats.

Very important. There must be wedges next to these screws. Otherwise, the box is deformed during the tightening of the screw. The false side of the box has not yet been exposed, but only slightly fixed in the wall.

They are engaged in installing the false side after hanging the doors, in this way the maximum dimensional accuracy is ensured. While setting the side of the box, constantly check the horizontal position of the upper headroom. If you correctly take into account the problems with the horizontalness of the floor in different corners of the doorway, the horizontal part will lie in the correct position.

Step 4... To make the frame elements more stable, they must be partially foamed while hanging the door leaf.

Before that, the surfaces should be cleaned of dust and dirt and must be moistened with an ordinary sprayer with water. Most construction company employees neglect to clean and wet surfaces, but in vain. The coefficient of foam adhesion to wet surfaces increases by an order of magnitude. Keep this in mind. Seize the feigned part of the box only in one or two places, it will still have to be moved.

Step 5. Attach hinges, latches or locks to the door leaf. The installation algorithm depends on the specific type of fittings. While you were doing this work, the foam on the door frame dried up, you can hang the door leaf to it.

Step 6. Place a lining of the required thickness under the door leaf and first attach the upper and then the lower door hinges to the frame. Close the door and finally use the wedges to expose the false part of the box. Everything is fine - foam the door frame around the entire perimeter.

Prices for polyurethane foam

polyurethane foam

Video - Assembling a door frame without a threshold

Assembling the door frame with a threshold

Now it is worth considering the process of assembling a door frame with a threshold. For a change, we will connect the elements of the box not at an angle of 45 °, as in the above case, but at an angle of 90 °. We do this on purpose in the hope that unnecessary knowledge will not interfere with anyone.

In addition, such a connection of the door frame elements is considered more durable. If in the first case the length of the self-tapping screws was limited by the thickness of the corner joint, now these restrictions are removed, the self-tapping screw can enter the body of the bar by 2 ÷ 3 centimeters. A stronger connection increases the stability of the door sill and can be subjected to significant forces.

Checking the condition of the doorway, checking the floor level in the corners, taking measurements, preparing places for installing hinges and drilling for the screws for fixing the box is no different from assembling a door frame without a threshold. And then the differences begin.

Step 1. Saw off the top horizontal bar of the box. Its length should be equal to the width of the door leaf plus 6 millimeters for the gaps on both sides of the frame. Two such blanks need to be made - one is used under the door sill.

Step 2. On the vertical bars of the box, you need to remove the protruding stubborn quarter. Keep in mind that the cleanliness of the size of the uprights must be equal to the height of the door leaf plus 6 mm for the gaps on both sides. In addition, the left and right vertical posts of the door frame must take into account the difference in floor height in the corners of the doorway. We have already described all technological operations in the first example, it makes no sense to repeat.

In order to remove a quarter, attach a horizontal part to the end of the vertical rack of the box and mark its width. Measure with maximum accuracy, do not allow gaps in the connection. No matter how you close them up later, a real master will always see the flaws. Along the marked line, carefully cut the protruding quarter, the depth of the cut should be equal to the height of the quarter. Saw only with a fine-toothed hacksaw, the tool, as always, must be in good condition.

Step 3. Remove a quarter from the end of the vertical bars with a chisel. Do the work very carefully. The plane of the bar after removal should be perfectly flat across the entire width. Hold the chisel correctly while working. It has a flat bottom part, and the top one is sharpened at an angle. The upper plane should always be visible, otherwise the chisel will spontaneously cut into the tree, a flat surface will not work. This rule applies to all cases of chisel work. Do the same work on all sides of the door frame.

Step 4. Lay the parts on a flat surface and connect the top of the door frame first. Before screwing in, you must first drill holes in the details of a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the screws. This will eliminate the possibility of cracking or the appearance of a gap between the parts during the connection.

Corner assembly diagram

Step 5. Before assembling the threshold, we advise you to check the correspondence of its dimensions and the correct location. To do this, carefully place the assembled frame of the box from two vertical and one horizontal elements on a flat area and put the door leaf in place. Mark the exact position of the hinges on the door leaf, check all the gaps around the perimeter of the door frame and door leaf. As long as there is no threshold, the vertical struts can be slightly moved. Check the distances again, check the correctness of the threshold and, if necessary, correct the mistakes, in this position you have the opportunity to slightly correct the dimensions.

Door frame installation - photo

Video - Assembling a door frame with a threshold

Pay particular attention to the reliability of fixing the door frame from the side of the door frames. It is pointless to increase the number of dowels or screws; no more than two of them should be used. Why? The loads on the door frame from the door leaf are transmitted only through the hinges, which means that the frame should be fixed in these places. No matter how many screws you put between the hinges, they will not work. Drill only unnecessary and noticeable holes in the box. And under the hinges, the hardware of the fastener can be hidden. The main thing is that these two hardware fit with maximum reliability. If you find the slightest hesitation - eliminate them immediately, do not hope that the foam will withstand. Only unscrupulous or inept builders can do this. The foam holds lateral forces well, but almost does not work at all in compression, remember this always.

Do not be discouraged if some of the screws were slightly larger in length than required and appeared from the back of the box. This does not affect either the strength of the fasteners or the appearance of the door. The main thing is that the frame does not crack.

If you have a door frame made of natural wood, then self-tapping screws should be used with a large step, if from MDF - with a small step.

Video - A revolutionary installation system for all types of door frames

Video - How to properly assemble a door frame

Each master is faced with the problem of how and what to mount the assembled doors. To install a ready-made door block, various installation methods can be used. Knowing these installation options, you can easily choose the one that suits you. You will need a small set of tools - a drill, a hammer drill, a level, a screwdriver and a hammer. Also, for direct fixing of the box in the opening, fasteners and foam are needed. Depending on where you need to fix the door block, you may need self-tapping screws, dowels, anchors.

The main stages of installing the door block

At the very beginning, the old door frame is dismantled. It can be carried out using a nail puller (crowbar), having previously made cuts on both sides of each vertical bar, in order to then squeeze this structure from the opening. If anchor bolts were used during the installation of the old box, nails that cannot be unscrewed can be cut with a grinder.

Before installing the box of interior doors, it is necessary to check the verticals of the walls and take into account the differences in the level of the walls and floor. The door frame must be positioned so that if there are irregularities, the walls of the box do not go deeper into the opening. This is necessary for the fit of the door trims. In order to correctly position the door frame, you should use the building level and take into account all the errors of the opening.

First, the units are rigidly fixed in the opening, in order to achieve the initial level of rigidity, wedges are used. After completing the fixing work, it is worth re-checking the correct location with the level so that the box is level with the door.

Working with polyurethane foam

It is important to know the foam that is intended for the gun, it is much better and more convenient to work with due to the fact that it is more dosed and has a small expansion coefficient, it hardens much faster. Foam, which is supplied with a large amount with a straw, will expand for a longer time. Before starting work, it is better to close the door leaf with masking tape and film, because the foam is difficult to wash. It is important to know, you need to start foaming with fixing individual small areas. After 30 minutes, you can already walk the entire perimeter. All cracks are filled with foam (50% of the total volume). Do not fill with a lot of foam, because the foam will push the box inward during expansion. We recommend using professional foams.

Since the tree shrinks and expands precisely because of the increased humidity, the consequence of the expansion is the deformation of the door block. The door will simply stop closing for this reason.

Video on possible door mounting methods

There are several ways to fasten the door frame in the opening, each of which involves the use of a special type of fastening. Various fastening options provide a certain level of reliability and strength of the fixed structure. We hope that video clips on options for installing wooden door frames will help you.

A hidden way to install doors on foam

The door frame is fixed in the opening, wooden wedges are used to fix it, and the correct location is checked against the building level. Foaming with polyurethane foam should be done little by little, in sections and intermittently to avoid deformation. The door frame is held practically thanks to the foam alone.

To maintain a gap between the frame and the door itself, small 3 mm spacers are used, which are inserted between the door and the frame. They can only be removed when the foam is dry. Usually the door is left overnight.

This method is convenient if you do not need to go into the room, it is quick and does not require much effort. It is important not to overdo it with foam so that you can open the door.

Installation of doors using clamps or spacers

The principle of installation lies in the fact that we use spacers inside for temporary fastening of the door block in the opening. These can be both ordinary wooden rivers and special adjustable devices.

Both are very good for light and small doors.

Fastening doors with Knauf hangers

For these purposes, Knauf direct suspensions, which are used in suspended ceilings, are the best suited.

• First, the plates should be screwed to the box.
• Insert the door into the opening.
• We adjust the level.
• We mark the places for the recess in the wall.
• We make a selection for the plate.

After that, we set it on a level and fix the plates. For adjustment, we use wedging with wooden bars.

It is also necessary to take into account that with this method of mounting the box on the outer part of the wall, the place of the recess must be hidden under a layer of plaster. That is why this method is only good when there is no finishing.

New mounting options

This video will show you how to fix the door frame in the opening. This type of fastening is the installation of an interior door box, by putting the box on the screwed-in heads of the self-tapping screws, which are located at the ends of the opening. This happens with the help of metal plates with a hole, which are screwed on the outside of the box.

To achieve the final fixation of the frame in the doorway, conventional adjustment means are used.

With this method, the racks of the door block move freely in the opening.

A clear advantage of this method is the complete possibility of adjustment and, at the same time, rigid fixation with preservation of the original appearance of the box and the external decoration of the wall.

Concealed installation, fastening under the hinges

As a rule, for the rigidity of the structure, screws or anchors are used, which are hidden under the hinges. To do this, a hole is made between the screws in the loop and through it they are attached to the wall. From the side of the lock, another fastener is attached under the decorative plate. As a result, we get 3 fixation points.

After directly fixing, we put a spacer at the bottom of the doors, since the bottom is not fixed and all the gaps are filled with foam.

A significant plus of this method is the relative rigidity, preservation of the appearance.

Through fastening on anchors or screws

This is the most common standard installation option for interior doors. For this option, fastening, first, holes are drilled for anchors in the right places of the racks, then the door is fastened in the opening.

Preparation

• Marking with 4 anchors on each side.
• Drilling with a 14 mm pen to a depth of 10 mm (space for the plug).
• We drill a through hole with a 10 mm pen (place for fixing with an anchor).

Then the box is exposed and drilled with 10 mm concrete under the anchor. When the box is anchored, it is secure and does not require any struts. The attachment points can be hidden by installing decorative plugs of the desired color and size (14 mm). Instead of anchors, screws can be used, this will reduce the diameter of the plug. This option is most reliable for heavy doors. With it, you can align (stretch) the curved rail. The doors can be used almost immediately. It is possible to adjust the gap. The downside is the presence of stubs.

Tips for installing door accessories

Conclusion

There are many options for installing the frame of interior doors, but it is worth choosing the one that is the easiest, most convenient and reliable, or the fastest. The choice can be made according to any method of door installation, but these methods can be influenced by what opening the installation is in, taking into account the intensity and other factors.

Doors, despite their external simplicity, are very demanding in installation. The slightest mistake can lead to disastrous consequences. Incorrectly measured dimensions, cuts made cannot be corrected, and you will have to do it all over again using different materials. The gaps formed due to the erroneous sawing cannot be eliminated with the help of a sealant.

Even if this masks external defects, the structure will not be strong due to a loose fit to the surface. As a result, the load on the bars is significantly increased, and the service life of the door is reduced. In order to prevent such a situation, it is necessary to assemble the door frame with your own hands, strictly following the step-by-step instructions. It is important not only correctly, but also very carefully and accurately to carry out all the installation work.

The base frame must match the dimensions of the door (width and height) in order to provide full coverage and support of the structure. An important nuance regarding the canvas is the purpose of the room for which it is intended. Because ventilation requirements will depend on this. In steam rooms and saunas, doors must provide reliable thermal insulation, so the opening is sealed as tightly as possible.

The bathroom, on the contrary, needs to be well ventilated so that excess moisture does not accumulate and mold does not appear. Therefore, the gap between the box and the door should be slightly wider. And also good ventilation is required for rooms in which gas equipment is installed.

To provide reliable protection against heat leakage, a rectangular frame is constructed from four bars, which will serve as a door frame. The vertical posts will become the hinge and false element, and the transverse ones will become the upper support and threshold.

For free movement of the curtain, the gap between the door and the uprights should be about 3 mm. In cases where an air flow into the room is needed, the box is assembled from three bars, and a gap of about 10-15 mm is made at the place of the threshold. A standard distance of 3 mm is left along the uprights and lintels.

The assembled box is slightly higher than the complete threshold. The difference is about 20 mm. It is important to take this nuance into account so that you do not have to shorten the door. Because the canvas can only be adjusted if it is made of wood.

The gap between the door frame and the opening must be at least 10 mm on each side, so that the structure can be easily installed and fixed.

Required tools

A do-it-yourself door frame can be installed with the help of various tools, some of them are owned by many owners, but what is missing will have to be rented or purchased.

• Miter box. A device that allows you to cut a bar at different angles.
• Pencil, tape measure, construction tape.
• Acrylic paint for wood.
• Polyurethane foam for sealing the box.
• Chisel, for making cuts for hinges.
• Perforator, drill, screwdriver.
• Claw, crowbar, hammer. For dismantling works.
• Miter saw, hacksaw and stationery knife.
• Building level.

Dismantling

If the doors are not installed in a new room, but the structure is replaced. Then you can do the installation of the door frame with your own hands only after the old one has been removed. The door frame is dismantled in the following order:

1. The platbands are removed, and the elements of the box are disassembled.
2. Fasteners and anchor bolts are unscrewed.
3. The strength of the opening is checked and, if necessary, it is strengthened.

It is worth very carefully disassembling the door frame in order not to damage anything and thereby increase the volume of installation work in the future. If it is necessary to replace the door frame, it is recommended to dismantle it in advance so that there is time to prepare the opening. It is almost impossible to remove a door frame without damaging it. Therefore, after removing the old components, you will need to install new ones.

How to assemble a door frame?

The assembly diagram will help to make a door frame from blanks correctly.

The box must be enlarged with the help of an extension, if the width of the wall is more than 70 mm, and the platbands are placed on both sides.

If the door frame is assembled from MDF, all fastening work must be carried out with preliminary reaming so that cracks and chips do not form on the product.

How to saw down a door frame at 45 degrees?

Elements with a rounded section are cut at an angle of 45 °. In order to make the correct cut, use a miter box or a miter saw with a rotating table.

Do-it-yourself doorframes can be assembled without the use of special tools. In such cases, you can saw off the desired angle without a miter box, using a ruler and a protractor for marking.

When installing, the structure is fixed with self-tapping screws, which are screwed in at an angle.

Assembling the box at a 90 degree angle

With this option, the assembly of the door frame is quick and easy.

• It is necessary to saw off the required size of the racks and the horizontal crossbar at a right angle.
• Choose an extra part of the vestibule.

• Place the elements of the box on the floor, align and fix at the ends with self-tapping screws (2 in each).

In order for all sides to maintain parallelism, you can attach the door to the door frame and check how it will stand in the opening. The connection of the door frame at 90 degrees is considered by specialists to be a quick installation technology.

Assembling the box with a threshold

There is no significant difference between installing door frames with a threshold and without it. Thresholds have recently lost their relevance. But, despite this, such a system has a lot of fans. This is explained by the fact that it is stronger and more reliable than a structure without a lower transverse bar. Such systems can withstand significant loads and are suitable for installing solid wood doors. Thresholds are considered a prerequisite for bathrooms. Regardless of what type of construction is chosen, each person will be able to assemble the frame of the interior door.

• Prepare vertical and horizontal strips in advance.
• Cut at 45 or 90 degrees.
• The prepared elements are placed on a flat surface.
• In turn, fasten the racks and crossbars with self-tapping screws.

How to install the door frame correctly?

The installation of the door frame is carried out after a preliminary check of its compliance with the dimensions of the opening in the wall.

• In the event that everything fits, the door frame is installed in the opening.
• Using the hydro level, the verticality of the racks and the horizontalness of the crossbars are checked.

• Wedges (about 15 pcs.) Are installed around the entire perimeter of the structure. Spacer for door frames increases strength.

• Make markings for the attachment points. Holes are drilled along it on the bars and walls. Many experts attach the door frame to the wall in the places where the hinges and the lock striker are located. This allows you not to violate the integrity and appearance of the product.

• The door frame is fastened with anchor bolts, which are inserted into the holes and tightened with a screwdriver or wrench (depending on the type of fastener). The structure should be fastened very carefully.

• Fasten the hinges and hang the canvas. When properly installed, opening and closing the door will be easy.

• The gap between the block and the wall is filled with polyurethane foam.

The counter metal bar of the lock is installed at different stages: during assembly or when the structure is already fixed. The second method will be more correct and accurate.

• Cover the doors and mark with a pencil the location of the tongue or magnet.
• The required hole is made with a chisel or a feather drill. Too deep is not necessary, the main thing is that the tongue fits and holds the door.
• A sample is made according to the size of the striker and installed, securing it with self-tapping screws. It is not necessary to mount the element very deeply, this will ruin the appearance.

• The gaps are putty with sealant.

What else is important to know?

Not every person will succeed the first time with a high-quality installation of the door frame. But don't despair. Because many flaws can be fixed.

1. If there is an ugly seam, you can close the joint between the laminate and the door frame with a plinth or a special flexible sill.
2. If the box does not fit into the opening, then the racks and crossbars can be cut a little.
3. Platbands allow you to beautifully seal the gap between the door frame and the wall. If their width is not enough, you will have to plaster and decorate the gap.
4. To install an interior door frame in a concrete wall or brick, it is impossible to do without a puncher. If the MDF door frame is installed on the slats, using a drill, holes are made and only then they work with a puncher.
5. Fastening a door frame to a wooden wall is much easier than to other materials. In this case, a hammer drill is not useful for drilling holes. You just need to screw the door frame to the wall with the help of anchors. The main thing to consider is that over time, wooden buildings can shrink a lot.
6. To facilitate the installation process, special door frame installation systems have been created. Thanks to them, the structure can be placed in walls made of any material, without using wedges and spacers. Such a kit includes flush-mounted fasteners, detailed step-by-step instructions and diagrams. Using the system, even a beginner can insert a door frame.