Fitting A New Door : The Basics Explained

There are some household jobs that anyone can do without calling in the handyman, such as fitting a new door. Here are a few tips to help you along. The first thing you need to do is decide what type of door you need to fit – internal or external is the most obvious decision. Then you can decide between flush, smooth wood or a paneled door, as well as if a lightweight one will do the job or if a sturdier door is what you’re after.

You obviously need to make sure your chosen door is going to fit into the existing frame. The most common door sizes are readily available from DIY shops so you might not have to worry, but it’s worth checking your door against the frame to see if you need to alter it at all. Mark the frame measurements onto your new door allowing for floor clearance and fluctuations in the wood – 5mm at the bottom and 3mm on the other sides.

Once you’ve got your measurements marked, it’s time to trim off the excess. Small amounts of spare wood (as a rule, less than 5mm) can be removed used an electric or hand planer to ensure you don’t take off too much. For anything more than that use a circular saw, but make sure you don’t cut off more than 15mm from any edge or it will weaken the door. In this case, you should investigate buying a different size instead. Also, keep your trimmings equal so it stays even.

When you’ve trimmed your door to the required size, check it fits into the existing frame. Get someone to help you slot it into the space and wedge it into place at the bottom. When you’re sure it’s okay, if necessary, you should fit new hinges to the door frame (your old ones might be fine, though). Fit them into the hinge recesses provided. Then slot the door back into the frame and wedge it in place with timber supports.

Keeping the door wedged into place, use a pencil to mark the positions of the hinges onto the edge of the door. Then use a chisel to remove any waste wood so that, when you fix the door to the frame, the hinges are flush with the edge of the door. Using a 3mm wood bit, make holes in the edge of the door to attach the hinges. Screw in a couple of hinges so you can check the swing of the door and, when you’re happy, fix in the remaining hinges.

Continue : Door Handles Or Door Knobs