Fitting external door ...

[gidon]

Finally hung the Oak door I've been making for over a year! Took longer than I thought (when doesn't it?).
But although the door fits well, it's not as thick as the rebate of the door frame - about 1/2" between the door and rebate stop when closed. Hadn't really thought about this and not really much I could have done with respect to making the door. But I'm seeking the groups help on how to deal with this?
I could add some wood around the rebate. But I'm sure I've heard someone mention weather seal or something which I guess would fit inside this gap and provide better insulation too?
Any ideas what would be best and on the weather seal option what is this stuff so I know what to look for. I don't just mean that foam stuff.
Many thanks
Gidon

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gidon,

1/2in seems quite a gap... Is the door finished to internal thickness at 1 3/8 (35mm ish) but hung in an external frame? (1 3/4, 45mm ish)
You can get over it to a degree by letting the hinge in deeper on the frame. (Not deeper as in thickness of the leaf, deeper as in width of the leaf)
This will take the door in closer to the rebate, but you then have the door edge sat inside the rebate rather than flush with it, so it will start to foul at about 90 degrees rather than swing clear.
You might find that you don't need to let it too deep, you need slight clearance (a couple of mm is enough) on the closing rebate to prevent the corner from clipping as it closes.
The gasket seal is still not going to take up the whole gap IIRC, Trend do a few different types, but you need the correct router bit, and ideally the frame needs to be taken apart to run the slots/grooves needed, so might be be an ideal solution.
If you have the option, I would be inclined to take the frame out, take it apart and rip it down by the 1/2in needed. It's more work maybe, but the door will fit properly, and you could work in a draught excluder at the same time.
The gap in the plater/render can easily be patched or covered with a trim.
Hope this is of some help!

Cheers,
Andy

 

[gidon]

Hi Andy
Thank you for your help! Missed this yesterday - busy putting the glazing in, fitting the locks and letter box - I can see now why I was quoted £300 to do all this - quite a bit of work invloved.
Anyhow the door is all fitted now so would be very reluctant to take the frame out or adjusting the hinge positions (plus would the knuckle of the hinges need accounting for too?). So need a way of dealing with the gap in situ. It's more like 8mm actually. The final thickness of the door is 40mm - I couldn't get any more out of the 8/4 stock unfortunately. Accounts for the gap I guess!
Isn't the Trend stuff for sealing the gap around the door rather than behind it? Do you know of anything for sealing behind the door?
I'm still not sure this would do it though: I've noticed the door appears to need something firm to close against since both the mortice and latch locks have a lot of play in their lock position. Is there anything against just filling in the gap with wood cut to make up the rebate to the right dimension?
Sorry for so many questions!
Cheers
Gidon

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gidon,

the Trend catalogue shows a cutter for the type I was thinking of, but it looks like they don't have the actual gasket! (pg65, fitting weatherseals)
This is the type found on a lot of commercially made frames from builders merchants, and I know that Selco Builders Merchants used to stock the gasket separately. I doubt if the profile would be enough to close 8mm though, it would be more like 3-4mm and you still need to groove the frame.
The idea of putting a strip in seems the best bet if you don't want to alter the frame, but rather than make a rectangular piece that will show a prominent joint line, I would make a hockey stick profile and wrap it around the rebate as it will give you a better looking finish rather than an obvious attempt to rectify a mistake.
Hope this makes sense, but if not, PM or email me and i'll do you a sketch and send it to you.
cheers,
Andy

PS. I'll have to move near you...£300 to hang a door and whack the fittings on? I take about 1/2 a day at the most to hang and fit everything.
Were you quoted by a dentist? :shock:

 

[gidon]

Andy
Your mention of the Trend seal got me Googling. As luck would have it the Aquamac seal is available from a distributor near me in Saltash. They do a larger profile than the "21" Trend sell (Aquamac 89). This is specifically for doors and comes in 2m lengths (handy cost-wise). And the good news is it is for gaps of 8-13mm - perfect!
You can fit it either around the door or against the door as I want. And Wealden do a simple groove cutter for £17 which I should be able to use with the frame in situ. So this looks like the way forward. Else I'll do as you suggest with the extra strip with a hockey stick profile.
Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction! And now I can pretend I deliberately left the gap for weather sealing which is a bonus !
All the best
Gidon
PS - That quote was for fitting the hardware and hanging the door - not even doing the glazing! I thought it was pretty steep too. But it was a good incentive to do it myself. I'm glad I did - it wasn't as bad as I thought just a little time consuming. I reckon it took me 2 days inc the glazing!! I wish you lived closer too - it took my 1/2 day just to fit the mortice lock!

 

[Anonymous]

At three hundred quid you could have paid my travelling expenses, put me up for the night and still had loads of change!
Hope it all goes well!

cheers,
Andy

 

[gidon]

Careful - may take you up on that if there's a next time !
Will be posting some shots of the door soon so will you know how I get on.
Cheers
Gidon