How do you measure up to fit a door?

[foxhunter]

A door needs to be replaced. The door frame may not be square and I need to fit it with a 3mm gap all round (non-negotiable). Where do I start the process? What should be my method of work?

ALL help to this beginner will be appreciated.

 

[Nev Hallam]

I usually start on the longest wall with least obstructions, depending on the floor your laying I'd leave more than 3mm, I recently seen an oak t&g floor move 20mm. Lots of factors involved in you laying this floor, what material is the floor for starters, how your choosing to lay the floor EG floating, adhesive maybe secret nailing? What surface your laying the floor on. is it level? does it need sealing?
I don't lay many floors, however I have done a few, its not my forte, I'm sure there's more experienced people to add to this.

 

[chippy1970]

I usually start on the longest wall with least obstructions, depending on the floor your laying I'd leave more than 3mm, I recently seen an oak t&g floor move 20mm. Lots of factors involved in you laying this floor, what material is the floor for starters, how your choosing to lay the floor EG floating, adhesive maybe secret nailing? What surface your laying the floor on. is it level? does it need sealing?
I don't lay many floors, however I have done a few, its not my forte, I'm sure there's more experienced people to add to this.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

He said DOOR not FLOOR :lol: :lol:

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

If you need to measure to buy the door then measure frame internally top, middle and bottom. The largish measurement is the one to go for and do the same for the height. You buy the door thats larger or the same as the measurements you have taken.

Once you have the door try to push the door into the frame. It will most likely not fit. Take a level (6' one if you have it) and make sure the hinge side is level. Look at the gaps around the door hinge side and if more then 3mm move the door but keeping it level towards the hinge size until gaps are less than 3mm. Now raise the door if needed to make sure there are no gaps more then 3mm at the top. If someone is with you have them pencil a mark around the door using the frame as a pencil guide.

If you have no one with you then you need to reference corner points of the frame and transfer them to the door. Take very little off each side until the door will fit into the frame but with only say 1mm clearance. Once its in you can use a scribe tool set to 3mm or a 3mm thick piece of wood/metal/plastic and using the frame as a guide scribe marks onto the door and trim to them lines.

 

[Nev Hallam]

He did I need glasses!

 

[Chems]

I usually start on the longest wall with least obstructions, depending on the floor your laying I'd leave more than 3mm, I recently seen an oak t&g floor move 20mm. Lots of factors involved in you laying this floor, what material is the floor for starters, how your choosing to lay the floor EG floating, adhesive maybe secret nailing? What surface your laying the floor on. is it level? does it need sealing?
I don't lay many floors, however I have done a few, its not my forte, I'm sure there's more experienced people to add to this.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

He said DOOR not FLOOR :lol: :lol:

That was classic, I know a lot of people dive in without reading post properly but this takes the biscuit!

I did my first door hanging this weekend, double doors not single. Got a decent fit fairly easily. Just started off making sure the door was square. Then marked up the hinges and cut them in to the frame. The doors didn't close so I started planning off with my block plane until they did and I'd gotten an even gap all around. Not very scientific but its the same way I do cabinet doors and the only way I knew how.

 

[Jake]

I'm no pro, but I am bored and avoiding other stuff I should be doing:

(a) take a plumbline from the LHS corner at the top, drop it down to the bottom. If the bob is inside the jamb in free air (i.e. jamb is leaning inwards as it goes up) then move the top of the line left until it touches and mark the top when the bob touches. If the jamb is straight or leaning out (so the bob is outside or trying to be outside the door) then ignore that, the top left corner is your mark. Do the same on the right, but in reverse - i.,e. moving the bob right until it hits the bottom of the RH jamb, mark the top unless it is inside the top right corner of the door hole (technical term).

(b) take a piece of hardboard or something and draw a picture and then use squares or 3/4/5 or whatever to find the rectangle which encloses your (un)parallelogram.

(c) measure top and bottom, eye it up to see how madly out it is, add a little bit and take a punt.

I'm a (c) man.

 

[Jake]

Oh sorry, half the answer.

That gives you the size of your door.

Then take your door to the hole. Resting it on the floor, shove it hard up against the hinge jamb. If the floor is wonky or the jambs aren't vertical the top or bottom corner is going to hit first. If the middle hits, you have banana jamb which isn't very nice (I prefer raspberry).

Then chop some bits off until it fits.

I'll try and be more helpful tomorrow if someone else doesn't sort it out for you.

 

[Nev Hallam]

At least you have a heads up when it comes to fitting a floor!
He he!

That'll teach me not to speed read!

 

[Lons]

I'm a lazy git so if replacing a door, I usually start by looking closely at the existing one. Closing it and checking gaps and fit. Based on my findings I then check the diagnols and buy a door the same size or slightly larger.

If a decent fit, I would use the existing as a template (including hinge and lock / catch position) trimming slightly oversize then fine tuning as required.

Might not be correct methodology but it works for me saves a lot of time.

Bob

 

[Digit]

I'm even lazier Bob, if the existing door fits I remove the furniture, clamp it to the new door and use a router with a guided cutter to cut to size. Even with a slightly poor fitting old door with a certain amount of adjustment it can still be used as a template.

Roy.

 

[Lons]

I'm even lazier Bob, if the existing door fits I remove the furniture, clamp it to the new door and use a router with a guided cutter to cut to size. Even with a slightly poor fitting old door with a certain amount of adjustment it can still be used as a template.

Roy.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

And there was me, almost embarassed to post my method :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Digit]

It's quick and easy and I'm a sucessor to Beau Brummel, Beau Nidel!

Roy.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

:-s I was asked yesterday the difference between a joiner and carpenter :wink: :lol:

 

[Shane]

I agree with digit and lons, time is money and all that. My method with a reasonable fitting old door is using as template then using guide rail and saw. If I'm not able to use the old door as a template a 6ft level and framing square is my friend and check hinge side of frame and top for squareness, no point cutting the hinges and hanging to find you have a big gap at the top on the latch side. Once that angle is determined I then measure top, middle, btm, left and right. The gap at btm of door will be dictated by the level of the floor.

 

[Shane]

I need to fit it with a 3mm gap all round (non-negotiable)

What happens if the frame hole is everso slightly bigger than the 3mm tolerance in places over a standard door?

 

[Jacob]

Basically the door you make/buy has got to cover the opening to within a mm or two at the widest point(s) and to within say 10mm at the highest point(s), however misshapen the opening is. So you have to measure and look closely to work out what that size would be and make sure the door is big enough.
The door you supply must not be too big - such that trimming off will cut into the joints or otherwise upset it.
Then you fit the door by the usual methods - offering up, making pencil marks, looking for gaps etc. First trim the length just enough to get it into the hole, then do the sides then the head and finally the bottom edge.
If the frame/lining is really off you could consider getting it back into place first.
2 or 3 wedges are really useful, say ex 3"x2" 10"long ish

 

[Benchwayze]

A few years ago, I bought a new door for the kitchen. (Not that there was anything wrong with the old one. SWIMBO just wanted a change.) The old door fitted perfectly and I used it as a template.

When I had the two doors identical, I double-checked and then with the new door exactly the same size, and not 'in wind', I started to hang it. It wouldn't fit. Explain that someone? I can't.

I am now going to move the door anyhow, to give a longer worktop space in the kitchen. This involves knocking through the wall and bricking up the old space, so I'm getting in a Pro, and it won't be my problem, but it's always mystified me. :?

I gave the door away, as the only place I could store it was in my shop and it got in the way! :mrgreen:

 

[Jacob]

A few years ago, I bought a new door for the kitchen. (Not that there was anything wrong with the old one. SWIMBO just wanted a change.) The old door fitted perfectly and I used it as a template.

When I had the two doors identical, I double-checked and then with the new door exactly the same size, and not 'in wind', I started to hang it. It wouldn't fit. Explain that someone? I can't. .....

Simple.
You should have fitted the new door to the hole, not try to match it to the old door. The old door is useful as an indicator of the overall size needed, but that's it.

 

[Benchwayze]

Thanks Jacob,

Right... If the new door had been the first door in the hole, I wouldn't have had an old one to compare with. So I didn't need the old door anyhow?

The SA door came as a standard, (Pre-metric) hence the reason I matched it to the old one. However, that still doesn't explain why the new door, being exactly the same size and shape, (Even if it was a trapezoid) was leaving a meeting gap that was twice the size of the gap for the old door. Which wasn't acceptable. (The hanging stile was okay). As I adopted the same procedure everywhere else in the house, without problem, then I can only assume I didn't match the doors properly, or the frame was out of plane and out of square.

Anyhow, like the chair with one short leg, I wasn't about to mess with it, so I re-hung the old door. And until I get the doorway moved, there it stays!