Building up a door frame in situ

T

theflyingpig

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I've been scratching my head as to how to fix our twisted and out of plumb front door. It's timber and opens directly onto a B road through village...
Goes without saying that best approach would be to remove and refit it square and plumb.... But..... want to avoid this if possible due to mess and location of door....
I'm thinking to 'build up' the frame and cut down door (it's plenty wide enough)...
Anyone done this?
 
I really doubt tbat building up an out of square/plumb door frame is a good idea, even if you are skilled at producing accurately planed tapers (any good with a hand plane?). Taking a twist out is going to make the job an absolute PIA - it would be easier to cut the old one out and replace it

Is the hinge leg plumb? If so cut away the packings across the head and lock jamb legs, remove the screw and repofition and refix the leg and head to marry them to the shape of the door. Work inside to doorway at all times. If needs be do the job at 7am on a Sunday morning - that's what we tradesmen sometimes have to do

Hire some hi viz barriers (what we call "Chapter 8 barriers") to serve as warning and protection whilst you work as well as a men at work triangular warning sign. If you work quickly you shouldn't need them for long
 
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Further investigations of this door have revealed the base of the frame legs are both rotted. Gonna need to replace frame... Shame, because the hinge leg is actually plumb....
The only external door frame I've ever made was for a garage and I used treated timber... I presume hardwood is reccomended for houses though? There's currently no threshold, but definitely need one as rain is finding its way under door....
Build a frame or try to find one off the shelf?
Thanks for any input.
 
Hardwood will outlast softwood. Treated timber is really only impregnated the first couple of millimetres from the surface, so if you cut it (as in making M&T joints) you'll end up with untreated timber surfaces, so if you use softwood ir will be better to use joinery grade redwood and treat it yourself afterwards. If your door is a standard size you may find a local firm doing door frame kits, but you more often find door casing or door lining kits for interior use (which won't do what you need). Your best alternative might just be to find some rebated door frame section - my local timber yard carries these in redwood but will machine-up rebated hardwood (normally sapele, meranti or sometimes agba) to order quite quickly. They also supply threshold section, ex-stock (and this should be hardwood even if you have a softwood frame).
 
JobAndKnock said:
Hardwood will outlast softwood. Treated timber is really only impregnated the first couple of millimetres from the surface, so if you cut it (as in making M&T joints) you'll end up with untreated timber surfaces, so if you use softwood ir will be better to use joinery grade redwood and treat it yourself afterwards. If your door is a standard size you may find a local firm doing door frame kits, but you more often find door casing or door lining kits for interior use (which won't do what you need). Your best alternative might just be to find some rebated door frame section - my local timber yard carries these in redwood but will machine-up rebated hardwood (normally sapele, meranti or sometimes agba) to order quite quickly. They also supply threshold section, ex-stock (and this should be hardwood even if you have a softwood frame).
Click to expand...
Thanks very much for solid advice!
 
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