fitting door to large wall aperture

[garyo]

I want to replace my old front door with a more modern UPVC one. The current door is set into a fairly large aperture in the brickwork, and so the frame is very thick in places (see picture below)

The aperture in the brick work is 220x99 cm. For cost reasons I'd like to buy a door/frame from ebay rather than getting it custom made, and the frame sizes that are available all seem much smaller - around 8cm narrower and over 10cm shorter and 12cm in height.

How can I pad out the frame without ending up with something looking rubbish? At the moment the best I can think of is fitting a wooden surround and glossing it in white, then bolting the frame through this into the brick work.

Thanks

Gary

Untitled

• garyo
• 16 Sep 2009
• 1

 

[JohnD]

Without wishing to be offensive, plastic doors are expensive, but far weaker and less secure than wooden ones, and IMO look horrible. They reduce the value of traditional older houses.

Plastic doors do not respond well to being changed in size after manufacture, but a competent joiner can easily trim and adjust timber.

Would you be willing to look at the cost and practicability of getting a new wooden frame and door fitted? It is likely to be easier and cheaper, as well as better.

 

[garyo]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not at all adverse to having another wooden door, but do associate them with expense! What I'm really looking to get out of this is:

* Removal of drafts by having a frame with twin seals, as per most UPVC doors/frames. The current door has none. I've tried various draft excluding strips and it still blows an icey gale in winter.

* Double glazed. Current is all single.

* Improved closing mechanism. The current door needs a good slam and is on it's last legs generally.

The house is on a street of ex council houses, most of which have been replaced with UPVC, some in wood grain effect, some not. So it wouldn't look that out of the ordinary in UPVC, but I share your sentiment about wood being better.

Gary

 

[masona]

* Removal of drafts by having a frame with twin seals, as per most UPVC doors/frames. The current door has none. I've tried various draft excluding strips and it still blows an icey gale in winter.

Correctly fitted door with decent strips built into the frame won't give you any problem. Also a bonus is a porch

* Double glazed. Current is all single.

My front wooden door is double glazed

* Improved closing mechanism. The current door needs a good slam and is on it's last legs generally.

The reason for slamming is lack of maintenance, it's either badly fitted door or the latch need oiling, WD40 is good

The house is on a street of ex council houses, most of which have been replaced with UPVC, some in wood grain effect, some not. So it wouldn't look that out of the ordinary in UPVC, but I share your sentiment about wood being better.

Most break in are upvc doors because it's easier, less hassle & less noise. The insurance companies are not keen on these doors. Do a search and see how many problem there are with upvc doors, very rarely you hear a wooden doors problem, at the end of the day the choice is up to you

 

[JohnD]

my front door is single glazed, but the total area of glass is only about 0.25 sq m so I don't consider it significant.

If a wooden door won't close easily, I suspect it has drooped on its hinges. Far easier to fix than a new door.

 

[masona]

my front door is single glazed, but the total area of glass is only about 0.25 sq m so I don't consider it significant.

When I did my stained lead light training, the lecture told me single & double glazed are not a lot in it on heat saving, they did a demo on the temperature reading on both glass and the double glazed was only very slightly warmer than the single glass so basically it's a waste of time and money but did say double glazed unit are more quiter

 

[cmother1]

It's a great looking door - almost Dickensian. It would be a shame to scrap it unless it's got terminal rot.

 

[garyo]

I think the reason it's tight is due to the amount of weather strip and seals that have been stuck to it over the years. The drafty gaps around it's edge are probably only 1 or 2mm so the seals don't have enough room to work properly.

Perhaps I should change tac, and try to chase some rebates into the existing frame, and then fit a decent seal around the whole edge - are such things available?

 

[JohnD]

if the situation is as you describe, start by taking all the seals off

see if it now closes properly

see if it has drooped at the joints or if the hinge screws are loose

see if it and the frame are both square, or both out the same way

see if the locks fit correctly

whatever defects you discover, people on here can help with

after you have got the door and frame tight, you can if necessary adjust the locks and look at new weatherstrip after you have stripped and repainted it

some detail photos will be nice as you work.

BTW for the winter you can get a door curtain. They are very good at keeping the cold and draughts out, and also muffle street noise. You can get a special curtain rail that pivots out of the way when you open the door, it is called a Portiere Rod

 

[masona]

BTW for the winter you can get a door curtain. They are very good at keeping the cold and draughts out, and also muffle street noise.

Though of you who want to know it's called Interlined Suede Curtain

Thanks for the name John, doing my head in what it's called, will order one shortly, does anyone know what the difference between Hinged Portieres & Self Closing Portieres