How big to make a door frame?

[mattylad]

Hi all, at some point I'm going to have to take these bits of wood I have waiting to be a frame and actually make one (I hate this DIY stuff lol) anyhoo, how much wider than the door should the frame be?

It's a non std doorway and no std doors fit so they will have to be considerably cut down, but first I want to make the door frame.

 

[motorbiking]

Dumb question. But if you are making the door frame, can’t you make it to fit the doors? 2-3mm all round is enough and worth checking the doors can be cut sufficiently as most have a max trim of about 15-20mm

 

[mattylad]

No I cannot make it to fit the door as I don't have one yet.

It would be nice to be able to buy an off the shelf frame but this hole was made in 1855, before door sizes were standardized.

 

[JohnD]

What size is the hole?

Doors have been made in 32, 30 and 28 inch widths for a lot longer than that.

Though I used to have a house with a 36" front door.

 

[Tigercubrider]

And while it's nice to use left over wood, you can buy ready made liners and reduce them a bit which may be easier?

 

[mattylad]

Unfortunately no I cannot buy a ready made liner, (well not where I have looked) as they are not wide enough planks - this is an old stone house with 22" outer walls and foot thick inner walls.
This particular door hole is 7" thick, all the ready made frames I have seen are far less than that.
I'm having to make it myself, I have the wood already (20mm thick planks), the actual width of the door is not an issue as I have said, the hole is about 33" so with packing I can bring the width down to a std size, but the height is 77"/1955m ish, with the frame in it will be 1935mm ish and I am not finding doors to fit that so it's going to need cutting down drastically.

My question is how much wider than the door size should the hole for it to fit into be?

I can see that a 1981x762x35 door will fit width ways, I can pack the frame for that.
Hence the above question so I can figure out how wide to make the frame.

However I will need to remove almost 50mm off the top/bottom of the door, which is the hardest bit of this, I cannot change the height - I'm not moving the lintel above it (too much work required), I'm just refitting the frame and getting a new door.

I'll leave 5mm more than the door width - that seems to be enough.

 

[mattylad]

I'm looking at doors like this, does not matter if I go to a local woodyard, howdens or b&Q as they are all the same sizes.
As I'll be taking a punt on it's ability to have so much chopped off I'm more likely to go for the cheapest.
https://www.diy.com/departments/ver...nal-door-h-1981mm-w-762mm-t-35mm/26911_BQ.prd

 

[Tigercubrider]

Those won't do.
Read the reviews. They are chipboard covered in veneer and very limited on what can be trimmed.

 

[RandomGrinch]

If you are willing to spend a bit, there are plenty of custom made doors available online:
https://www.doordeals.co.uk/products/internal-doors/custom-size-internal-doors.aspx
for example.
Seem to be around £200 - 250, or visit a local joiner?
Or, if you don't mind something a bit rustic:
https://www.diy.com/departments/b-q...t-door-h-1981mm-w-762mm/3663602790914_BQ.prd?
Because it's framed, it can be taken apart and messed about with to your heart's content! I have butchered one to make a garden gate.

 

[motorbiking]

Cheaper here:
https://www.building-supplies-onlin...inished-aston-3l-door-with-obscure-glass.html

 

[Keithmac]

You'd be much better off with a solid wood door, I fitted Pine all through our hose and it's easy to work with.

Believe I bought ours from Wickes?.

All these sh1t veneered doors won't cope with the amount you need to chop out unless you are prepared to rebuild them after cutting.

 

[Notch7]

Hi all, at some point I'm going to have to take these bits of wood I have waiting to be a frame and actually make one (I hate this DIY stuff lol) anyhoo, how much wider than the door should the frame be?

I guess it is actually a liner you are making rather than a door frame?

ideally you want the liner to be 25mm thick for enough meat for hinge screws

if you have a light door 20mm is okish

I'll leave 5mm more than the door width - that seems to be enough.

the margin between door and liner should be 2.5mm to 3.00mm on the sides
at the top -Id allow 2mm (doors always drop a bit)

at the bottom -whatever is needed for floor covering and / or floor flatness -assuming perfectly flat I would normally do 6mm.

 

[mattylad]

Thanks Notch, thats what I need to know.