replacing door frames

[Hairy Steve]

Hi folks.

The woodwork in my home is looking a bit crap and i was thinking about replacing it all.

I'm OK with skirting as ive did that before but i've never replaced a door frame or hung a door.

Can you do me a favour and look at this quick sketch i've done on how i think a door frame is constructed, starting from left to right. Please feel free to comment on the names of the different sections because i'm not clear on what each part is called. Also if you think it's wrong please comment.

Any tips or recommendations?
Is this too big job for an amateur?

cheers chaps

clickable thumbnail

 

[JohnD]

I'm not very good at it. but I'd add, hang the door before you fix those battens/door stops. Then you can put the stops to exactly meet your door.

If like me you're not very skilled at doors, you might think about lift-off hinges. They make it easier to trial fit/mark/take off/plane down/rehang.

You can buy ready-made door lining kits, but they're not exactly complicated. If you make it yourself you could use a timber to match your hardwood floors and skirting.

I prefer screwing to the wall, but you can get expanding foam that sticks it into place. Try to put the fixing screws where they will later be concealed by the stops.

 

[Hairy Steve]

Thanks for the input mate.

Any other tips?

Should i use the same section as the existing timber?
Best way to square the frame?

Any tools other than hammer, chisel and saw.

 

[JohnD]

There are a few experts who will be out doing it, wait until they get back.

 

[Tozzy]

I like your sketch 'Hairy Steve' .

I believe that you can do anything as long as you have planned thoroughly beforehand. I am unaware of the amount of experience you have so, please don't think I'm being rude by saying that you should have experience of knocking down plaster. In other words, have some basic DIY knowledge. I say this because yesterday was my first time of stripping a wall down to the bare brickwork so, what I'm saying is, now that I've done that, I would feel confident enough to remove plaster from around a door frame etc as I know what to expect. I don't think it would be too difficult putting in a new one because if you remove the old one, the bricks would remain and you could lay the new frame around this. You may need to be extra careful when you remove the top frame because it may be supporting the brickwork above. However, I'm just a newbie DIY guy at the moment and still have a lot to learn . I like JohnD's idea about leaving the moulding/ door closures etc until last as it will make the job easier.

There are a few experts who will be out doing it, wait until they get back.

I wish we had hired an expert to do our doors years ago. You guys should see the job that our local cowboy did and charged us for .

I have some doors that I've been meaning to put up, but I've not yet got the confidence to carry out the work. That's the thing with me, if I'm not sure if I can do it, I won't attempt it or if it's something I think I might be able to do, I would stop early on if I wasn't sure.

P.S. The second doorframe is the type that we have going into our conservatory.