There are a lot of proposals for entrance doors on the market - here not only metal structures, but also wooden ones. And as practice shows, reliability is determined not only by the quality of the product itself and the materials from which it is made, but also by competent installation. Installation of entrance doors is a responsible matter, therefore, so that the end result does not disappoint, it is recommended that you study the installation instructions.
Measurements and preparation of the opening
So, the old entrance door no longer meets its purpose in terms of both functionality and reliability. It is necessary to purchase and bring to the house (apartment) a new model, which is selected both in appearance, in functional indicators, and in size.
But before you go to the store, you need to take the dimensions of the doorway. You need to get to its ends, which are hidden under the platbands with a layer of leveling mortar and polyurethane foam:
- Platbands are dismantled, there is no need to stand on ceremony with them, in the future they will no longer be useful.
- The plaster layer is removed.
- If the installation foam was used during installation, then it will have to be removed.
- The threshold is dismantled.
The front door is in front of you, and the edges of the loot (as the door frame is called in professional language) and the ends of the opening are clearly visible. There is always a gap between them. Now you need to measure the distance between the opposite ends of the opening. This must be done in at least three places with an equal distance between measurements. Similarly, with a horizontal direction. The smallest values are selected from them, which are taken as the basis for the dimensions of the door frame with a deviation of 1-2 cm to the lower side.
For example, if the height of the opening turned out to be 2.12 m, then the size of 2.1 m is taken to select the height of the hole.
It should be noted that different manufacturers have their own model line, in which each door has its own dimensional parameters. Therefore, it will be necessary to adjust the actual dimensions of the opening for standard door structures from a specific model range.
Loot dismantling
The difficulty of dismantling the door loot will depend on what material the walls of the house are built from. If it is gas, foam or expanded clay concrete, then all dismantling work must be carried out with great care - it is important not to spoil the fragile masonry, prone to chips.
In general, the procedure is as follows:
- the door leaf is removed from the hinges;
- the box is cut into pieces by a grinder or hacksaw.
- crowbar or crowbar dismantled cut pieces.
Doorway cleaning
Cleaning consists in removing old fasteners, a flimsy plaster mix and, if applicable, mounting foam from the ends and adjacent sections.
But if the house is old and the front door has been operated for more than a dozen years, then it is necessary to check the floor beam, which is installed above the doorway. If its quality leaves much to be desired, then it is worth considering how to replace it. With your own hands, it is better not to carry out this repair operation.
Pay attention to the area below the threshold. Typically, in brick houses that have been in operation for a long time, wide openings are formed, filled with brick loose material, so you need to get rid of this garbage.
Sealing cracks and voids
When all defects of the doorway are found, they must be repaired with a normal cement-sand mortar, which is diluted in a ratio of 1: 3 (1 part of cement to 3 parts of sand). Large voids are filled with broken or solid brick and mortar. Small ones - only with a cement mixture, the same applies to cracks. Before closing up the latter, it is recommended to use a deep penetration primer. It will not only fasten together particles of wall material, but also deepen into the thickness of concrete, making it more durable.
There is no need to level the surface of the ends of the doorway. You can raise the floor, fill the screed, or even out the space under the nut.
Installation instructions for entrance doors
A few useful tips before starting installation work:
- when buying an entrance door in a store, it is recommended to inspect it for external defects and defects;
- read the rules for choosing the front door;
- the protective film needs to be removed only after all installation and finishing work has been completed;
- get doors with thermal break - this is when the external and internal power elements are separated by inserts from the insulation;
- keep in mind that if the installation is carried out independently without the participation of specialists, the manufacturer does not bear any responsibility and does not give any guarantees.
Box installation
First of all, the door must be disassembled into two parts: the canvas and the box. The latter is installed in the doorway and set the level both vertically and horizontally. At the same time, installation is done on stands made of wood or plastic. It is best if they are cone-shaped inserts that can be easily knocked out after installation. Although sometimes the masters do not touch them, leaving them in the opening as additional support.
Please note that the front door is flush with the outside of the wall. And it should open out. After setting, the diagonals of the frame are checked, they must be the same in length.
Construction mounting methods
There are several ways, so each should be considered separately. Fasten the door frame at least 10 points: 2 from the bottom and top and 3 from each vertical end.
Through the eyes
Manufacturers of metal door models offer designs that already include the so-called eyelets - metal strips welded to the frame, in which holes are made for fasteners. Therefore, the fastening process itself is as follows:
- the strips bend to the wall surface so that they are pressed as tightly as possible;
- holes are made through the holes with a puncher to fit the length of the anchor;
- the latter is inserted through the eye into the hole in the wall and tightened with a wrench.
Instead of anchors, steel reinforcement pins can be used. They are driven into the hole, and the ends are welded to the eyes by electric welding. To increase the fastening strength, cement mortar can be poured into the hole, and then the pins should be hammered. If reinforcing bars are used as fasteners, then the depth of the hole should be within 15 cm.
Through hole
Some manufacturers of entrance metal doors at the stage of their production provide through holes in the ends of the box. If there are none, then you can drill them yourself with a drill or punch.
Through holes, a punch is made indentations at the ends of the opening, where either anchors or pins are inserted. If the front door is made of wood, then for anchoring in this way only anchors are used, the nuts of which must be recessed into the body of the box. Therefore, under them make an expansion of the hole for the size of the diameter of the nut, and the depth of fit should be equal to the thickness of the fastener. The pins are not used in this case, because there is nothing to weld them to.
Through metal grips
This option of fastening the front door is possible only if, in addition, a metal edging from a profile steel corner is installed from the outer edge of the opening.
It is necessary to weld metal strips with a width of 3-4 cm, a length equal to the width of the end of the opening, and a thickness of 2-3 mm at the points of attachment to the door foot from the inside. They are welded either perpendicular to the parts of the box, or diagonally. There are no particularly strict requirements in GOST.
Thus, outside the box is held by a fringing, and from the inside by metal hooks.
And some more useful tips about the sequence and correctness of fastening:
- you need to start attaching the box from the side of the hinge installation;
- the process itself is performed from top to bottom;
- after each fastener, the box is checked for verticality of the installation: they fixed one side, hung the canvas, checked whether it opens well - you can go to the other side of the loot; same with top and bottom.
The end of the installation process
The check showed that the door is standing correctly, it opens and closes freely. The door leaf must be removed again, and the surface of the loot should be glued with masking tape, because it is time to close the gaps and finish the finish.
- The mounting foam fills the gap between the ends of the opening and the box. It will not only perform the functions of a filler, but also a heater. By the way, you may find useful information on how to remove dried foam from the door.
- The same can be done with cement-sand mortar, where building gypsum is added. The latter sets quickly, so the solution dries quickly.
- The clearance surface is plastered to maximum evenness. To do this, you may need to apply the mixture in several layers.
- Make slopes that paint or cover with decorative material.
- If necessary, install add-ons.
- Masking tape is removed.
- From the outside, platbands are installed. If the door is wooden, then they are attached to the frame with self-tapping screws, the caps of which are recessed in the wood by 0.5 mm. After that, the hats themselves are closed with decorative caps. If the box is metal, then the platbands are attached to it with rivets, screws or bolts.
- Handles are installed on the door, hinges are lubricated.
- The door leaf is hung.
Such is the step-by-step technology for installing a door in a brick or panel house.
Installation in openings from gas, foam and expanded clay concrete
Expanded clay private house or buildings made of gas or foam blocks belong to the category of buildings with fragile load-bearing structures. Therefore, in order to install the front door in them, two important requirements prescribed in SNiP and GOST must be taken into account:
- Increase the number of fasteners on the vertical sides of the box within 4-6 on each side. At the same time, the depth of their laying should not be less than 20 cm. To fix metal doors in a foam concrete wall, you cannot use standard metal anchors, which in soft blocks are quickly loosened due to intensive opening and closing of the door. In such houses, it is better to use chemical anchors, for example, Hilti, according to the norm.
- Install a compression structure of two frames made of steel corners with a shelf width of 40 or 50 mm. In fact, this is the same edging, only on both sides of the wall. Both structures are fastened together by cross members of metal plates 3-4 mm thick.
Installation in a wooden house
Installation of the door structure is performed as follows:
- A casing is made along the opening - this is a powerful wooden box of timber.
- A door frame is inserted into it.
- The box is fastened to the casing with long self-tapping screws or screws. It is important that the fasteners do not go through the casing.
More details on this process can be found in the article “Installing the front door in a wooden house”.
The accuracy of sizing, a strictly phased procedure for conducting operations, the correct exposure of the loot in all planes and reliable fastening of the door are the basic rules for its installation and guarantee the quality of the final result.