How to fix crack round inside door frame of front door

JLC9779

Hi, I have a crack between the wall and the front door frame inside the house all the way around. The crack is approx 3mm around but in someplaces a little wider. Its looks as though the door frame has shrunk or moved around 2mm away from the wall due to weather/settlement. I posted earlier about filling cracks but i am a little more worried about this one. Just wondered what is the best item to use for this.
It looks something like this picture I have found but a couple of mm wider all the way around.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/324791107_fc5f616406_o.jpg

I am hoping I am worrying about nothing, but really would like to get something that i can sort it and can decorate on top of and get a great finish. Thanks again and sorry for all the really basic questions.

JohnD · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:54 pm Post Subject:

is the door and frame plastic or wood? How old?

If you can borrow a digital camera or modern mobile phone you can take pics of your own door, which will be far more useful than someone else's

JLC9779 · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:23 am Post Subject:

i have put a pic in my album sorry for the quality it is form a mobile phone

http://media.diynot.com.s3-external-3.amazonaws.com/130000_129651_16561_82076358_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0FGFJJC9EFAG5882Z0G2&Expires=1257380529&Signature=DzwmCqK%2BWaIH04gV7fcSvH5jJuU%3D

The door frame is wooden, the house is about ten years old and I think it is a metal door. Hope this help.s

JohnD · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:24 am Post Subject:

Can't see the picture.

Try http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129539

JLC9779 · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:25 am Post Subject:

Hopefully this is the pic, if not it is in my album

JohnD · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:40 am Post Subject:

difficult to make it out, but it looks like a crack in the paint. I'd rake it out, brush clean, and use decorator's caulk before repainting.

If you have a wooden doorframe, it gets its strength from screws into plastic plugs in the brickwork. Cracks in the plaster do not matter.

If you expose a big gap between frame and wall, you can clean it out, moisten it, and use Expanding Foam which will fill the gap and also grip the frame and wall together, so it prevents draughts and rattles. It sets rigid but is very slightly flexible. But you need to mask off the floor and wall well as the foam expands a lot and is very sticky. Once dry you can cut it back with a knife or sandpaper before redecorating. Do not let it get into hinges or locks, and open the door so it does not get stuck shut.

JLC9779 · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:02 am Post Subject:

As you can tell I know nothing about this. Just had a look again and it looks as the plaster board or plaster was flush against the door frame and it looks as though something has shrunk or moved causing the plasterboard or plaster to come away from being flush against the door frame. Its only about ten yrs old the house, a barratt one, so goodness how they build them. Its in the porch are by the feont door. The reat of the house looks ok with only very small gaps by window frames. The largest gap round the particular door frame looks just over 5mm, and looking through this gap I can jsut make out somethings silver. Most of the crack round the rest of this door is on average 3mm. Bit worried how to fill the large area and whats behind it. Its an internal wall with the bathroom next door..

JohnD · Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:51 am Post Subject:

or you could nail a strip of quarter-round beading over the gap so you can't see it.

JLC9779 · Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 8:09 pm Post Subject:

Hi again,

Just started looking at this again and scraped all the cracked and flaking paint off. Looks as though the plasterboard never met the wall in some places by approx 5-10mm. So it looks as though somebody has filled it with some plast or something, this has then cracked or moved and now leaves a gp in places with nothing much behind if that makes sense. I guess i could use a flexible caulk? Is there anything else I can do. I want to make sure it doesnt crack again if possible. Can I feel it with the red devil stuff? Will that work. Bit worried I will just fill the gap and the stuff will fall out again. It is just one side where the gap is 5 or mm. The rest of the side I reckon I can use caulk and it shoud be ok. Please help as it would be good to sort it. Thanks for all your help so far

JohnD · Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:28 pm Post Subject:

expanding foam will fill the gap and (it is very sticky) will stick the bits together.

As it is very sticky, and expands more than you expect, I recommend masking the wall and frame very thoroughly with newspaper, and put it on the floor for at least six feet around. Clean out the gap first and use a garden sprayer to wash out dust and moisten the surfaces (this helps the expanding foam stick). User the plastic tube to squirt it as deep as you can into the gap. The foam dries about as rigid as expanded polystryrene. I find big-name brands have a more even texture than cheap chain-store cans, perhaps I have just been unlucky.

The foam will stick to your gloves, hands, clothes, hair, skin, eyeballs, soles of your shoes and carpet, so be ready to take off your overalls, gloves and shoes and drop them on the newspaper before you walk through the house. Once it is hard you can clean up.