Door size

[iandandav]

I currently do not have any internal doors or even frames. I will shortly be going about fitting some into the stone recesses. My question is whats the standard or best internal door frame size if there is such a thing. Also what is the best thickness of wood to use for the frame and the recommended joints for holding the uprights to the cross piece.
Thanks
Ian

 

[ladylola]

There isn't really a single "standard" door size, they could be 2'3", 2'6", or 2'9" and without seeing your house it's impossible to say .I'd always go for the largest size that would fit into the opening. Are you intending to make them all yourself seeing as you ask about sizes and construction? If so then" standard" is immaterial in many respects. You mention stone reveals so is it right to assume that this is an older property? If so then standard off the shelf joinery probably won't fit anyway and bespoke may be the way ahead.
As to your question about construction the joints can be motice and tenon , or a simple groove on the head with corresponding short "tenon" on the jamb, I've even seen simple butt and screw joints. Standard linings are about 7/8" thick , but again I've seen frames up to 3" or more, it really depends on the property and what "looks" right.

 

[JohnD]

a couple of modern wheezes that will not have been available when older houses were built:

after you have screwed the door lining into place, and before you fix the architrave, you can run expanding foam into the gap between the wall and the lining. You say you have a stone house, so this gap may be quite large and uneven. The foam will set firm, hold the door in place, and will prevent draughts, smoke, dust and insects getting through. Fire-proof foam is available which is a bit dearer, but probably a good idea. You can actually fix your door linings in place just with foam, and no screws or nails needed (you have to hold it in the correct position with temporary chocks or wedges)

if you need to fix to a stone wall, it can be difficult to drill a good hole. Drill one that is amply wide and long enough for your screw and plasplug, remove any dust or grit with vac or water jet, and put no-more-nails or similar into the hole, starting deep so that it is filled from the back. Push your plasplug into the soft adhesive (you can put a screw in by a couple of turns to use as a handle) and smooth it off, leave it to harden overnight, and it will give you a very secure fixing even in a crumbly substrate, or a loose hole.

 

[ladylola]

Agree with John there on the expanding foam, it's cracking stuff but as he says make sure you put timber across the frame to stop it moving whilist it cures. I remember years ago chap I was working with was asked to fill some holes on a roof with this foam, neither of us had seen the foam before and so we just sprayed what we thought would be enough. Went back the next day to see huge "mushrooms" of foam sticking out of the roof. We had of course used too much and spent the next few hours cutting it back
As to fixings in stone work- A lot of our work is heritage work and fixing to the stone is not allowed or at best severely frowned upon. We can only fix to the joints which as you can understand can be a royal pain in the blunt end

 

[joinerjohn]

Depending upon the size of the openings, you might find that "metric" sized doors will suit your needs. Typical sizes are 626mm x2040mm, 726mm x 2040mm, 826 x 2040mm (all slightly bigger than imperial sized doors.

 

[iandandav]

Thanks for all your advice, my thinking was that I could get an off the self door from a DIY shop or builders supplier or the like and make the frame to fit the door as I dont have frames in place yet this seems to me easier than fitting a frame then cutting the door to fit . It would also be cheaper than having doors made to measure.

 

[vv2806]

If you are going to buy doors from DIY shops, they sell also prefabricated flat-pack frames - it includes three boards (2 vertical and one horizontal) with slots in them, so you can fix them to accommodate a standard door. The doorstops are included in the pack, too. The cost is about £12.

 

[JohnD]

the "nomorenails with plasplugs" tip also works in mortar joints, which are notoriously crumbly, and even open cracks