fitting door & frame into steel house

[crooner]

hi , i'm thinking of fitting a upvc or composite back door , my problem is i have a steel house so i'm concerned how i would fix the frame to the steel facings on each side & top,
whether short self taping screws into the metal or drilling through the metal & trying to catch the flimsy timbers behind if there is any , see the 3 photos below ,
photos of the door, the hinges which i would have to shear off ,
lock plate which if you enlarge can see flimsy timbers
hope someone has some experience ,

 

[Gazman16]

Thats unusual. You can fix directly to the metal (pilot hole and baypole screws) bare in mind your door looks quite narrow and you will be approx 140mm narrower with the frame of a composite door.

Hard to tell from the pics but I would be looking to try and get that frame out if possible? Have a look or a chat with neighbors to see what has been done on their house

 

[crooner]

Thats unusual. You can fix directly to the metal (pilot hole and baypole screws) bare in mind your door looks quite narrow and you will be approx 140mm narrower with the frame of a composite door.

Hard to tell from the pics but I would be looking to try and get that frame out if possible? Have a look or a chat with neighbors to see what has been done on their house

thanks gazman , the frame Is part of the original steel house so impossible
to remove & yes the door will be narrower than I'd like but because of the steel frame I'm stuck with it,
so if I go ahead can you advise me on bit & screw size baypole or self tapping screws or are they the same

 

[Gazman16]

baypoles are self drilling but will need a little pilot hole if the steel is thick. 3.5mm drill bit will do.

Have you checked what neighbors have done? I have cut out steel door frames before, Sometimes a reciprocating saw with a metal blade or sometimes a grinder. I would think it extremely unusual to be fully integrated into the house wall rather than being a separate steel frame fixed to the houses metal frame somehow.
I could be wrong but try to see what has been done on other local houses.

 

[crooner]

Hi gazman , if you look at these 3 photos that i have marked as being steel , you will see why i think it is integrated with the original steel structure of the house ,
my neighbour was good enough to let me have a good look at her back door ,the screws are positioned where i would expect them to be , she let me check out the screws fitted my unscrewing 1 on each side ,
they are 75mm wood screws, the fitter must have made a hole through the steel & has been able to catch
wood behind the steel ,i hope

 

[crooner]

thought i would post an update of how i got on with the back door ,there was no timber or any material behind the steel frame that i could screw into ,so i had to just screw it into the steel frame with self tapping screws which gave the frame a good solid fixing , because the door was getting positioned into the house frame recess from inside ,the door could only fall inwards , so because i was fitting the door on my own to make sure it didn't fall on me i positioned the door frame into the house steel frame recess, then screwed 2 small bits of timber onto the top facing either side locking the top of the door frame into position , this meant the door couldn't fall , all i had to do was even up each side of the door frame, check levels , place spacers each side then drill pilot hole then screw with self tapping screws ,
because i was able to jam the top of the door frame i found it a very easy job
hope someone finds this tip useful