Installing door frames

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Quick couple of q's.. when putting frames in do you always aim for perfect plumb regardless of the walls? I can imagine this might lead some some less than flush finishes on occasion. If the walls are already pretty good already what about just lining the frame up with existing? Isnt it a massive time saver then to just flush it up to the existing wall, or with a packer to allow for plastering if thats not done? Also.. how much clearance do you normally allow on the bottom? Would you want to know the finishes first and take off for those or what?

cheers!
 
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Quick couple of q's.. when putting frames in do you always aim for perfect plumb regardless of the walls?
Yes. In the case of doorways where the sides were plumb but the wall was not doors would be either difficult to open (because they would open "uphill") or worse if they opened "downhill" they could swing into the floor and not open fully, if at all. In the other scenario if the walls were plumb but the opening was crooked then the same things can occur.

I can imagine this might lead some some less than flush finishes on occasion.
Which is why we have caulk and in extreme instance why it may be necessary to "knife-in" or add scribing strips behind the architrave legs.

Isnt it a massive time saver then to just flush it up to the existing wall, or with a packer to allow for plastering if thats not done?
Not a massive time saver at all if you can't open the door or you need to saw 1/2in more off the bottom of one side of the door than the other to get the door to work at all.....

Also.. how much clearance do you normally allow on the bottom? Would you want to know the finishes first and take off for those or what?
These days it is supposed to be tight - fire regs call for 4mm max on new fire door installs (which means that the floors need to be pretty flat) although convention is normally 6 to 10mm in non fire rated domestics. To allow for finishes the gapping round the other 3 sides needs to be 0.5 to 1mm greater than for a "good fit" - normally a 2 to 3mm gap)
 
Ok thanks for all that. WHat do you mean by knifing in? Also.. if its a new build with no flooring down yet are you still fitting to 6-10mm bottom gaps?
 
Ok thanks for all that. WHat do you mean by knifing in?
Using a Stanley knife to score the plasterwork where the architrave would sit proud (because the plasterwork is too thick). The architrave is removed and the strip of plaster between the knife line and the casing are taken down to the correct level using an old chisel so that when the architrave is fitted it sits flat to the casing without any gaps

Also.. if its a new build with no flooring down yet are you still fitting to 6-10mm bottom gaps?
On domestics (other than, say, front doors of flats which exit into a communal stair well) I still aim for 5 to 6mm if I can as it reduces draughts but allows doors to shut properly over carpets. For fire doors (only) it either has to be 3mm (sorry, wrote 4mm above - a typo) or there needs to be some form of intumescent drop seal fitted either into the bottom of the door or onto the face which gives gapping of no greater than 3mm when the door is closed
 
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