Unlevel door lining

[Keitai]

The top of the door lining in my flat isn't level.

How do I position door so I can scribe top in with 2mm packer? Put door on floor and then scribe?

 

[foxhole]

You don’t need to scribe door .

 

[^woody^]

Isn't the standard way to put the door against the lining and mark it?

 

[lostinthelight]

If your old door fitted ok use it as a template to mark the new door

 

[Keitai]

You don’t need to scribe door .

As I couldn't get a packer down the gap on sides i tried the Trend Easy scribe instead but gave up and just guessed and marked bits here and there for planing.

Used scriber on top though. On top I took loads off. 20mm one side down to 5mm (a guess) totally slanted. Maybe too much. Used circular saw to cut it.

 

[Keitai]

If your old door fitted ok use it as a template to mark the new door

I'll try that, line up top and lock side I guess then cut and plane other two sides. Do chippies do this? Is it accurate?

Thinking about it, if door lining is totally out maybe place door in the middle and plane all three sides and maybe circular bottom.

tbh on this particular door though in my flat I'm really just practising my scribing. Door £24 from b and q

 

[lostinthelight]

You haven't actually cut 20mm one side To 5mm tother have you , you dont take anything off the narrow side and reduce the 20mm by 5mm to 15 mm so the cut is 15m tappered to nothing ..thats scribing in general if ive understood what your trying to do?
Do you know how much you can reduce those cheap doors in size before the frame vanishes in a mass of shavings? it aint a lot, upside being ,if you keep goings there'll be pleny of clearance for luxury carpets

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I tend to get it fitting in the width first, leaving it tight in the height, then scribe the top afterwards. If the variation at the top) is only a couple of millimetres this can be measured, marked out the door then planed in. When you've got the top and sides done you can tackle the bottom.

I tend to just hold the door in place with packers and wedges (or these days packers and Winbags) then eyeball the gap when I'm checking it - having a visually even gap round the three sides (left, top, right) can make even a barrel shaped door lining look better.

Remember that on fire doors the gap round the three sides must be 2 to 4mm (partly because fire rated hinges are set for a 3mm gap) whilst at the bottom the gap should be no more than 4mm. It may not always be possible to achieve this, especially if the floor is bad (e.g. goes uphill away from the door) so use your judgement. On real fire doors, or domestic doors requiring sound or draught proofing it may be necessary to fit a drop seal

 

[Notch7]

It's best to plane the lining rather than the door

 

[Deleted member 174758]

And how do you suggest the OP gets into the corners?

 

[Keitai]

I tend to get it fitting in the width first, leaving it tight in the height, then scribe the top afterwards. If the variation at the top) is only a couple of millimetres this can be measured, marked out the door then planed in. When you've got the top and sides done you can tackle the bottom.

I tend to just hold the door in place with packers and wedges (or these days packers and Winbags) then eyeball the gap when I'm checking it - having a visually even gap round the three sides (left, top, right) can make even a barrel shaped door lining look better.

Remember that on fire doors the gap round the three sides must be 2 to 4mm (partly because fire rated hinges are set for a 3mm gap) whilst at the bottom the gap should be no more than 4mm. It may not always be possible to achieve this, especially if the floor is bad (e.g. goes uphill away from the door) so use your judgement. On real fire doors, or domestic doors requiring sound or draught proofing it may be necessary to fit a drop seal

So before anything else (first of all) to get it fitting in the width before any scribing etc do you measure the widths of lining in three places then plane to that or do it another way?

I spend to long taking it in and out seems

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I'd start by putting a 6ft level inside the rebates to gauge whether or not the jambs are straight, pin-cushioned or barrelled ,(the terms should be self explanatory). That gives you an indication of what too expect. I generally trim the width to fit tightly which at least allows me to "get the wood in the hole" so I can see if the head is parallel to the top of the door, or if that needs to be adjusted. How much you take off and in what order is really a judgement call. The approach taken can never be a "one size fits all" one

Yes, this really is an in and out process, because old jambs are rarely straight or perfectly parallel (IMHO a lot of new ones aren't anything to shout about, for that matter) it can't be a simple measure/cut/swing process. And the older the building, the worse it generally gets because of issues like settlement. That said most of the time I can do the job in two or three passes in the 'hole before my fit is good-ish (and on the rare occasions it goes in first time spot-on - but they are flukes ). All it takes is practice and patience

 

[Keitai]

I'd start by putting a 6ft level inside the rebates to gauge whether or not the jambs are straight, pin-cushioned or barrelled ,(the terms should be self explanatory). That gives you an indication of what too expect. I generally trim the width to fit tightly which at least allows me to "get the wood in the hole" so I can see if the head is parallel to the top of the door, or if that needs to be adjusted. How much you take off and in what order is really a judgement call. The approach taken can never be a "one size fits all" one

Yes, this really is an in and out process, because old jambs are rarely straight or perfectly parallel (IMHO a lot of new ones aren't anything to shout about, for that matter) it can't be a simple measure/cut/swing process. And the older the building, the worse it generally gets because of issues like settlement. That said most of the time I can do the job in two or three passes in the 'hole before my fit is good-ish (and on the rare occasions it goes in first time spot-on - but they are flukes ). All it takes is practice and patience

What depth do u set the electric planer on? 0.5mm? I was hoping you'd tell me a trick to just take it in and out one time and plane it perfectly to fit.

 

[Notch7]

And how do you suggest the OP gets into the corners?

I was joking Keitai is doing this as a job and using DIYnot to ask all the stuff he can't do.

 

[lostinthelight]

I was joking Keitai is doing this as a job and using DIYnot to ask all the stuff he can't do.

And there's me thinking thats how you aquired your user name