Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
14
Installation of internal doors
Pre-hung door jambs
Door jambs with hinges and latches already fitted
For about 30 years you have been able to purchase pre-hung doors and door jambs. A
pre-hung door jamb has the hinges and door latch fitted to the door and the door jamb.
It is simply a matter of cutting the length of the door jamb to suit your job, nailing them
together and fixing them into the wall. If you are purchasing new doors and door jambs I
strongly recommend that you investigate pre-hung options further. The additional cost of
a pre-hung product over and above the cost of the door and the door jamb is little more
than the price you will pay for the hinges and the door latch, which are obviously
included in the deal. If you are using second-hand doors and/or door jambs thicker than
standard door jambs, you can still gain the benefit of this system by fitting the hinges to
the door jamb and door prior to its assembly and installation. I shall go through this
process in detail shortly.
The split system
Split door jambs that are fully assembled with architraves, hinges and latches have been
around for 20 or so years. The door and door jamb are pre-hinged and latched as detailed
above, however, this system includes the architraves which are already fitted to the door
jamb. The door jamb is split down the middle, so that it can be inserted from each side of
the wall with the architrave then fitting snugly against the face of the wall. The door stop
conceals the gap between the two halves of the door jamb. If your walls are thicker than
the standard walls for which this system is designed, this can easily be overcome by fitting
a wider door stop to conceal a wider gap between the two door jambs.
