Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the door stiles will be perfectly in line in every direction, however we do not live in a
perfect world. The tolerance for this being out of line is in your hands. To a large degree
this is an aesthetic decision, as long as the door does not swing open or closed on its own
or drag on the floor. There is a certain amount of flexibility within the door which is
capable of absorbing 5 mm of variance, so the rectification process I am about to go
through is only relative to variances greater than 5 mm.
When the door and jamb stile are not parallel, first check that the latch side of the
door jamb is held in the correct position. Now look across the face of the two door stiles
to see if they are parallel to one another. If the door is not twisted and the two stiles are
not parallel it will always cause the door to be out of line with the latch jamb stile. If they
are not parallel, place a spirit level on the side of the hinged jamb stile to see that it is
vertical. If it is out of plumb it may be necessary to remove one of the fixing nails and
adjust the position of the stile, but first ensure that the proposed adjustment is going to
help the situation and not hinder it. It is best to keep the hinged jamb stile vertical in
both directions otherwise the door will swing open or closed on its own and it is likely to
scrape on the floor. If the door stiles are parallel the only possible cause is that the door is
twisted. Depending on the degree of variation you have two options: work with the door
as it is and try to conceal the variance, or try to straighten the door. First we will look at
how to absorb some of the variance.
As previously mentioned it is best to leave the hinges vertical, however, small
adjustments can be made at the hinges. Establish just how much twist you are trying to
compensate for, as you can only conceal about 5 mm in any particular position. The first
5 mm will be absorbed by the flexibility of the door. By moving the latch side of the jamb
stile out of vertical you can, at a push, absorb 10 mm of the variance. Keep the centre of
the door jamb stile in the correct position and pivot the stile out on the top and in on the
bottom until the stile lines up to within 5 mm of the line of the door.
Fixing the latch side door jamb stile in position
Once the stile is in the correct position and the margin between the top of the door and
the head are parallel, fix the stile approximately 100 mm down from the head in a
position that will be concealed by the door stop. Again, if you are using foam to fill the
gap between the door jamb and the frame you will not need to fit packers. If you are not
using foam, packers of the correct depth must be inserted between the door jamb and
the frame. Leave the head of the nail protruding until you are satisfied with the complete
installation of the door and jamb, as this will enable easy removal for any necessary
adjustments. Hold the bottom of the door stile in position while keeping the margin
between the door and the door stile even. Nail the stile in position, leaving the head of the
nail protruding. Check that the door is within 5 mm of parallel to the door jamb. With
the door in the closed position, look at the margin between the door jamb and the door
midway between the fixing points on each stile. You will now fix each stile at the centre
point between the two initial fixings, ensuring that the gap between the door and the
door jamb is even. Do this on the hinge and latch side of the door jamb. As previously
detailed, use packers and/or nails to hold the door jamb parallel to the door, leaving the
head of the nail protruding. Now make another fixing between each of these nails so that
you have five nails through each door jamb stile into the frame.
