3.

0 DOORS & DOOR FRAMING

1 Doors................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Definition................................................................................................................................2
1.2 Doors classification.................................................................................................................2
1.2.1 Classification by Position...........................................................................................................................2
1.2.1.1 External Doors..................................................................................................................................2
1.2.1.2 Internal Doors..................................................................................................................................2
1.2.2 Classification by Function.........................................................................................................................2
1.2.2.1 Purpose-made doors........................................................................................................................2
1.2.3 Classification by Methods of construction...............................................................................................3
1.2.3.1 Panelled and glazed wood doors.....................................................................................................4
1.2.3.2 Flush Doors.......................................................................................................................................5
1.2.3.3 Matchboarded doors.......................................................................................................................6

1.3 Door types..............................................................................................................................7

1.4 Functional Requirements........................................................................................................8
1.4.1 Privacy.......................................................................................................................................................8
1.4.2 Strength and Stability...............................................................................................................................8
1.4.2.1 Strength............................................................................................................................................8
1.4.2.2 Stability.............................................................................................................................................8
1.4.3 Resistance to weather..............................................................................................................................9
1.4.4 Durability and freedom from maintenance..............................................................................................9
1.4.5 Fire safety................................................................................................................................................10
1.4.6 Resistance to the passage of sound........................................................................................................11
1.4.7 Security...................................................................................................................................................12

2 Door Frames and Linings.................................................................................................13

2.1 Timber door frames..............................................................................................................14
2.1.1 Fixing of timber door frames..................................................................................................................15
2.1.2 Protection of timber door frames...........................................................................................................15

2.2 Metal Door Frames...............................................................................................................16

2.2.1 Fixing of metal door frames....................................................................................................................16

References........................................................................................................................................17
1 Doors

1.1 Definition
 A door is a screen used to seal an opening into a building or between rooms within a
building.
 It can be made of timber, glass, metal or plastic or any combination of these materials.
 Doors can be designed to swing from one edge, slide, slide and fold or roll to close an
opening

1.2 Doors classification

 Doors may be classified by;
o Their position in a building
o Their function
o Method of construction

1.2.1 Classification by Position

1.2.1.1 External Doors

 Provide security
 Need to be weather resistant. This is provided by
o Thickness, stability and durability of the construction
o Materials, used
o Protective coatings of paint or polish
 Should be constructed as to maintain the insulation (thermal and sound) properties of the
external enclosure
 Standard sizes of timber external doors: 1981 mm high x762 or 838 mm wide x45 mm
thick.

1.2.1.2 Internal Doors

 Used to close the access through internal walls, partitions and to the inside of cupboards
 Are generally thinner than external doors
 Various sizes

1.2.2 Classification by Function

1.2.2.1 Purpose-made doors

 Made to non-standard sizes, shapes or designs
 Are often ornate and are used for the front elevations of domestic buildings, banks, shops,
theatres, and hotels.

2|Page Doors & door framing

1.2.3 Classification by Methods of construction
 Panelled and glazed doors
 Flush doors
 Matchboarded doors

Figure 1 Wood doors

Source: Barry, 1999: 99

3|Page Doors & door framing

1.2.3.1 Panelled and glazed wood doors
 Framed with stiles and rails around a panel or panels of wood, plywood or glass
 The joints used in framing the doors can be dowelled joint or a mortice and tenon joint

Figure 2 Framing molded around panels Figure 3 Planted molding

Source: Barry, 1999: 103 Source: Barry, 1999: 103

4|Page Doors & door framing

1.2.3.2 Flush Doors
 Has a plain face
 Can be faced with hardboard, plywood or a plastic laminate
 By using a thin sheet of veneer of good quality timber the appearance of high-class
joinery can be created
Types
 Skeleton/cellular core doors -Consists of an outer frame with small section intermediate
members over which is fixed the facing material
 Solid core doors

Figure 4 Cellular core flush door Figure 5 Skeleton core flush door

Source: Barry, 1999: 110 Source: Barry, 1999: 110

Figure 6 Solid core (laminate) flush door

5|Page Doors & door framing

Source: Barry, 1999: 111

6|Page Doors & door framing

1.2.3.3 Matchboarded doors
 Face of the doors is made from tongue and grooved boarding
 Forms
o Ledged
o Ledged and braced
o Framed, ledged and braced

Figure 7 Ledged and Ledged and braced matchboarded door

Source: Barry, 1999: 115

7|Page Doors & door framing

1.3 Door types
 Doors are supported in openings (doorways)
o on hinges as side hung
o on pivots as double swing, and
o on tracks as sliding or folding doors

Figure 8 Hinged, sliding and sliding and folding doors

Source: Barry, 1999: 93

8|Page Doors & door framing
1.4 Functional Requirements
 Privacy
 Strength and Stability
 Resistance to weather
 Durability and freedom from maintenance
 Fire safety
 Resistance to the passage of sound
 Security

1.4.1 Privacy
 Visual privacy- doors should be as obscure as the walls or partitions
 Acoustic privacy- doors should offer the same reduction in sound as the surrounding
walls or partitions and be close fitting to the door frame or lining and be fitted with
flexible air seals all round

1.4.2 Strength and Stability

1.4.2.1 Strength
 A door must have adequate strength to support its own weight and suffer knocks and
minor abuses in service

1.4.2.2 Stability
 It should have adequate shape stability for ease of opening and accuracy of closing to the
frame or lining
 A door should not bow, twist or deform in normal use to the extent that its appearance is
unacceptable or is difficult to open or close
 The DIMENSIONAL STABILITY of wood, metal and plastic doors is affected by
temperature and humidity differences

 Both strength and shape stability depend on

o The materials from which a door is made
o The manner in which the materials are framed as a door

9|Page Doors & door framing

1.4.3 Resistance to weather
 Exclusion of wind and rain
 Techniques
o Use of water bar and weatherboard
o Use of weatherstripping1

Figure 9 Water bar and weatherboard Figure 10 Inward opening external door
with weather strips

Source: Barry, 1999: 117 Source: Barry, 1999: 120

1.4.4 Durability and freedom from maintenance

Aspects of performance are related to appearance, which is a subjective criterion

1
Weatherstrip, draught strip, draught excluder, weather seal- a strip of impervious material applied
to joints between a door leaf or window casement and its frame to prevent the passage of water and air
draughts, and as soundproofing.

10 | P a g e Doors & door framing

1.4.5 Fire safety
 Door should
o Act as a barrier to the spread of smoke and fire
o Protect escape routes
 Where doors are formed in compartment walls the door must, when closed, act as a
barrier to fire in the same way as the walls
 For this purpose they must have a notional integrity, which is the period in minutes that
they will resist the penetration of fire
o E.g. FD 30 – will resist fire for 30 minutes (minimum)

Figure 11 Fire doors

Source: Barry, 1999: 112

11 | P a g e Doors & door framing

1.4.6 Resistance to the passage of sound
 A door should afford reduction of sound for the sake of privacy and for those functions
such as lecture rooms where noise level is of importance
 The heavier and more massive a door the more effective a barrier it is in reducing sound
transmission
 A solid panel door is more effective than a hollow-core flush door
 To be effective as a sound barrier a door should be fitted with air seals all round as a
barrier against airborne sound

Figure 12 Threshold seal for internal doors

Source: Barry, 1999: 97

12 | P a g e Doors & door framing

1.4.7 Security
 An external door, particularly at the rear or sides of buildings, out of sight, is obviously a
prime target for forced entry.
 Glazing and thin panels of wood, brittle fibre-glass and beaded plastic panels invite
breakage with a view to opening bolts or latches
 Solis hinges, locks and loose key bolts to a solidly framed door in soundly fixed solid
frame are the best security against forced entry

13 | P a g e Doors & door framing

2 Door Frames and Linings

Door Frame
 A door frame is made of timbers of sufficient cross section to support the weight of a
door and to serve as a surround to the door into which it closes
 The majority of door frames are rebated to serve as a stop for one way swing doors
 The door frame is secured in the wall or partition opening to support external doors and
heavier internal doors

Door linings
 Door linings are thin sections of wood or metal that are fixed securely in a doorway or
opening as a lining around the reveal (thickness) of the wall partition
 A door lining which may not be sufficient enough by itself to support the weight of a
door will depend on its fixing to the wall or partition for support
 Door linings are generally used for internal doors in thin partitions where the width of the
lining is the same as the thickness of the partition and wall plaster both sides

Figure 13 Door frame and door lining

14 | P a g e Doors & door framing

Source: Barry, 1999: 117

15 | P a g e Doors & door framing

2.1 Timber door frames
 Consists of three or four members
o Head
o Two posts or jambs
o Sill or threshold
 The members can be joined together by wedged mortise and tenon joints, combed joints
or mortise and tenon joints pinned with a metal star-shaped dowel or a round timber
dowel

Figure 14 Door Frame Figure 15 Mortise and tenon joint

Source: Barry, 1999: 118 Source: Barry, 1999: 118

16 | P a g e Doors & door framing

2.1.1 Fixing of timber door frames

1. Built into the brick or block wall as the work proceeds by using L-shaped and fish-tailed
ties or cramps (galvanized mild steel) fixed to the back of the frame at 450 centers

2. Fixed into the opening at a later stage

o The frames are fixed to timber plugs inserted into the reveals with wood screws
whose heads are sunk below the upper surface of the frame

2.1.2 Protection of timber door frames

 Softwood- Finished with several applications of paint

 Hardwood- Polished or oiled

 Frames with factory coating of plastic are also available

17 | P a g e Doors & door framing

2.2 Metal Door Frames
 Made from mild steel pressed into one of the three standard profiles
 The hinges and striking plates2 are welded on during manufacture

2.2.1 Fixing of metal door frames

 Fixed in a similar manner to timber frames using a tie or tee bracket which fits into the
back of the frame profile and is built into the bed joints of the wall

Figure 16 Metal door frame

Source: Barry, 1999: 123

2
Striking plate, keeper, strike, strike plate- a metal plate with a rectangular perforation, attached to a
door jamb to receive a latch or bolt when the door is closed.

18 | P a g e Doors & door framing

References
Barry, R., (1999). The Construction of Buildings, Volume 2, Fifth Edition. London: Blackwell
Science Ltd.

Greeno Roger and Roy Chudley, (1999).Construction Technology, 3rd Edition. Harlow: Pearson
Education Limited

Nikolas Davies and ErkkiJokiniemi, (2008).Dictionary of Architecture and Building

Construction Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd

19 | P a g e Doors & door framing