Installation of the entrance door is a serious event, which can have different degrees of complexity depending on the type of construction. Most often, installation work is carried out by companies that produce doors. To save money, you can perform this procedure yourself. Before starting work, the main stages and rules are studied, according to which the entrance door is mounted: installation (with a sequence of works), construction norms.
Installing the door in the apartment: taking measurements from the opening
The main reason for replacing the front door is to reduce the functionality of the old design. The choice of a new product is made taking into account several basic criteria. The first step is to measure the doorway. Functional features of the design also play an important role. The modern market offers a wide variety of different models, differing in basic functions. Another important point is the design of the door. However, this factor is considered to be the last.
Note! In order to perform the installation of the front door in the apartment, you need to purchase special tools and learn the procedure for all the nuances.
Measurement of the doorway is made without taking into account the layer of foam. The same applies to the finish plaster layer. To measure the ends will need to dismantle the trim, after which the plaster and foam are removed. The threshold must be dismantled, otherwise the accuracy of the measurements will not correspond to the real state of affairs.
After dismantling, measure the free space between the ends of the door opening. It is important to remember that this procedure is performed in several places (bottom, middle, and top). This will allow you to accurately calculate the dimensions of the opening and carry out a competent installation of a metal door with your own hands.
Then the same procedure is performed in the opposite plane. Thus, a sample with three digits for each plane (horizontal and vertical) is obtained. From the obtained indicators it is necessary to choose the smallest values. It is also recommended to take a measurement in view of a small stock – no more than 1-2 cm.
Customizing doorway sizes is a standard procedure. This is due to the fact that different manufacturers produce their models with unique dimensions. During operation required to comply with safety.
The preparation of the opening is, first of all, its adjustment to the dimensions of a specific construction. Accuracy in this case is a very important point. The size of the gap, which is between the door and the opening itself, depends on it. A certain regularity is traced here: the smaller this distance, the higher the strength of the structure and, accordingly, its reliability.
It is easy to explain this pattern: it is all about the length of the protruding part of the anchor. The cost of installing a metal front door will be significantly reduced if you do it yourself: the main costs will be for materials and tools. Too wide aperture is not the right solution, since in this case the contact of the structure with the wall is often excluded.
In turn, the narrow doorway is also a peculiar problem. The limited space often does not allow to expose a door ideally exactly. The optimal distance between the doorway and the design itself varies from 1.5 to 2.5 cm. Do-it-yourself installation of the entrance metal door requires strict adherence to these standards. Otherwise, a distortion of the structure may occur, as well as other problems.
Expanding the doorway is much easier than reducing it. To do this, use a conventional punch. Reducing the doorway is accompanied by many problems. Such questions often arise during self-installation. It is important to remember that a slight decrease is the most common problem. Difficulties during installation may affect the final price of work. Installation of the door must be thought out in advance.
Useful information! It is much easier to reduce the opening by 10 cm in practice, rather than to reduce its size by 5 cm. For example, in the first situation an ordinary brick is used. The second case requires a completely different, non-standard approach. Before installing the steel door, it is recommended to carry out the most accurate fit of the opening.
The most common solution to reduce the size of the opening by 5 cm, is to use steel corners. They perform the function of a corrective frame. Its assembly is carried out using welding equipment, after which the structure is sealed with cement mortar.
Before you install the metal door, you must complete the finishing. All small cracks should be covered with plaster. More voluminous defects are eliminated in various ways. Wide cracks, as a rule, are sealed with brick fragments and plastered with cement mortar. To raise the level of the floor using a screed or brick masonry.
Self-insertion of the lock into the design of the door is quite problematic. Therefore, experts do not recommend doing this process on their own. It is much easier to order a design that already has an embedded lock of the appropriate quality.
Door handles most often come bundled uninstalled. For their fastening screws are used. Before installing a metal door, it is important to check the door locks and latches. Their performance should not cause any questions.
At the next stage of the door preparation for installation, the box is insulated with mineral wool. It is worth noting some of the nuances. For example, if the installation of the front door is done by yourself in a private house and the design has an exit directly to the street, then it is necessary to perform additional insulation of the door frame from the outside.
As a heater, you can use the most suitable option – stone wool. The process itself is quite simple: the material must be cut into strips that are suitable in size to the voids of the door frame, and set them in a frame.
However, mineral wool has one significant drawback: it is unstable to moisture and during operation it absorbs and accumulates water vapor from the air. Subsequently, this leads to the fact that the door frame begins to rust from the inside. Therefore, before you put the iron door, it is worth considering this defect. There are two more common options for thermal insulation of the door structure: foam and foam. Both of these materials have good moisture resistance.
When installing this design, it is necessary to protect its surface from damage. Paintwork material is quite easy to scratch, so masking tape is stuck on top of it. Remove it not earlier than the completion of the installation of door slopes.
Note! If electric wires are pulled through the door frame, then it should be equipped with corrugated sleeves.
To date, there are several ways to fix the door frame to the opening. It is important to remember that the installation design involves at least 10 mounts. The traditional mounting option involves just such a number of mounting points. Moreover, the vertical ends should have three such points, and the horizontal – two. There are the following ways to fix the door frame:
- through the eyes;
- through the through hole;
- through metal grips.
Through the eyes. Many people are interested in the question of how to install a metal door using this method. Metal eyes are a basic component of some types of doors. They are a frame that is used to regulate the fit of the structure in the opening. They already have ready holes that are needed to fix the door.
The process of attaching such boxes has some nuances and includes several steps. First you need to bend the planks in the direction of the wall surface. They should be pressed against it as closely as possible, since the future performance of the product depends on it. The cost of installing this type of front door is the most democratic. This is due to the fact that such structures are widespread.
Next in the location of the holes made in the slats, you need to drill the grooves of the appropriate length. Their size is selected depending on the dimensions of the anchors. After this, the plank is fixed to the wall using an anchor. To do this, insert the part into the hole and tighten it with a wrench. Thus, the installation of the entrance metal door to the apartment is made.
It should be noted that instead of anchors you can use other devices. For example, often their function is performed by conventional reinforced steel pins. They are first of all hammered into the holes (through lugs) and welded to the structure with the help of welding equipment. For reinforcing bars, the depth of the hole should be quite large – not less than 15 cm.
Some models of metal doors may have through holes in the box, which are performed at the production stage. This design has its advantages. The main one is the ease of installation of a metal door with their own hands.
Many independently make holes in the ends of the door. To do this, use a drill. Do-it-yourself installation is pretty easy. All that is needed for this is to drill the recesses, focusing on the holes, and insert fasteners (anchors or bayonets) into them.
Note! The manufacturing company can install the metal door itself. The price of the work depends on the weight of the structure and varies from 2 to 5 thousand rubles. for metal structures (on average). Installation of enhanced options has a higher cost – up to 10 thousand rubles.
If the entrance door is not made of metal, but of wood, then the installation will have its own characteristics. For example, for a wooden door only anchors are used, and their nuts must be embedded in the box body. To do this, before installing them, grooves having the corresponding diameter are made. The nut must have a landing depth equal to the width of the locking element.
Another way in which there is the possibility of fixing the door frame to the opening, is fastening by means of metal grippers. The main feature of this method is that its implementation requires the presence of an additional outer frame. This frame is made of profiled steel metal.
Let us consider in more detail the installation process of the entrance door. The price of installation ordered from a manufacturing company may be different and depends on the dimensions of the structure, as well as on its mass. Fixation with the help of grippers begins with the attachment of metal strips to the forearm. This operation is performed using welding equipment. Metal strips need to be welded to the points of attachment around the door perimeter. Their width should completely repeat that of the end of the doorway, and the recommended thickness is 2-3 mm.
The result is a stable structure that is held on the outside by a frame of shaped tubes. From the inside the door is fixed with metal hooks.
For additional protection, you will need to strengthen the door leaf with a metal frame of steel profiled steel. This frame is fixed from the outside of the structure.
Installing the front door (metal or wood) requires some knowledge in the construction industry. Poor installation can lead to a misalignment of the structure or its complete breakage. Therefore, it is recommended to follow the installation instructions. If necessary, you can always contact the experts who will conduct a quick and high-quality installation of the input structure.
