Installing steel doors to your home

Installation of steel entrance doors is reliable protection of your home and property from unauthorized entry. However, it is important to understand that the door itself is not a guarantee against hacking.

One of the important factors for the proper functioning of a steel door is its proper installation.

How to install a steel door so that it correctly performs its functions (see Installation of metal entrance doors)?

The installation of steel entrance doors is also an important step affecting its reliability. The slightest distortions can lead to jamming of the door (see Repair of steel doors). It is important to understand that the walls are the most powerful structure in your home. Therefore, the door must be fixed in them.

• 1 Preparing the opening
• 2 box fastening

• 2.1 Adjust the installation of the door frame
• 2.2 Ankerы. Правильное крепление
• 2.3 Fasten the door frame
• 2.4 Door Operation Check

Preparation of the opening

The first step is to prepare the opening itself for the installation of a new door. If possible, the gap between the opening and the door frame should be minimal.

10 - 15 mm is more than enough. The more clearance you leave, the less secure the door will be. It is convenient to prepare the opening with a power tool.

Box mount

It is necessary to fix the box with anchors. The more anchors you install, the stronger the door will hold. The main thing is that the anchors are located evenly around the perimeter of the box.

Important: anchors must enter the wall by at least 200 mm. It is into the wall, without taking into account the distance between the box and the wall.

Adjust the installation of the door frame

We continue the installation. The next step is to fix the box in the doorway. For this we use specially prepared wooden wedges. Their thickness should be slightly greater than the gap wall - box.

It is necessary to hammer wedges carefully. The deformation of the box should not occur, otherwise the door will simply jam.

Our advice: for the manufacture of wedges, use softwood. Fixation will be sufficient, and so it will be more difficult for you to deform the door frame.

Check the level of how the box is located in the opening. After that, using the tape measure, you must measure the internal opening of the box. Scored wedges should not change its size. If necessary we carry out adjustment by means of driving in or replacing wedges.

Such work without an assistant will be difficult to perform. After this, we use markers to markup in those places where anchors are to be installed.

Ankerы. Правильное крепление

Drill holes with a punch. The size of the drill is selected according to the diameter of the selected anchors. Anchors should enter the holes with little effort.

Иногда чтобы install steel doors вместо анкеров используют стальные пруты. Это неправильно.

Our advice: use only anchors. Their advantage lies in the fact that entering the walls, they subsequently expand, creating additional effort.

Ankerы забивные — специальное крепление, применяемое для установки в бетонные или кирпичные стены. Anker вставляется в специально просверленное отверстие. Отверстие обязательно очищается от пыли образовавшейся во время сверления.

After that, the anchor is tightened with a conventional wrench. At the same time, the special anchor device is unclenched, due to which reliable fastening in a concrete or brick structure is achieved.

On the picture:

1. Anker
2. Wall
3. Door box
4. Interior door
5. Heater
6. Hinges (see hinges for metal doors - the nuances of choice)
7. Eye of the box

Anchors should be located as far as possible from the outside of the wall. In this case, hacking it will be much more difficult.

Sometimes the owners install a metal door on top of the doorway. Such a setup is an explicit invitation for intruders.

Our advice: never do that. This door is very easy to knock off with the help of ordinary scrap.

Fasten the door frame

Insert anchors. After that, once again check the vertical box. If everything is ok, you can attach the box to the anchors. Depending on the type of door you choose, this may be welding or simply twisting the anchors.

If the type of your door involves screwing, watch the inner perimeter of the door frame. It should not be deformed.

Door function test

The box is installed. We hang the door and check the closure - opening. If done correctly, it should be easy to open and close.

If there are problems with a slight jamming of the door, you need to find out the reasons:

• Usually this happens due to the deformation of the box.. If the box is fastened by screwing in, you can adjust the exact coincidence of the door with the box by varying the anchoring fastening.

• Sometimes this happens if welding was used for fastening. When cooling the welds are compressed. The only solution is cutting the seams with a grinder.

Our advice: if you use welding to fasten the box, after each weld, check the tightness and fit of the door. Using this advice, you will avoid the trouble of reworking all welds.

Lubricate the hinges and you can hang the door on them.

Помните: installation of steel doors не предполагает суеты и неточностей. В противном случае вам придется все переделывать заново.

Fill up the gaps

The door opens and closes perfectly.

But what if for some reason the gap was too large? More than 20 mm.

Our advice: use cement mortar of the strongest grades to seal it. Well suitable PCC - 500 D0.

• In no case do not use a different type of putty and grout based on alabaster or gypsum, and even more so the installation foam. Such a termination may subsequently cost you dearly.
• You can seal the gap box - wall. As mentioned above, if the gap is more than 20 mm, use cement based mortar for sealing. If less, you can do with foam.

Remember: polyurethane foam has the property to expand several times from its original volume.

• The next day, after the foam is well dried, cut off its excess, and plastered the surface.

Properly installed and level metal door opens and closes easily. The quality of the materials used in its manufacture can protect your home and property from unauthorized encroachment (see How to choose a steel door).

Installation errors

Sometimes the installation of a steel door with your own hands leads to the fact that the incorrectly calculated measurement and preparation of the opening for installation form large gaps on both sides of the door. In this case, the "grief" installer fills the empty space with various fillers, including mounting foam.

Naturally, in this case, there is an increase in the length of the mounting pins holding the box. When mechanically acting on such a door from the outside, according to the law of a lever, the door can simply collapse inside, with all locks, bolts and bolts.

Before installing a steel door, think about it; if you install it, you will eliminate all subsequent malfunctions at your own expense. If you are not confident in your own abilities, it may be better to turn to specialists. If there is no such possibility, and you decided to install it yourself, let's proceed.

Peace and tranquility to your home!