One of the stages of repairing an apartment or a country house is often the replacement of interior doors. Since such an operation is not particularly technologically complex, it is carried out by property owners in most cases on their own.
Main steps
When making repairs in a city apartment or in a private house, interior doors are usually replaced in the following order:
- dismantle the old structure;
- measure the opening;
- buy new canvas and frames;
- mounting the actual new door.
At each of these stages, among other things, of course, you should follow certain rules and follow the recommendations of experienced craftsmen. Otherwise, the interior door in the future will not look too neat. If the installation technology is violated, the canvas during operation will close loosely, creak, etc.
What tools and materials will be required
Besidesactually new frames and canvases, to replace the door you will need to prepare:
- mounting foam;
- gypsum putty or plaster;
-
drill;
- Hatchet with a wide blade;
- a few wooden wedges;
- self-tapping screws and dowels;
- crowbar;
- hacksaw.
Also, the home master will need a tape measure and a building level.
What is the procedure for dismantling the old door
This operation, despite its apparent simplicity, should be performed as carefully and carefully as possible. Otherwise, you can damage the doorway itself. And this, in turn, will greatly complicate the subsequent installation of a new door.
The old canvas is usually removed using this technology:
- push a crowbar under it;
- raise the canvas with it like a lever so that it comes off the hinges;
- remove the canvas from the box;
- take the structure aside so that it does not interfere with further work.
In very old doors, the leaf can "stick" to the hinges. In this case, before removing it, all metal parts must be thoroughly lubricated with machine oil and wait a few minutes.
When replacing an interior door, the box is usually dismantled like this:
- filing the lower parts of both vertical racks at a height of 70 cm from the floor;
- make a few more height cutsracks;
- pry parts of the uprights with a crowbar and tear them off the door.
If the elements of the box are fixed in the openings not with nails, but with screws, the dismantling procedure will be much simpler. To replace the door frame of an interior door, in this case, you only need a drill.
Dismantling of platbands
This procedure will most likely not cause any difficulties for the home master. In the event that the old platbands are fixed to the wall with screws or nails, the latter should simply be unscrewed. Sometimes these elements on the enclosing structures are also fixed with glue. In this case, the trims will most likely have to be torn off using a chisel.
Preparation and measurements
After removing the frame of the old door, you need to carefully inspect the opening. There should not be any defects inside it. It is quite difficult, for example, to replace interior doors in old houses. In such buildings, openings, unfortunately, are often somewhat asymmetrical. In this case, before installing a new door, they must be leveled using a plaster mortar.
This work should be done in such a way that the internal planes of the openings ultimately turn out to be strictly horizontal and vertical, and all corners are right.
Sometimes it happens that no defects in terms of geometry are observed in the opening, but cracks and chips are noticeable on its surfaces. In this case, it is also necessary to carry out preliminary corrective work. It is best to cover up chips and cracks inside the opening with gypsum putty. This material is very easy to work with. In addition, it hardens, unlike cement mixtures, almost instantly.
At the final stage, the opening thus prepared should be measured in height and width. It is best to use a tape measure for this purpose, of course.
Buying a new door: what you need to know
In most cases, companies nowadays produce quite high-quality interior designs. However, when buying such a door, you should still be as careful as possible. Sometimes defective designs of this type are also supplied to the market. For such doors, the discrepancy in length and width can reach several millimeters. Of course, you should not buy such a defective design for installation in an apartment or house with your own hands. It will be very difficult to mount a door with geometry defects on your own.
Of course, you need to purchase an interior design in strict accordance with the height and width of the opening. Otherwise, when replacing interior doors, installing and fixing the frame will become very difficult.
In city apartments, 75 cm doors are most often mounted between rooms. In any case, in order to subsequently mount the box without problems, including with your own hands, it should be:
- already opening by 4-5 cm;
- 3-4 cm below him.
Installation of a new door
The final stage of such a procedure as replacinginterior doors in the apartment is, of course, the installation of new boxes with canvas in the opening. This operation is usually performed using the following technology:
- going to box;
- the box is installed in the opening and secured;
- the canvas is mounted;
- platbands are attached.
At the final stage after installing a new door, such a procedure as finishing the remaining visible part of the opening is often performed.
How to properly assemble the box
In some cases, interior doors can be replaced without replacing the box. This, of course, allows property owners to save some money. But most often the doors in apartments and country houses still change completely. After all, in most cases, choosing a canvas to match the color of the box is, unfortunately, quite difficult.
Sold door frames are usually dismantled. You need to collect the purchased box on a perfectly flat surface. It can be, for example, a floor or a large table. To assemble the frame with the highest quality, you need:
- put the door leaf on the table;
- place vertical racks on both of its long sides;
- align the racks to the ends of the web;
- put a horizontal bar;
- also align this element;
- connect all the parts of the box.
Vertical racks of boxesinterior doors are usually made with a production margin. That is, along the length they protrude beyond the canvas. After all, the latter is supposed to be located at a certain height from the floor surface. The vertical racks of the box, therefore, at the final stage will need, among other things, to be cut to the design length.
Replacing interior doors with your own hands: mounting the frame in the opening
This procedure, of course, must be done as carefully and accurately as possible. The door must eventually be installed absolutely vertically in two planes - parallel to the wall and perpendicular to it.
You need to put the box in the opening in the wall using wooden wedges. Otherwise, when leveling, you can deform the posts and the crossbar. Once the frame is in place, its position should be carefully checked using a spirit level.
Further, the frame is finally fixed in the opening using dowels or self-tapping screws. In modern designs, external decorative strips are usually removed from the box before starting this operation.
Replacing old interior doors: mounting the canvas
Hinges with modern interior doors are usually included. But if such elements are not found in the box, they will have to be purchased separately. It is believed that any interior door must be fixed in the frame with at least 2 hinges. At the same time, such elements should be located approximately 20 cm from the edges of the canvas.
Companies,engaged in the manufacture of interior doors, usually even at the production stage at the ends of the canvas, grooves are made under the hinges. If the latter are not found, they will also have to be done independently. The depth of the grooves on the canvas should be approximately 2.2-2.7 mm.
Secure door hinges, usually using self-tapping screws. Under them, holes are first drilled with a drill. After the hinges are installed on the canvas, the second part of them should be fixed on the box using the same technology. This procedure should be performed carefully, trying not to damage the surface of the door structures. After the hinges are screwed on, the canvas just needs to be inserted into the box.
Installation of platbands
Replacement of the interior door leaf must be carried out in compliance with all the required technologies. The same applies to platbands. After the door leaf is installed, the gaps between the frame and the opening structures must be blown out with mounting foam. This material is known to expand greatly upon solidification. To prevent the foam from deforming the door frame, too much of it should not be blown into the gap. Foam should occupy no more than 1/3 of their volume.
After this material hardens, you can proceed with the installation of platbands. These elements can be mounted on self-tapping screws or glue. In both cases, the operation to install them is usually performed as follows:
- vertical platbands are applied to the opening for the purpose of cutting;
- do the same with the horizontal trim;
- cut the ends of cut trims at an angle of 45 degrees.
- fix the elements on the wall with glue or self-tapping screws.
Final stage
After installing the platbands, such a procedure as replacing an interior door can be considered completed. However, if the box is thinner than the walls themselves, part of the opening remains visible for obvious reasons. It, of course, will need to be closed with some kind of finishing material. In order to give the opening an aesthetic appearance, you can use, for example, ordinary plaster and water-dispersion paint.
Also, the visible part of the interior door opening is often decorated using artificial decorative stone. When using this material, the wall will subsequently look especially impressive.
Sometimes the visible part of the door opening is also covered with MDF slats. In this case, of course, it is desirable to choose a material similar in color to the canvas and trim. Instead of rather expensive MDF for finishing the opening, of course, you can also use ordinary plastic "wood-like" panels.
How to replace glass
Interior doors are, unfortunately, quite expensive. If, for example, glass simply burst in the canvas, it is, of course, not necessary to remove it completely. In this case, instead of a complete replacement of the interior door, it is possible to repair its individual structures. This will save a significant amount.
Glasses in the canvas of interior structures are usually replaced withusing this technology:
- purchased new glass is cleaned of dirt and all sorts of raids;
- cut it using a wooden lath and a glass cutter;
- remove dirt and chalk the folds;
- installing glass.
Cut glass for an interior door on a completely flat surface. Each line with a diamond tool is drawn along it once. Among other things, when cutting, take into account that the length and width of the glass should be 2 mm less than the distance between the folds (by ¾ of the width of the latter). Otherwise, it may subsequently burst due to swelling of the wood.
You need to install glass in the door from the bottom edge of the fold. In this case, it is best to fasten glazing beads with carnations.
Installing the handle
At the final stage, when replacing an interior door, this operation is usually performed. Such designs are sold in our time, in most cases, already with existing holes for the lock and handle. So installing these elements with your own hands, most likely, will not be difficult.
The handle and lock are mounted in the interior door, usually using this technology:
- lock is inserted into the groove at the end of the web;
- a handle is threaded through the canvas and a hole in the lock;
- the handle is fixed with self-tapping screws on both sides;
- decorative nuts are being tightened.
Experienced craftsmen advise purchasing a handle and a lock from the same manufacturer from which the door itself was purchased. In this case, such elements will fit perfectly into the grooves in the leaf and the box.
Instead of a conclusion
Replacing doors in an apartment or a country house is a relatively simple procedure technologically. If desired, such an operation can be performed, of course, with your own hands. However, for those who do not want to bother with the dismantling and installation of the box and canvas, of course, you can also order from specialists and replace the interior door. In Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and any other city in the country, such a procedure usually does not cost too much. In most cases, the owners of apartments and houses order installation from the same companies from which they purchased the interior doors themselves.
