It's no secret that today such an element as an entrance metal door is not a luxury, but an obligatory attribute of any living space, including a private house or apartment, as well as various administrative and office buildings.
Thanks to the modern development of technology and the emergence of innovative materials, you can design with your own hands any, even the most complex item needed in everyday life. The metal door was no exception: if you have some building skills, this element can be equipped on your own, thereby saving yourself from the need to overpay for the installation of a ready-made model. In addition, it is much more pleasant to equip a home on your own, without using templates. Therefore, it is necessary to consider in more detail how competently a metal door should be installed with your own hands. But first, you should pay attention to the list of advantages that this functional part of the house has.
The main advantages of a metal door
Due to the ability to use modern materials for insulation with this element, you can provide excellent protection against noise and from the ingress of cold into the room, which is especially important in cold climates. Insulated metal doors are a guarantee that you will not freeze in your house.
Another reason to create such an indispensable attribute of everyday life with your own hands is an excellent appearance, which makes it possible to turn a seemingly standard part of the home into a unique and unique element with high aesthetic performance.
Perhaps, the main advantage of a metal door is its high resistance to burglary, coupled with the possibility of installing additional protective equipment (various combination locks, limiters, etc.). This will completely protect the housing from the penetration of unwanted persons and save the nerves of its owners.
It is these benefits that are the key factors influencing the decision to install a metal door.
Measuring the doorway
As in any other business, you must first perform all the necessary calculations. In the manufacture of such an element as a metal door, it is initially necessary to take measurements of the opening with your own hands. In accordance with them, the canvas and the door frame will be designed. At the same time, it is important to remember that it is extremely important to subtract 2 cm from all the parameters obtained during the measurement process. This small gap will subsequently make it possible to adjust and align the door in the opening. measurementsit is required to perform the entire length and width of the desired hole, that is, starting from the base in the form of brick or concrete, and not from plaster. It must be done in this way, because the finishing material can be applied in a thick layer, and if the calculation is incorrect, the parameters of the finished door may not match the actual indicators of the installation site.
Tools and materials for work
The equipment required for a hand-made metal door device includes the following set of tools:
- welding table;
- angle grinder equipped with metal wheel;
- welding machine;
- screwdriver;
- drill with multiple drill bits;
- tape measure and other measuring instruments;
- wrenches and screwdrivers.
As for the materials that will make up the door, their set is as follows:
- metal corners for a box or steel pipe with a square profile;
- sheathing material in the form of plywood, veneer, boards, etc.;
- metal sheet with a minimum thickness of 1.5mm;
- door hinges;
- fittings (handle, locks);
- fasteners (self-tapping screws, bolts, etc.).
Designing the door frame
It is absolutely realistic to make an entrance metal door yourself, while all the work should start with making a box for it. This item is made up of securelywelded corners, which form its basis. It should be remembered that after mounting vertically and horizontally arranged parts, it is imperative to leave gaps that will be required in the future.
On the welding table, you need to place a corner or square profile and cut it according to the desired parameters. The finished parts need to be laid in a rectangle and one more time to check all the parameters.
It is very important that all angles are exactly 90°, so you need to carefully study the indicators of the diagonals, measuring the distance from one end to the other. At the end of all calculations, you can start welding the door frame. At this stage, it is allowed to make slots in it for the bolts of the lock. To do this, use the grinder.
When installing such an element as a metal door, do-it-yourself drawings must be made as correctly as possible so that the design is fully consistent with the pre-designed project. Otherwise, the result of the work may turn out to be completely different from what was originally intended.
Installation of the door leaf
First of all, you should clearly define the size of the potential canvas. To do this, you need to measure the parameters of the inside of the box and leave a gap of about 0.5 cm on each side. It is on the basis of these indicators that a metal door should be made with your own hands, the drawings for which, in turn, help to do all the work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Next, you need to weld a frame consisting of corners, designed for the canvas. The process of its manufacture resembles in its actions the creation of a box. From the inside, parts of the corner must be welded to the frame at the same distance from each other. These elements will act as stiffeners.
The next procedure to follow when making such an element of the house as a metal door with your own hands is to cut a steel sheet. It must match the parameters of the frame, while it is extremely important to observe an allowance of 1 cm on each side, as well as 0.5 cm on the hinge side. This sheet must be welded evenly to the door base, while not forgetting to remove any burrs that appear and correct uneven seams with a grinder. On this, the manufacture of the door leaf can be considered completed.
Fixing a metal door on hinges
Welding these elements is required according to a special scheme. As a rule, one of the hinge parts, which has a special pin, is first attached to the box. The second part of it is fixed directly on the canvas. It is very important to pay attention to the drawing of a metal door, according to which you should correctly calculate all dimensions and measure the required distance for mounting the hinges.
It is necessary that both of these functional parts match perfectly. This will not only avoid distortion of the entire structure, but also improve its tightness and extend its service life.
Mounting insulated metal doors is not worthforget that for laying the insulation it is also necessary to leave some free space inside the canvas. This procedure will be more complicated, but such a measure will definitely protect the entire structure from the penetration of cold.
After the installation of the hinges, if necessary, clean the seams, and then paint the finished structure.
Equipment of a metal door with fittings
Thinking about how to make a metal door of the highest quality, do not forget that in order to create a reliable model, special attention should be paid to such an important matter as mounting and fixing the lock mechanism.
For this work, you will need to purchase two samples of different types, which, during installation, must be positioned as conveniently as possible. It is very important that each of the elements of the castle fit the other, and the whole system interacts smoothly and easily. The drawing of a metal door, of course, cannot reflect this, but it will be much better if the mechanism does not create unnecessary sounds during opening (creaking, rattle, etc.).
After that, it is recommended to cut a special hole in the door leaf for mounting a good and modern door peephole with a wide viewing angle and closing if necessary. On this work with fittings can be considered finished.
Installation of a metal door in the opening
To insert a finished door structure into the opening,the strength of at least two people will be required, since it will be problematic to do this work alone. In addition, you need to pay special attention to the following points:
- The box should be geometrically even. It will be possible to perform all measurements using the building level.
- The design must be fixed securely and tightly.
- All the resulting gaps between the wall and the door must be sealed with mounting foam.
The installation of the metal door is being completed by another check of the reliability of the lock mechanism. In addition, you should make sure that the system opens easily and without any interference in the desired direction and closes just as easily.
A good addition to the aesthetic appearance will be the installation of platbands on the door, as well as the design of its slopes. Such procedures will not only make the design more beautiful, but also increase its technical characteristics by improving thermal and sound insulation.
Recommendations for finishing metal doors
Working with such a modern and necessary attribute of the house as a metal door, with your own hands you can not only make the model itself, but also decorate it beautifully.
Here, as always, the design is based solely on the preferences and tastes of the owners, but do not forget about such an important factor as operating conditions, since it is far from always possible to decorate different doors in the same way due to some external factors: climate, building type, etc.
Alternatively, you can use veneer orMDF, polymer painting is also suitable. This type of finish, such as door trim with a special film that protects against external mechanical damage, is gaining more and more popularity.
One way or another, you can decorate a metal door in different ways, but the main thing is that this element clearly fulfills its functions and is able to serve for a long time and reliably.
