I'm just planing a new door to fit into it's new frame. It's been sat
inside for about a year, so if anything I guess it will have shrunk
slightly. The door and frame are made from Sapele wood. What sort of
gap should I have round the door to allow for any movement and so I
don't have to take it off and re-plane it? At the moment I have about
1mm all round. Thanks.

On 21 Sep 2005 12:22:25 -0700, wrote:

| I'm just planing a new door to fit into it's new frame. It's been sat
| inside for about a year, so if anything I guess it will have shrunk
| slightly. The door and frame are made from Sapele wood. What sort of
| gap should I have round the door to allow for any movement and so I
| don't have to take it off and re-plane it? At the moment I have about
| 1mm all round. Thanks.

It will get damp when fitted as an outside door and expand, so bit more
then that. I took my sister's door off mumblecurse times as it
expanded.

I swore by Atomic bronze door seal strip for external doors, but it appears
to have gone of the market :-(
--
Dave Fawthrop dave hyphenologist co uk
"Intelligent Design?" my knees say *not*.
"Intelligent Design?" my back says *not*.

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:34:38 +0100, Dave Fawthrop
wrote:


I swore by Atomic bronze door seal strip for external doors, but it appears
to have gone of the market :-(

My favorite too - still available from US at least:-

http://www.kilianhardware.com/sprinbronwea.html

Geo

Geo wrote in message
...
On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:34:38 +0100, Dave Fawthrop
wrote:


I swore by Atomic bronze door seal strip for external doors, but it
appears
to have gone of the market :-(

My favorite too - still available from US at least:-

http://www.kilianhardware.com/sprinbronwea.html

Geo

Agreed
I don't have double glazing or plastic doors but do have 20+ casement /sash
windows
Atomic strip despite the name is the difference between chilly and frozen
solid come a real winter.

-

wrote:
I'm just planing a new door to fit into it's new frame. It's been sat
inside for about a year, so if anything I guess it will have shrunk
slightly. The door and frame are made from Sapele wood. What sort of
gap should I have round the door to allow for any movement and so I
don't have to take it off and re-plane it? At the moment I have about
1mm all round. Thanks.


If you can find out what the thickness of the old two shilling piece
was, that was reckoned to be the right clearance :-)
The important thing is that the door closes tightly against the door
stop, which is what stops the draughts.

You need to fit the frame first as it will get pulled a bit out of
shape in the process. Push/pull it back into line by screwing through
into plugs or by packing it out with wedges if necessary.
Then fit the door to the frame - 1/8th inch gap top and each side and
say 1/2 inch at bottom to clear carpet, mats etc. For a good fit you
can back off the leading edge on the closing side. Easiest done by
swinging the door and looking at where it is too close or touches - and
remove this with a block plane.

cheers
Jacob

In article .com,
says...
You need to fit the frame first as it will get pulled a bit out of
shape in the process. Push/pull it back into line by screwing through
into plugs or by packing it out with wedges if necessary.
Then fit the door to the frame - 1/8th inch gap top and each side and
say 1/2 inch at bottom to clear carpet, mats etc.

0.5 inch gap on an exterior door? You must be joking :-0

Rob Morley wrote:
In article .com,
says...
You need to fit the frame first as it will get pulled a bit out of
shape in the process. Push/pull it back into line by screwing through
into plugs or by packing it out with wedges if necessary.
Then fit the door to the frame - 1/8th inch gap top and each side and
say 1/2 inch at bottom to clear carpet, mats etc.

0.5 inch gap on an exterior door? You must be joking :-0

It's got to clear the floor by a reasonable amount so it doesn't catch
on mats etc (obviously) but also odds and ends such as bits of grit,
dropped things, etc otherwise the door will endlessly be getting stuck,
and also might settle a bit anyway and stick on the floor. You can stop
the draught either by having a threshold strip of some sort which the
door closes up to, or by a brush strip fixed to the door.

cheers

Jacob

In article .com,=20
says...
=20
Rob Morley wrote:
In article .com,
says...
You need to fit the frame first as it will get pulled a bit out of
shape in the process. Push/pull it back into line by screwing through
into plugs or by packing it out with wedges if necessary.
Then fit the door to the frame - 1/8th inch gap top and each side and
say 1/2 inch at bottom to clear carpet, mats etc.

0.5 inch gap on an exterior door? You must be joking :-0
=20
It's got to clear the floor by a reasonable amount so it doesn't catch
on mats etc (obviously) but also odds and ends such as bits of grit,
dropped things, etc otherwise the door will endlessly be getting stuck,
and also might settle a bit anyway and stick on the floor. You can stop
the draught either by having a threshold strip of some sort which the
door closes up to, or by a brush strip fixed to the door.
=20
I can slide a =A32 coin under my front door, but not a =A31 coin - that=20
makes the gap 2.5-3mm, and it works fine. But you reckon it should be=20
four times as wide ...