How to fix my door frame

As are all fixes. There is no such thing as a permanent fix, because there is no such thing as permanence. In the universal laws of nature, everything must change state, and ultimately decay. If that's true for stars and galaxies, it's surely true for the back door of my house.

 

Remembered something else, sometimes the vertical dpc built in where the cavity has been closed behind the door frame is tucked into a groove at the back of the door frame (this is to prevent damp tracking behind the door frame). If that's the case and if it gets shifted it could cause a problem getting the frame back in position.

 

I can easily push it into position. It's keeping it there that I need to figure out.

 

The heaviest duty job I've used them for was on my garage doors frame. My previous vehicle was rather large for the garage and I had to removed a section of frame either side so the wing mirrors (even folded back) would not hit the frame. The frame screws have held everything rock solid for over 13 years, and are supporting a pair of large timber garage doors, much heavier than a back door.

 

I've bought all the stuff. I plan to do it tomorrow.

I've bought the fixer whatsits as recommended by scrungee. I bought a pack of 10, each 120mm long.

I had planned to put about 3 in the upright part of the frame on the hinge side.

Will that be enough?

I'd planned to put the first one in as close as I can to the top. My idea being that it's going to be fairly easy to lift the frame back up, where it's dropped a few millimetres, but keeping it aligned as I do so will be slightly more difficult. Therefore if I can lift it back into place, approximately aligned, then secure it at the top, I can then line it up without too much worry of it dropping again before securing it further down. Does that sound logical?

 

Without the benefit of actually inspecting it, my concern would be one or more fixers going in then discovering the door frame is out of alignment and the door wont close because you may not be able to remove them.

Is there any way of nailing a small piece of timber to the frame/threshold to keep the whole lot in place after the door operation has been checked?

An alternative/additional procedure would be, after drilling each hole and inserting the plastic 'plug' to use a shorter screw to check everything is OK before swopping for the one supplied. If you don't have one the right size, cut one of the spares (I'm always cautious if there's any possibilty or error).

I'd use 4 fixings incase one goes into a loose area of masonry behind the frame, top and bottom first, then intermediates.

P.S. You might want to have a practice run with one somewhere before starting on the door so you'll be certain of avòiding the screw thread being pround of the frame and desperately try to knock it in a bit more using a club hammer and a large diameter bolt.

 

I thought the Fischer fixings were removable ? Looks like a Torx head on them.
I have never used them before but want to use them on a wobbly gate post soon. I would agree with Scrungee and find somewhere to have a dummy run first .

 

Some are called hammer fixings (but have a screw head!), and whether screwed in or hammer driven, if tempted the bash the last few millimetres in they can be a sod to remove, the hole in the masonry needs to be of adequate depth to use a screwdriver all the way, and if the drill bit's too short it might need a knock with a hammer.

Rawlplug Nylon Hammer-In Fixings 6 x 80mm 100 Pack

 

Bit of a nightmare. I removed the wooden door step/sill thing so I could see if any wires or pipes or anything might be under there. The good news is the bricks are all nice and solid looking. Bad news is the wooden sill thing is rotten, so now I'm in B&Q looking for a replacement.

 

If you don't find it in a DIY store, builders merchants sell lengths of it.

 

I never thought of that. There's a builder's merchant near me. Very much nearer in fact than B&Q.

In any case though, I was determined to complete the job today. And I'm pleased to report it have. I couldn't find the exact right piece of wood at B&Q but I found something intended for outdoor steps like up to decking, but not grooved like decking planks. About similar width to a scaffolding board but thicker. It turned out to be just right.

I've learned a few lessons along the way. The frame fixer things could have done with being a bit longer. I chose 120mm ones. In hindsight I should have gone for the 160mm ones. They've held, except for 2 of them that didn't feel like they'd got a good purchase on the brick they went in to.

And I'll probably get myself some eye protection. I got away with it this time, but as I was watching a massive great masonry bit slowing tearing it's way into the wall, I was all too aware that if the bit broke and pieces flew off, I wouldn't even have time to blink. And a dust mask too. It wasn't so bad when drilling low down, but when drilling at face height in had to hold my breath away few times.

I might buy myself one of those pipe and cable detectors too. This job was fairly easy to avoid such, but now I have a new toy, I might do more diy with it.