Thread: Hanging French Doors, plus Mortice Locks

Brissy,
I can't help you with the fine details, because I'm no familiar with the frame and door kits.
I fix the frames first, using screws rather than nails, so I still have the option of moving things a bit when the doors are swinging. (Back a screw out, add a bit more packer etc.). Architraves go on last, after I am happy with the fit.

Most of the french door I have done for ages have been aluminium, pre-fitted. I still fix the frames first then the doors, so much easier for one man.

I try not to fix down through the sill, but try to get something up from underneath if possible.

Use spade bits for the locks. If the doors are rebated, (get rebate kits for the locks) you need to chisel out part of the high side of the rebate first so that you have a flat surface to start you drilling on. Depending on the thickness of the doors there won't be much timber left on after you have done this.

I always have a couple of bits of say 75 x 25 softwood clamped either side of the lock area when I am cutting out the faceplates of any lock, but more so on mortise locks. It stops a rough old bugger like me splitting off the sometimes thin bit that should be left on. It just stiffens up the thin edge when cutting it with the chisel.

Try to position your locks so you are not cutting the strength out of a mortise and tenon joint (if any).

If you have not got one, buy a marking gauge for marking the cut outs, the chisel sits in the groove made by the gauge. Same for hinges too. A marking gauge gives a paralell cut to the door edge.

Flush fitting barrel bolts look good, but more work and again possibley take strength out of your joints.

Sharp tools, measure twice cut once.

Cheers
Bill

BrissyBrew,

I haven't done it with kits, but I have seen the Woodworkers door shop down here on the coast and they sure have some pretty nice looking doors in stock. They also look like they are the sort of place who would offer good installation advise. Did you ask them for installation instructions?

I hung a couple of sets a few years ago starting from scratch. I made the opening first, then put up the jambs, then fitted the doors followed by the architrave.

It's probably not kosher but to get things all in the same plane I resorted to nailing some battens across the doors and treated it like hanging a single door.

Some things to watch out for:

1) I wanted to fold the doors back against the wall and needed to make sure I had large enough hinges, set not too deep, so the opening doors didn't bind against the architraves.

2) I wanted a throw bolt to keep one door fixed when the other was open. Using a face mounted bolt into the jamb head was problematic with the bolt entering the architrave and not the jamb and also working its way out under vibration and gravity. On one set I eventually installed a ball clip to the top of the door which worked really well.

From memory I got all the hardware I needed and the rebate kits for the locks from (the old) Finlayson's.

Cheers,
Franklin

Hi There

I also had to hand three sets of french doors. I used oversized hinges so they would fold back against the wall.

If I was to do it again I would actually build the jamb and the doors into the frame at the same time. Soemone taught me this afterward ... and I used it for my internal doors.

Basically -
- fit hinges to the doors
- screw one door to a verticle of the jamb kit
- install that door and section of the jamb, getting it nice and verticle
- then do the same with the other door and jamb side (this allows you to shim it out to get all the gaps perfect
- then fit the top section of jamb
- lastly attached the stops

It is a bit fiddely but it means that all you doors go in with perfect gaps etc. and there is no trimming required.

Hi Brissie - there are a few approaches to hanging these doors depending on the dictates of the site.

If the door kit came with a sill board (the large timber moulding at the bottom of the door) then you will have to preassemble the frame using screws, hang doors in it, lock it square with plywood blocks in the corners, also insert folded paper or card into the small gap between the doors and the frame at regular intervals. This maintains the closing tolerance of the doors while you play about with the assembly.

You can now take width measurements of each door assembly and add 6 mm to the width . this measurement is the distance between your jamb studs. Some kits with sill board have the sill board projecting about 10 mm past the door jambs . In all likelyhood each door assembly could be a different width. The 3mm gap either side is a "manouvering" tolerance to cover such problems as studs bowing slightly, bent door jambs,studs and door jamb not parralel etc.

Fix your jamb studs - you may need double jamb studs depending on the weight of your doors. Also install knee and shoulder (approximate positions) nogging from jamb studs back to next stud.

Move the door assembly into position - You may then find that the door assembly doesnt want to stand vertical (becuase the slab isnt level). Bring the door assembly vertical by packing PLASTIC shims under the sill board. The dampproof course has to go under the sillplate as well.

Then use shims to pack the gap between door jambs and studs and screw jambs in place. then fit the door header. Fill gap under sill board.


If the sill plate isnt supplied in the kit then I would adopt a similiar approach - assembly and locking square of doors and frame, then fitting jamb studs, levelling and squaring door assembly etc.

Dont try fitting locks until doors are hung. unfortuneately I cant advise on what tools you need to fit them unless I see the locks but generally you will need maybe a sharp 10mm chisel and a spade bit (maybe 16 mm).

A special drill bit called a drill saw often comes in handy - it is a drill bit covered in lots of tiny sharp spikes that cuts sideways through timber to make grooves and other shaped openings.

Hope that helps
Doog