How To Build An Internal Doorway - Fitting Door Linings

This is the second part in the series on how to build an internal doorway. The first part was concerned with the creation of a doorway in a plasterboard wall where one currently does not exist. This second part follows on to show you how to fix the door linings into the freshly created doorway. Of course if you are simply replacing the old door linings for new then you can use this guide too. As before we recommend you have an advanced level of DIY skills for this job because if it’s not done exactly right then it will cause problems for the life of the doorway's use. Considering the weight of a door and their continual use it’s not a problem you can just live with like a leaky tap so consider hiring a professional if you are in doubt.

If you are replacing old linings for new ones and have not yet done so, remove the old linings to expose the stud or wall.

Fitting New Door Linings

1. Hold the new vertical linings up to the studs or wall and carefully mark where to cut.
2. Cut linings to size remembering that the top lining will need to slot in at the top so take the thickness of the horizontal lining into account in your measurements.
3. Now mark up the horizontal top lining and then carefully cut to size.
4. Attach the vertical linings to the stud or wall securely. It is essential the linings are exactly vertical so use ‘off cuts’ of different sized wood as spacers to get a secure and vertical fit against an irregular wall. It doesn't matter if it looks untidy as these ‘spacers’ will be hidden from view but will ensure a tight fit to the wall where needed.
5. Depending on how good the condition of the wall is you may need to add some plastering to smooth the finish between the wall and the door linings. Don’t forget that the architrave will cover some of this up.
6. When you are finished plastering, replace the architraves and skirting boards. Obviously if you have added a whole new doorway to a wall you will have to cut the skirting boards to size so it neatly meets the bottom of the architrave.
7. Some door linings have movable door stops which are extremely handy if you want to change the direction the door opens and closes. As you are fitting new door linings now is the time to make any changes like this to get exactly the right usage you want from the doorway.

Images courtesy of sxc.hu