Tips on fitting external doors from Wonkee Donkee XL Joinery

Once you have your new external door  you can install it. You must always follow any particular instructions included with specific doors as they will be the guidelines for that door, especially with Door set frames, complete doorsets ready to fit in a rough opening; Door sets, complete French doorsets; and Folding glazed doors, complete folding patio doorsets. Here are a few general tips for installing standard new external doors from Wonkee Donkee XL Joinery. High-quality external doors from a trusted UK manufacturer.        

Once your doors have been delivered you must handle them with care and properly treat them so they maintain the appropriate moisture content and do not get damaged. You should only store doors for as long as necessary and they must be stored in a clean area, under cover, and with good ventilation. They should never be stored on their end or edge, they should be stored flat, on at least 3 level bearers. Keep any shrink wrap in place until you are ready to work with the door.      

Trimming new external doors

Often doors need to be trimmed to fit exactly within their frames. External doors from Wonkee Donkee XL Joinery  can be trimmed to a maximum of 24mm in bother height and width, with a maximum of 12mm able to be removed from each edge, unless otherwise stated for individual doors. When trimming doors you must make any reductions evenly from each door edge, so if you want to reduce the door in width by 10mm you must remove 5mm from each side. Any sidelights  are supplied separately and will have their own trimming instructions.

Door hardware

External doors must be hung with three suitable hinges. Stable style doors will require four hinges and must have an appropriate weather seal installed between the two door leaves. Ensure that any hardware screw holes are pre-drilled to prevent the timber splitting. It is recommended that the holes for letter boxes are not cut through any vertical panels as it can weaken a door's structure. Hardware, such as latches or locks, should not have their mortices cut where a joint could be compromised, such as adjacent to door mid-rails.    

Finishing external

Properly finishing an external door before it is installed is essential, this needs to be done on absolutely all surfaces and edges, especially areas that are trimmed or cut to fit any hardware. The back of external door frames must also be fully treated. Any surface that is not fully finished can cause the door to swell, shrink, split, or distort. Extra care should be used when finishing glazed doors  to ensure the glass stays clean.

Bare timber doors need to be lightly sanded before they are finished. It's advisable that you pay attention particularly to the top and bottom edges of the door as this is timber end grain, as well as to any grooves within the doors surface. You must also make sure any cut out areas, for things like letterboxes, hinges, or locks, are finished to the same standard as any visible area of the door. We advise you use two coats of end grain sealant on exposed areas before applying the final finish of three coats of paint or stain. We don't advise you use translucent coatings as UV rays can cause the timber to discolour over time. All surfaces should have an equal coating of treatments and they must be the same product, don't mix and match paint and stain on a single door.

You should apply the first coat of treatment as soon as the door is unpacked, unless the door is pre-finished then it should remain packed until you are ready to install it. Always use a high-quality exterior grade paint or stain, you should choose a 'High Build' tinted wood-stain. Don't use any penetrating oils, waxes, preservatives, seals, or dyes. Never use varnish on external doors, the finish will be hard and brittle. Apply the finishes in a dry area, it's not advisable to treat doors in the damp or in wet weather. Treatments of external doors should be repeated every few years, how often individual doors need to be retracted will depend on how exposed it is. Pre-finished doors should be ready to hang, but you should check for any small areas that may need to be touched up.

Installation

It's vital you follow any manufacturer's instructions included with individual external doors as they will be specific to that project and not following them can invalidate the warranty. If you're replacing the entire door assembly you must ensure the door complies with current Building Regulations Never hang a door until it is fully finished on all surfaces, unless it is a pre-finished door. Doors need to be fitted so they are plumb, square, and true, for this reason, ready assembled doorset frames are the easiest option as they are hung in a frame ready to be fitted straight into an opening. External doors need to have a rain deflector or weatherbar fitted to direct water away from the face and bottom of the door. Stable style doors must have a weatherbar fitted to both door leafs.

You can have a look at a video from XL Joinery's YouTube channel that will show you how to fit their extern door sets, in a simple and easy to follow manner.