Composite front door

TheDean · 16 Apr 2016 at 13:54

Hi all,

Had a composite front door and it's not hanging correctly. At the top left of the door, the door closes perfectly, and there is good contact, and no problems. At the bottom left the locks is significantly more exposed, the is more of a gap in between the door and the frame, and a draft comes through quite badly.

I have tried tightening the hinge at the top of the door (there are three hinges, but that hasn't massively improved it. I just wondered what I could do to make the door sit better within the frame.

I've taken a couple of photos to show what I mean.

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Mark A · 16 Apr 2016 at 14:28

Tried adjusting the bottom hinge to push the door toward the lock at the bottom? If you cant manage to do it then you could try using a longer pile brush to make up the gap.

The hex bolt on the rounded bit is what you need to loosen. Make sure you dont loosen them all at once though as the door will drop as its also for height adjustment. Loosen it off and pull the door sash away from the hinge side and toward the lock side, you should feel the movement. Then tighten it up and try it and adjust it as necessary until its a good fit in the frame.. You might also need to loosen the middle hinge in order for it to move. It'll probably be easier with 2 people, one moving the door sash and one tightening/loosening the bolt.

They are a bit fiddly to set up right sometimes and with the doors being so heavy and sat into a PVC frame they can often settle down and gaps appear.

If there is a draught i'd check the door is in twist and that is it being pulled tightly into the external rubber gasket when you lift the handle. If the handle lifts super easily the chances are its not pulling the door upto the gasket tight enough. There are usually adjustments on the keepers via hex bolts, you just loosen them and move the keeper towards the gasket.

Orionaut · 16 Apr 2016 at 14:46

I bet the frame is not true.

If it is twisted or bowed, no amount of adjusting will ever get the door to fit right right.

Take a number of accurate measurements using a steel tape to check that it is square and that the frame components are not twisted longitudinally (If you see what I mean)

TheDean · 16 Apr 2016 at 14:55

Mark A said:
Tried adjusting the bottom hinge to push the door toward the lock at the bottom? If you cant manage to do it then you could try using a longer pile brush to make up the gap.

The hex bolt on the rounded bit is what you need to loosen. Make sure you dont loosen them all at once though as the door will drop as its also for height adjustment. Loosen it off and pull the door sash away from the hinge side and toward the lock side, you should feel the movement. Then tighten it up and try it and adjust it as necessary until its a good fit in the frame.. You might also need to loosen the middle hinge in order for it to move. It'll probably be easier with 2 people, one moving the door sash and one tightening/loosening the bolt.

They are a bit fiddly to set up right sometimes and with the doors being so heavy and sat into a PVC frame they can often settle down and gaps appear.

If there is a draught i'd check the door is in twist and that is it being pulled tightly into the external rubber gasket when you lift the handle. If the handle lifts super easily the chances are its not pulling the door upto the gasket tight enough. There are usually adjustments on the keepers via hex bolts, you just loosen them and move the keeper towards the gasket.

You hero! I had no idea that is how the hex bolts worked. I'll put up some new pics showing adjustments made, and you can see the difference. Still a bit of a draft, but not as bad as it was.

Mark A · 16 Apr 2016 at 15:59

Awesome, glad you managed to decipher my post lol, i'm awful at explaining things in text.

If there is still a draught you could try adjusting the keepers so the door pulls into the rubber gasket more.

TheDean · 16 Apr 2016 at 17:37

Mark A said:
Awesome, glad you managed to decipher my post lol, i'm awful at explaining things in text.

If there is still a draught you could try adjusting the keepers so the door pulls into the rubber gasket more.

Quite easy to follow, thanks buddy! Luckily my Father in Law is here, so he helped me with the door.

What / where are the 'keepers', and how could I adjust them, please?

Mark A · 16 Apr 2016 at 22:21

You will find them on the lock side of the door frame. They are where the hook bolts locate when you lift up the handle. As the gasket wears and compresses over time the door can become loose and this is usually the cause of draughts.

They should look something like this. The example in the pic uses cams that you adjust with an allen key to move the keep in and out. Some use an adjustable plate, held in place with a couple of bolts. You just adjust the keep toward the rubber gasket and it should then pull the door sash into the gasket more. You will know if it has worked as it'll be harder to lift the handle.

TheDean · 30 Apr 2016 at 10:37

Hi Mark,

I've taken a picture of the keepers. Had a look at them this morning, but couldn't immediately see a way to adjust them (but probably being thick).

See what you think.

Mark A · 30 Apr 2016 at 12:14

You should be able to turn the brass coloured round things with a flat screwdriver to move the keep in and out. It looks like it might already be fully adjusted to toward the gasket, but you could try and see if it'll move a little more.

Is there any chance the draught could be coming from the gap between the door frame and the flooring trim?

It might be worth getting the company back to have a look at it. If the frame and door are in line and not twisted and the keeps are fully adjusted to push the door into the gasket there shouldn't be a draught. One thing I have also noticed is the door looks like it might be a little low and could do to be lifted up a bit, which they could do at the same time.