Security Door fabrication question

Ayup..what you are missing is that damned few of those security doors are custom made to fit. They are made in generic sizes and sold through big box stores or wholesalers.

And the loss of 2" is also critical if you have a narrow or standard doorway and you need to move a couch or refidg

Gunner

Political Correctness

A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

The reason that this door is installed on the face of the frame is that "one size fits all". Door units vary widely, believe me, I installed a lot of them, and there's no way that a security door could fit inside on every one of them. The wood door also has bevel, that's why it fits so nicely with no scraping when it opens, and no bugs getting in. Security door just have enough clearance to operate without a bevel, and there's not much worry about the fit.

"BobH" wrote: (clip) Are they put on the outside of the door frame because the tolerances of carpentry (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The only downside I can see to putting the door on the inside of the frame is that it would cost you 2" in width (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If you make the frame out of angle iron, you won't lose any width to speak of. (The angle iron would be turned so one face is on the front of the door jam, and the other fits into it.)

One reason I can think of is clearance for the door handle. On my front door the stop is 3 inches and the knob stands clear of the door 2 1/2 inches. If the security door had hardware on it that was at the same height as the knob then it could only be less than 1/2 inch to work.

Consider also attachment. If you were to inset the frame, think about where the screws would have to go and just how much wood would be there to secure your door and support the weight.

Now consider a custom hinge that you could bolt directly to the stud. Now in your mind visualize the same set up for the other side of the jam where the lock will latch and bolt into the steel you have inset into the wood.

A lot of work but it would be strong.

Depends on the level of security you seek. The doorframe is a very vulnerable part of many portals, nevermind how I know that. This is particularly true of residential construction.

What you see is what happens when replacement doors are installed quickly rather than well. We built hundreds of metal door machining and assembly machines/lines and each installed the door within the frame. If someone was interested they could modify a stock door to fit their opening.

Wood doors are usually built with a machineable "stile" inside the strike side edge of the door and most door shops are equipped with equipment to bevel the door to the size of your opening, less a small amount of "reveal" (about 1/8") before boring the holes for the lock and latch and routing for the faceplate. It appears the door hangers in your area lack metal working skills or just don't want to replace the door frame.

dennis in nca

I hung a few , several years ago . They all had an "L" bar frame (aluminum extrusions) with a small lip the door closed against , which allowed the face of the door to flush more or less with the face of the outside door frame trim . The lost width was typically around 1/2" or less if the trim was stepped back from the casing . In cases where the frame wasn't true , the legs are easily shimmed to the door . A lot of storm doors use this same mounting system ...

I made my doors to fit inside the frame.

Max

Thanks for the sugestions and ideas everybody!

Bob