Help Needed With Composite Door!!

shoes4pigeons

Hi guys and girls,

thanks for reading. i have just had a composite door fitted to my home along with a new porch. the porch is very good, however the composite door to the main entrance to my home seems not quite rite.

first of all there is a gap of about 25mm either side of the frame (between the door frame and the brick) this has been filled with expanding foam and i have been assured that this will be good enough to secure the door.

last night there was a terrible draft coming from where the handle is enough to blow out a lighter! today when the guys came back i told them and they have adjusted the door and it is much better but still not rite! the door into the porch is perfect and there are no draughts at all. if i stand on the outside of the door and close it i can see the rubber seal is not touching the door properly.

my question is, is this door too small for the opening? and could this be the cause of the draught? or even if the door was to small and it was fitted correctly there would be no draught?

in the company's defence the old frame was huge, much larger than i would have thought, and its obvious the surveyor didn't know this. but surly once i have agreed the order and paid the deposit he should have drilled through the old frame until he it brick and then measure from the brick??? or am i over thinking it??

i paid the deposit on a credit card and the outstanding balance will be paid on the interest free deal they had. i have not signed the finance paper to say i am happy with the work.

what should i do? i will get some photos up asap. also i am totally open to the idea that i may be expecting too much or unrealistic with my expectations.

thanks for reading

shoes4pigeons

h t tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/OldFrame.jpg
h t tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/Door.jpg
h t tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/door3.jpg
h t tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/door1.jpg

as i am a new user i cannot post links if you copy and paste the links removing the spaces from the http

sorry for the messing about

carly

http://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/door3.jpg
http://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/door1.jpg
http://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/Door.jpg

http://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/OldFrame.jpg

I'm no builder so I can't really comment, but I had no gaps when I recently had a composite door installed. The frame was made to fit the gap.
This might help others to view your photos.

shoes4pigeons

thank you very much for reposting the image links

everything i have read says roughly a 10mm gap and then use packers. i cannot see any packers (not to say they are not there) and the gap either side is much larger than 10mm


thanks again

nicke20

The surveyor should have measured brick to brick in at least 3 places
what company was it?

shoes4pigeons

it was malburn windows in manchester. i would have thought a brick to brick measurement would be the correct way, however i didn't know for sure so got the professionals in. i am very handy round the house i will turn my hand to anything. but windows and doors ar what secure your home and keep it safe and warm. i didn't want to attempt this myself in case i made a mess of it so i called in the professionals.

i cannot knock the fitters, they are a pair of really nice blokes, and so far the company has responded quite well, i think the fault here is with the surveyor but its just a case of proving that and getting the correct size door.

they are coming out to replace the door handles asap as they feel like they are about to fall apart, and they will take a look at the door while they are there. so i am yet to get their official reply on the situation. i was just looking for guidance so i can argue back with them, if i have any grounds to argue that is. they may have done everything correctly and i am being a pain in the bum??

FR_262

It does look a bit big, but they have to put render on the outside from the look of it.

The render's probably thicker than the plaster so the gap on the inside of the door will be bigger than the outside so they'll put a trim around the inside.

That expanding foam sets hard so it blocks the gap and glues the window in place.

That's my understanding of upvc doors and windows, just as a lay person.

Furts

No external door frame should be fixed in place with expanding foam.

Mechanical fixings such as Fischer frame fixings should be used.

Foam is there to fill the gaps before being trimmed or sealed over.

If the "surveyor" has dropped a bo--ock with the measurements the fitters should have spotted this and not fitted the door. They have a Duty of Care. They are professionals, or so we would hope!

Hope this helps.

shoes4pigeons

thanks for the reply's,

i really dont know what to do???? i have just measured the gaps and the gap on the lock side, brick to frame is 32mm the gap on the hinge side brick to frame is 20mm.

i still have all the paperwork that the fitters are supposed to get me to sign and i can see from that the frame is 830mm wide, if i measure the plaster (what is left) to plaster the gap is 850mm. i can only assume that the surveyor has not measured correctly or assumed that the door frame is a lot smaller than it was??


ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3023.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3026.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3027.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3028.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3029.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3030.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3031.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3032.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3033.JPG
ht tp://shoes4pigeons.co.uk/Door/IMG_3034.JPG

DHFrames

Hi Shoes

The measuring is fine, I've seen the pics on DIYN, could maybe of done with an add on to the hinge side. Once plastered and painted it'll be fine

shoes4pigeons

hi guys,

thanks for all your replys. i am sure it will look fine when it is all plastered up, from the outside it looks ace. i was just concerned about the fixings really and if they would hold. as the gap between the brick and the inside of the frame is about 90mm how much of the screw/bolt securing to the brick work is actually in the brick?

and then once that is delt with it is still really drafty, am i correct in thinking that there should be zero draft from the door?

you hear so many horror story's about this sort of stuff