How To Build A French Door Jamb

Remove one of the hinges from the door.

How to build a french door jamb.

Place the door in the jamb and fasten it to the hinges. Make certain to weather proof the frame itself and the area surrounding it. However french doors are usually worth the extra effort for once they are up and everything is in order they make a handsome addition to your living space whether they are interior or exterior. The door jamb framing.

A door jamb is 1 inch thick has an additional 1 4 inch gap. If you re not using premade jamb material or if your walls are a nonstandard thickness you can buy 5 or 6 inch wide lumber and rip cut it to the width of the wall using a table saw. With exterior french doors sealing and weather proofing the door frame to include the door jambs is a much bigger concern. Installing a new door frame is not a difficult task and can be learned by understanding the simple steps involved.

On exterior french doors the top portion of the frame between the two door jambs will often be larger and heavier than on interior french doors. Screw the hinges onto the correct side of the jamb. Make sure it s tight and opening in the right direction. If you have to replace or repair a door jamb it s most advisable to build an entire new door frame.

Jamb material typically is 3 4 to 1 1 4 inches thick. Trace around the hinge and. When building a door jamb to fit a standard wall with a two by four frame and 1 2 inch drywall on each side the width of the jamb board typically is 4 9 16 inches. The door jamb is the vertical portion of the frame that runs along the sides of the door.

Hang the door in the jamb. Remove the door from the jamb. Framing for a french door is similar to framing for a single door except there are two doors and each door will be hung one on each side of the opening. You will have three gaps plus a door jamb.

The jamb frame surrounding the doors themselves consist of side jambs and a top or head jamb across the top. You need to allow room to place a vertical side plate and you need a 1 4 inch gap between both the doors and the jamb on each side.