[highschoolhank]

Our house has a pre-hung, self closing Benchmark metal door and metal frame between our kitchen
and garage. The frame is out of square. It was installed 23+ years ago and has
been that way since we moved in 16 years ago. There is a thick shim behind the uppper
hinge where it attaches to the jamb so that the closed door will clear the top of the
frame on the latch side. I want to try to square up the frame but I need information on how it would
have been installed. I've done much online searching but don't find any examples
of this particular type of frame.

The frame is 3 pieces. Pics 1 and 2 show where the jambs and header join.
I have pulled the vertical wood casing on the garage side a bit away
from the frame and it appears that the exterior of the jamb just bends around
90 degrees (pic 3) and extends 2 inches flat against the drywall, like a flange.

I can also see vertical oval slots each about 1" tall and 1/2" wide spaced every 15 inches from
the bottom of the flange to the top. There is nothing going through any of these
slots but there are what appears to be roofing nails going through the flange along its
length. I assume these nails go into the studs framing the door opening.

On the hinge side of the jamb there are 2 screws through each hinge leaf that
thread into the stud of the door framing (pic4), and on the latch side of the jamb some
phillips head screws that hold the frame to that side (pic5).

The metal frame might be adjustable for wall thickness as indicated by the "lip"
shown in pic 6. The door is in 2 x 6 framing with 1/2 inch sheetrock on sides.

Is anyone familiar with the installation of this type of metal frame, and if so, what is the
correct sequence of nailing it to the wood of the door framing versus shimming the
jambs to plumb them?

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

 

[chandler48]

Close the door and post a picture from the inside showing the reveal around the top and sides. And take that beige foam out of the equation. It didn't come from the factory, and has no place there, now.

 

[highschoolhank]

Thanks for the response.

See pics 7, 8 and 9. Pic 9 shows the thick shim between the top hinge and the jamb that I mentioned in the original pos

t.

 

[joed]

First thing to do is remove the trim. All will probably be revealed when it is removed.

 

[chandler48]

My first impression is to remove all the "shims" from behind the hinges. Why aren't the hinges mortised into the door and into the frame??

 

[Nealtw]

This may not apply to all brands.
How to Fix Door Frames that are Set Twisted or Out of Square - YouTube

 

[Hammerswinger]

A lot of steel framed doors have a nailing flange over the drywall which installers fasten with roofing nails or drywall screws. Roofing nails are more common because they lay flatter for the casing. To adjust this type of door, if thats what you have, you'd have to remove all casing on both sides and pull roofing nails and the door will wiggle around. It seems to me the screws in the frame was someone's attempt to prevent door from dragging on frame. Although this works from time to time, it's not the 100% correct fix. Long screws in hinge isn't a bad idea because it supports weight of door slab into wood frame, but in a true steel frame door, this is bad choice of screws because the frame has machine thread for hinge screws but probably doesn't anymore

 

[highschoolhank]

Nealtw:

I had seen the video but that frame is quite unlike mine so I don't see any application to my situation.

Hammerswinger:

For the center and bottom hinges in the leaf that attaches to the jamb, the 2 holes closest to the hinge pin have
machine screws threaded into the metal frame. For the top hinge those 2 holes have nothing. The machine screws
are not long enough to reach the threads through that thick shim. The other 2 holes in each hinge leaf have
wood screws that presumably go into the stud framing of the door opening. Is your thinking that these other
2 holes are/were also threaded?

I removed one of each type of screw and can tell that for the hole with the wood screw there are no thread
remnants so it either was not threaded or was drilled out. Given the size of the wood screw it would not have
been necessary to drill it. So I'm thinking that these 2 holes were not originally threaded and that securing the
frame to the stud with the wood screws on the jamb side has the same purpose as the 4 phillips head wood
screws through the latch side of the jamb noted in my original post.

I now believe that the vertical oval holes in the flange that I mentioned in the original post should have been used
with wide-headed nails through them to roughly install the frame, leaving the nails loose enough to allow for
movement within the slots. Once plumbed, the nails would have been secured and additional nails added to
pierce the flange and prevent any movement. Shims would have been added as necessary from inside
the house in the space between the jambs and wood frame. Any thoughts on this "theory"?

Lastly, do you think this frame was adjustable (for different thickness walls) based on the "lip" I orginally mentioned?

Thanks for all you insights!

 

[Half-fast eddie]

Are there about 3 of these screws in each side jamb? Typically this is how a KD HM frame is installed in commercial work. kdhm = knock down hollow metal. Comes in 3 pieces so it can be installed after the wall is complete. These screws go into the studs.

 

[highschoolhank]

Half-fast eddie:

There are 4 on the latch side and none on the hinge side. That's why I think the wood screws that go through the hinges are for the purpose of securing the hinge side to the stud like those that secure the latch side.