Dismantling the door frame in old houses. Do-it-yourself wooden door dismantling

Every owner who has started a major overhaul in an apartment or house is faced with the problem of dismantling the entrance or interior doors. It would seem that there is nothing complicated here - remove the door leaf from the hinges and get rid of the box. But in fact, not everything is so simple. As practice shows, if you want to get a beautiful and even doorway, it’s worth removing the old structure correctly. And below we will talk about how to dismantle wooden doors with our own hands and consider the following points:

	Features of dismantling wooden doors.
	Dismantling methods: sparing, fast.
	Dismantling the balcony and entrance doors.

Breaking - not building: features of dismantling wooden doors

Most inexperienced builders mistakenly believe that removing an old door requires only picking the jambs from the wall. But in fact, everything is not so simple. Often, with aggressive and improper dismantling, not only the wooden structure, but also part of the wall can be damaged. A similar situation has become especially widespread in old Soviet houses, where fragile gypsum boards are used for the construction of interior partitions.

In order not to damage part of the wall when dismantling interior doors, you need to approach this process creatively. First of all, find out if you need an old door or if you plan to throw it in a landfill. In the first case, dismantling must be carried out carefully so as not to damage the components, for example, if you are going to rearrange the door to the dacha. If you no longer need the box and all the elements of the door, there is a “merciless” and quick way, which we will discuss below.

However, no matter what method of dismantling wooden doors in a private house you choose, the work must be carried out as carefully as possible, without causing damage to the wall. Otherwise, after getting rid of the box, you will have to spend money on plastering and puttying.

Each door structure includes two vertical posts, one horizontal crossbar and a door leaf. In some cases, there is also a threshold (lower horizontal). Often, old doors managed to survive 5 or even more paint jobs, becoming a few millimeters thicker and therefore heavier.

The paint has long hidden all hints of the location of nails, screws and other fasteners, but on an intuitive level, their location can still be recognized. For example, there is usually a wooden block between the door frame and the wall. Its thickness is chosen so that the vertical posts are perpendicular to the floor surface. Large nails were driven into such a beam, having a length of 150 or 120 mm: two into the right vertical rack, two into the left and one into the upper horizontal bar.

If the doors have not been changed for 30-50 years, then such nails have rusted, which means that it’s not easy to get rid of the box. To prevent part of the wall from being uprooted along with the bars, use a pry bar or a nail puller. In addition, you will need an ax, a hammer and a saw.

A gentle way to dismantle a wooden door with your own hands

Below we will explain how to remove the box and remove the doors so that they can be used in the future. Step by step:

We remove the doors by slipping a crowbar between the door and the floor to create a kind of lever. With the door slightly closed and ajar, begin to lift the canvas by pressing on the pry bar. It’s good if you do this process together, since the old Soviet doors are quite heavy, especially if you are dismantling the front door. In the event that the hinges do not react in any way, it is possible that they are very clogged or rusted. In this case, apply lubricant (it is recommended to use an anti-corrosion spray lubricant that quickly removes rust), wait a few minutes, then try again. The complete removal of the canvas must be carried out in the open form, otherwise the door will rest against the horizontal bar.

When you set the door leaf aside, proceed to eliminate the trim. You should not worry about the safety of old architraves, as in many cases they are in poor condition, and are also covered with a thick layer of enamel. The tip of the ax must be placed in the hole between the box and the casing or in another place higher if the nails are covered with paint and nothing is visible. Take an ax in one hand, a hammer in the other.

Carefully hammer in the ax, then disconnect the casing from the box.

In the expansion slots you will notice large nails. Get an ax under one of them, then move the casing to the limit. This procedure must be repeated in places where there are other nails. As a result, you can easily separate the casing from the door frame.

There are platbands on both sides, which means you can repeat the same steps on the other side of the wall. But in most cases, the platband breaks. In the days of Soviet construction and engineering, they were made very strong and thick, and the platbands were made quite thin, so it simply would not work to remove them with rusted nails. But today it is quite inexpensive and easy to make more beautiful and new platbands. In addition, if you remember that faded enamel has already dried on the old casing, as a result of which it cannot be used for firewood, then it would be better to take care of a new frame for the doors.

When the architraves are removed and you are left with only a door frame with iron hinges. Before pulling it out of the wall, consider that it is nailed with 150 mm nails to the leveling boards. Carefully examine one of the uprights - if you notice a lower attachment point (a bar or a nail), step back from it up about 20 cm. If you do not see fasteners, then step back 60 cm from the floor and cut the rack.

Slightly above the resulting cut, you need to insert the ax so that it is between the wooden rack and the doorway, after which, with a confident push, you need to move the rack away from the wall. So, you simultaneously remove the rack and you can pull the nail out of the wall.

Do exactly the same with the upper crossbar and the opposite part. When the first pillar is removed, the dismantling of the doors will become much easier and faster.

It makes no sense to keep a door block that has served for 30 years or more - you can use more durable, modern and inexpensive materials, or you can use the same wood, but fresher.

Above, we examined one of the most problematic options for dismantling a door with large nails in the form of fasteners. If you see that the elements are fixed with screws, then it will not be difficult to break this door frame - just use a screwdriver.

Fast way

If you are going to get rid of the old door and do not plan to install it elsewhere, we recommend using a faster and easier way to dismantle the box.

You may need the following tools:

crowbar;
axe;
hammer;
wood cutter.

Quick dismantling of wooden doors with your own hands

Remove the door leaf, as described in the instructions - this step cannot be done faster and easier.

There is no point in breaking the door frame, so it is much easier to break it. This is very easy to do if you cut in the central part of one of the uprights.

Use a hacksaw to cut at a 45° angle.

If the box has a nut, it is recommended to cut it in the center.

If the threshold is fixed in the doorway above the floor, then you can uproot it using a crowbar.

You can quickly tear off the platbands by driving an ax between them and the box beam. Pull the ax handle away to get a gap that will be enough for further work with a crowbar.

Do not forget that if you do not need the old door frame, then the remaining wall can still be useful for installing a new door, which means that you need to do the job as carefully as possible.

Features of dismantling a plastic door

Metal and plastic doors have long ceased to be considered a novelty, and much less often you will be able to see a massive canvas made of wood than an ordinary structure shining with pristine whiteness. But for proper operation, adjustment and repair, you need to know some secrets that are not known to all owners of such doors.

It is important to understand the functioning and arrangement of the hinges on which the door may be located. In this case, you will be able to use the full potential to the maximum, repair or remove the entire structure. The hinge includes several elements: frames with mounting pins, a steel tab, spacers located between the frame and the tab.

Dismantling the door on the balcony

If you are going to dismantle the plastic door according to the instructions above, you are unlikely to succeed. This is because such structures have some features in installation and dismantling, so they need to be removed in a special way.

Dismantling the door on the balcony

Remove the special protective caps covering the hinges.

Tilt the balcony door towards you, holding it firmly with your free hand, and lift up to release the lower support pin. Due to the fact that the hinges in these designs are not fixed at the bottom, the door can be easily removed by lifting it slightly and moving it to the side.

Removing the front door

It is worth noting that the device of the front door made of plastic differs from the balcony one, which means that dismantling should be carried out differently. The main difference is that the entrance doors have a reinforced structure, and there are no double-glazed windows.

They also have a different loop structure - they are more powerful, have an anti-burglary system. The plastic front door has three hinges, and the balcony door has two. This is primarily due to the fact that the door is quite heavy, and two hinges are simply not able to cope with this load.

The dismantling procedure is carried out according to the scenario described above, but with one difference - you definitely won’t be able to remove such a door alone. When you remove the door from its hinges, it must be held firmly, and only two people can cope with such a task.

Removing a metal door

Most new buildings use metal front doors. They seem reliable only at first glance. In fact, this is a simple sheet of steel that does not have insulating properties and is not reinforced with anything. The owners of these apartments prefer to replace the structures with new ones, and insulate the existing ones. But in any case, you have to remove the canvas.

Then you can take out the door frame and proceed to install a better door.

As you can see, dismantling an old door is not difficult, whether it is plastic, wooden or iron. The main thing is to do everything carefully and measuredly so as not to spoil the opening in the wall, which can be useful for installing a new door.

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Dismantling during repair work or in the situation of replacing a new box. Installation features depend on the type of door structure. Work should be carried out carefully if you plan to insert an old door in order to keep the canvas and box intact. If the door is thrown out, it is advised to use other methods to solve the problem.

List of tools

It is important to dismantle the door frame carefully, the room was not planned. This is necessary to maintain the integrity of the wall decoration in case of replacement with a new one. The use of dismantling tools depends on how the web and box are removed. leave for further installation, it is important to save the canvas, trim, door handle, box. In such a situation, small tools are selected, which allow the work to be carried out without unnecessary destruction.

It is not so easy to dismantle the door, so it is recommended to follow the work technologies to avoid destruction and damage. First, it is important to prepare the tools:

hammer;
axe;
screwdriver;
crowbar with a nail puller;
hacksaw;
screwdriver.

Ways to dismantle the door

There are different options for the implementation of work, which depends on many factors. Dismantling can be done independently or seek help from specialists. We offer instructions for two methods of sequential execution of work.

Careful dismantling

The technology of work is established for the careful removal of the canvas and has the following order:

First, we carry out repairs from the removal of the door leaf. If there are difficulties, it is recommended to use a mount that is inserted by the door. It is important that the doors are completely open and do not rest against the upper area of the box, otherwise there will be a problem with dismantling.
. Using a hammer, we push an ax between the product and the box. A careful method of removing the casing ensures the integrity of the structure, which is pressed out until the fastening nail appears. After that, the ax is pushed further and completely squeezes the casing. It is important to remove further nails in the same way. The platbands are also removed from the back.
The next step is to remove the door frame. Here it is important to find the area of attachment of the object to the opening. Fasteners are located in the area of the hinges or in the place of the feigned lock. Elements can be hidden under decorative caps.
We carefully remove the fasteners with a screwdriver at low speeds, otherwise you will face the problem of damage to the box. A similar tool can be replaced with a screwdriver.
in the form of a bar, then between it and the wall it is important to cut the mounting foam using a sharp knife. If the unit is attached to plaster, it should be carefully tapped with a hammer.
Next, we take out the complete box from the door and disassemble it in a horizontal position.

Dismantling the door leaf and box requires attention to detail. However, there are situations where an extension is screwed to the box. It is recommended to remove it separately so that the product does not damage the entire structure.

It's important to know! Not always the door frame is installed and fixed with foam or plaster. In other situations, the dismantling of the doorway is carried out using a nail puller. However, this method is intended for a complete analysis of the structure, which is not applicable for further use.

Dismantling old doors: "sloppy method"

A similar option for carrying out work is carried out if the door structure is thrown out. It is not necessary to keep the details intact here. The process uses tools such as a hacksaw, an ax, a hammer, and a nail puller. The technology of work has the following sequence:

At the beginning, it is recommended to proceed with further actions.
Breaking and removing the box is much easier if you cut a vertical strip using a hacksaw. It is recommended to make a cut at an angle of 45 degrees to simplify the work.
If there are thresholds in the box, they should also be sawn. In the situation of attaching the threshold to the opening on top of the floor covering, it is advised to remove the details using a small crowbar.
Cashing is easy to remove with an ax and a hammer. A similar process involves squeezing the product from the base. When the distance between the timber and the cashing has become large enough, it is advised to use a crowbar and a nail puller.

Removing the door handle

In the process of dismantling the doorway, you can separately disassemble the handle and lock, especially if the installation and mechanism are new. Professional disassembly involves using the right tools and following a step-by-step process. So, the list of devices:

a screwdriver, the type of which is set from the type of lock mechanism, and can be used cross-shaped or flat;
a key that is intended for disassembling such parts, which can be replaced with a standard awl;
wrench;
pliers.

The technology of work to remove the door handle from the canvas:

Using a screwdriver, unscrew the screws that are on both sides of the hand lever.
Next, the lever is unscrewed using a wrench. The product is taken out from the handle together with the rotary mechanism. If all parts are intact, put in a separate place for further installation.
The decorative overlay of the mechanism can be removed using a flat screwdriver from the side where there is no key.
It is important to press the stopper that appeared and at the same time pull the handle to remove it from the door leaf.
Lastly, all fasteners are unscrewed from the mechanism, which are removed from the door.

Such work should be done if it is necessary to replace the handle in the door structure, as well as in the situation of using the mechanism in the future.

Ordering work from the master

If you are not sure that you can dismantle the iron entrance or interior door, then it is recommended to contact specialized companies that work in this area. Professional workers are guided by the dismantling of different models of door structures. As a rule, the duration of dismantling is from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

If you plan to leave the doors intact, then the price can be from 3000 rubles. In the case of using an inaccurate method, the cost is set from 1800 rubles. The process of work involves the removal of old dismantling depends on a neat or other method of work. Experienced workers should have tools with them, and at the end of the work, remove all debris and take out parts.

The dismantling of the door frame and leaf can be done by "clean" and "sloppy" methods. The work process requires care to properly remove all parts and fasteners.

Any overhaul of an apartment or house often involves the replacement of old interior doors that have served their purpose with new ones. This stage of repair, first of all, involves the dismantling of the old door, which can be done independently. Such a procedure can save some money that would have to be paid to specialists. However, the dismantling of the old interior door must be done very carefully so as not to damage the doorway in the wall and it would be possible to install new doors without much difficulty.

Many people mistakenly believe that dismantling an interior door is a simple matter and will not be difficult, however, this is not entirely true. In the process of dismantling the old door, you can make a lot of mistakes that will pop up only at the stage of installing a new door. When removing an old door, it is very easy to damage the doorway, which is why a new door, the dimensions of which were taken from the old doorway, simply may not fit. In such a situation, the doorway will have to be adjusted to fit new doors. If you remove the old doors correctly, you won't have to adjust anything. Small flaws and mistakes can be completely corrected with mounting foam and platbands.

What determines the complexity of dismantling the door
The complexity of dismantling work mainly depends on the materials from which the door is made. If you need to remove plastic or wooden doors, you may require some tools, and in the process you will need to adhere to special technologies for such work. To remove wooden doors from a doorway, you will need at least a chisel and an ax, and to remove a plastic door, a set of screwdrivers and pliers. One way or another, one condition is inherent in both cases: the door must be dismantled in such a way that the installation of a new door frame requires a minimum number of modifications and adjustments. Therefore, it is necessary to dismantle the doors carefully and accurately.

In what cases it may be necessary to dismantle the door
Of course, interior doors have their own resource, which does not always coincide with the general repair of the apartment. Interior doors can fail before major repairs are needed. In these cases, the dismantling of the interior door can be completely carried out separately from the repair. Moreover, accurate work after installing a new door will practically not be noticeable. In such cases, it is best to entrust the dismantling and installation of a new door to specialists. They have the necessary knowledge, experience and tools that will allow you to do all the work quickly, accurately and efficiently.

Independent dismantling of an interior door
If you still decide to remove the old doors yourself, you will need to take into account some of the nuances. First of all, you need to remove the door leaf. To do this: fully open the doors and lift the canvas, which is removed from the hinges. If the doors are too heavy, you can use the mount. It will need to be placed under the open door and by pressing lift the door leaf. If everything is easy and simple with the door leaf, then dismantling the door frame will make you get dirty and work more seriously.

To get started, you need to do the preparatory work:

Free up the space around the door frame from furniture and other items that may interfere with the work process
To avoid dusting furniture, especially upholstered furniture, cover it with polyethylene
In order not to damage the flooring (parquet, laminate, etc.), it is advisable to cover the floors with the same polyethylene or cloth
Wear work clothes, or clothes you don't mind getting dirty

Next, using a hammer and chisel, you need to remove the trim. After this step, we will understand how the box is installed in the doorway. In old houses, the door frame is usually pressed tightly against the sides of the doorway, and the vertical bars of the frame are nailed to the bars set into the masonry of the wall.

If the door frame is made in the form of a one-piece structure with a threshold, dismantling will need to begin with cutting the threshold. Pay attention to the fasteners of the door - if self-tapping screws were used, using a screwdriver, carefully unscrew them, which will allow you to easily and effortlessly pull the door frame out of the opening. If the box is nailed, try to remove them with a nail puller.

However, if you do not need to keep the old door frame, you can simply cut it in several places and remove it piece by piece. In many cases, this approach allows you to quickly and easily dismantle the door frame, moreover, the doorway is practically not damaged.

Please note that before trying to remove the door frame from the opening, make sure that you completely free it from fasteners - nails, screws, etc. Only then can the box be removed.

This instruction is given as an example, for a general understanding of the process of dismantling the door. Experienced craftsmen know: in each case, the dismantling of the door contains some nuances that are completely different from others, which it is simply impossible to take into account in advance. That is why, if you have the desire and opportunity, this work is best entrusted to specialists.

Have you decided to replace the interior doors in your apartment or house? Wonderful! Do not want to pay money to third-party installers? Not a problem! Any interior doors can be installed with your own hands. There is nothing difficult in this event. You just need to understand the order of work for different types of doors and do everything in accordance with the instructions for your case.

Work on replacing interior doors begins with the dismantling of old door structures. If your home has "bare" doorways, you can skip this part of the instructions and go to the manual for direct installation of the product.

The dismantling procedure will differ depending on whether you need to keep the old door in its proper form, or whether you simply get rid of it after dismantling.

If the door is no longer needed

First step. Remove the door leaf from the hinges. If the hinges are collapsible, it is enough to simply lift the canvas. Otherwise, you must first unscrew the fixing hinge screws and only after that you can remove the door.

Second step. Dismantle cash. To do this, pry the platbands with a crowbar and tear them off the door frame.

Third step. Unscrew the fasteners that secure the door. If there are no anchors or other fasteners, go directly to the next step.

Fourth step. Break up the foam layer with a hacksaw. To do this, punch a hole in the top layer of the mounting foam so that a hacksaw can be inserted into the blow, and then saw through the material to the bottom. Repeat the operation on each side of the box. So you can easily get rid of the mounting foam.

In conclusion, it remains only to align the opening before installing a new door.

If the door needs to be saved

First step. Remove the canvas from the hinges.

Second step. Get a chisel between the door frame and the casing at the point of fixing the cashing element with a nail. Carefully try to break the nail with a chisel. After the fastener has moved a certain distance, grab it with pliers and pull it out. Remove all nails according to this scheme and remove the cashing elements.

Third step. Remove the box and carefully clean it of any remaining foam. Cut off as much foam as possible with a knife. Apply pharmacy dimexide to the remaining foam. Under its influence, the foam will become soft, and you can remove it.

Swing door installation

Regardless of the material of manufacture, all single-leaf swing doors are installed in the same order.

First step. Dismantle the old door in accordance with the recommendations received earlier. If you wish, you can leave the old box and install a new canvas in it, but this option should only be considered if the repair budget is strictly limited.

Second step. Measure the opening or the old box. Usually the dimensions of the boxes and openings correspond to the standard, but it does not hurt to make sure, especially in the case of replacing interior doors in a private house.

If the dimensions do not meet the standard, the box and the canvas itself will have to be ordered according to individual measurements.

If it becomes necessary to cut a box or canvas, it is strongly recommended to do this exclusively in the carpentry shop. When doing such work at home, the slightest mistake can lead to complete damage to the product.

Third step. Determine the opening direction of the new door and the location of the handle. Put marks on the door frame for the installation of door hinges. The optimal distance between the lower loop and the lower edge of the canvas is 20 cm, between the upper loop and the corresponding end of the canvas - 15 cm.

The hinges must strictly coincide with the end of the door. Use self-tapping screws to fix the hinges.

Fourth step. Install the door on the fixed hinges. Make sure nothing is preventing the door from opening and closing. Adjust the position of the hinges if necessary.

Fifth step. Remove the canvas from the hinges and fix the door frame in the opening. To do this, level the box, drill mounting holes in it and in the opening surface and fix the product with anchors and dowels.

Sixth step. Hang the canvas back on the hinges and check the result of the work again.

Seventh step. Secure the cashing elements with decorative nails.

In conclusion, you will have to install the door handle. If desired, install a latch or a more modern door lock. Most models of modern door handles have built-in locks. Pre-prepare for them the appropriate recesses in the door frame.

Control the evenness of the installation of structural elements at each stage of work. Get rid of all defects immediately, because. in the future, they can lead to serious problems and inconvenience.

Installation of a sliding door

First step. Dismantle the old door in accordance with the previously received recommendations.

Second step. Align all gaps carefully. It is important to get rid of all existing cracks and other defects.

Third step. Make a groove from the side of the bottom end of the panel. A chisel will help you with this. Then put the guide in the form of the letter “P” into the finished groove and fix it with high quality. The rollers of the mechanism will move inside this guide.

Fourth step. Insert the rollers into the fixed bar.

Fifth step. Place the door on the track while attaching it to the sliding rollers. To do this, you need to bring the canvas into the grooves of the rollers. This operation is more convenient to perform with an assistant. One holds - the second exposes the door.

Sixth step. Determine and mark a suitable location for the top rail. Check the bar below. The top bar must be placed in the wall above the opening.

Seventh step. Attach a metal guide to a timber beam. Fix the bar with the guide with anchors to the upper end face of the canvas. Check with a level that the door is correctly installed. It is important that the bar is placed in a horizontal position. Otherwise, the doors will close and open without your participation.

Eighth step. Install the door leaf. First, set it vertically and tilt it slightly in the opposite direction from you. Next, you need to bring the upper rollers to the appropriate guide, then slightly raise the canvas and bring it to the bar below, while installing it on the movable rollers.

Ninth step. Install stops that will not allow the blade to fly out of the guide bars. Install handles. Hide the top rail with a casing. To fix the platband, use self-tapping screws or decorative nails.

Check the correct operation of the door. The canvas should move smoothly and gently. Eliminate any defects immediately after their discovery, without delay.

First step. Get rid of the old door if you have one. Align the walls of the liberated opening - differences are unacceptable. It is very convenient to use wooden boards for leveling. Nail the boards in the recesses, cut them off on the ledges.

Second step. Measure the free opening and calculate the required number of panels to assemble the door.

Third step. Cut the side profile so that its length is 25 mm less than the height of the opening.

Fourth step. Cut the panels so that their length is 40 mm less than the height of the opening.

Fifth step. Assemble individual panels into a single structure. It is most convenient to do this on the floor.

Place special panels with channels on the sides - a fixing bar on the left, a locking bar on the right. To connect the elements, use the end strips. Stoppers will provide additional fixation. Pre-make a couple of holes for the magnetic latches on the lock plate and mount the latches.

Sixth step. Prepare axial marks on the left side of the upper end of the slats. Make holes according to the markup.

Seventh step. Insert axes. After installation, their ends should extend beyond the ends of the panels.

In the design of different "accordions" there are often certain differences. If your door structure is equipped with runners, then holes for the axles do not need to be drilled. In this case, the sliders must be screwed to the end faces of the panels. Start fixing the sliders from the lock panel and fasten through one bar.

Eighth step. Cut the guide bar to fit the width of the opening. Set aside a third of the length of the guide and drill a hole for the screw at the marked point. Fix the guide with a screw.

Ninth step. Install the sliders in the guide bar, after lubricating them.

Tenth step. Align the guide with a level and secure it with the second screw.

Eleventh step. Lock the side guides. To one of them you need to fix the clip of the side profile, to the second guide attach the plates of magnetic latches.

This completes the installation of the accordion-type interior door. Check the quality of installation, make sure that the door moves smoothly and evenly. If problems are found, fix them immediately.

Work, as always, start by dismantling the old door, if present. Align the walls of the opening and proceed to the main stages of work.

First step. Assemble the door frame. For assembly, use boards about 10 cm wide and about 6 cm thick. To fasten the boards, it is most convenient to use a conventional spike connection. The connection angle must be exactly 19 degrees.

Second step. Fasten the aligned frame in the doorway. Pre-drill mounting holes in the wall, and then fix the structure with pins or thick nails.

Third step. Make sure that the dimensions of the door panels correspond to the size of the box. If necessary, cut the end sides of the canvases to the required size.

Fourth step. Fasten the loops in the appropriate places. Determine in advance which way it will be more convenient to open the doors.

Fifth step. Hang the door panels on the hinges. Install the handles and check the quality of the work done.

Thus, there is absolutely nothing complicated in self-replacing interior doors. By understanding the basics of the guides presented, you will be able to handle all the upcoming events without the involvement of third-party specialists. This will allow you to save additional money and be completely confident in the quality of the installation.

Successful work!

Video - Installation of double doors

Video - Replacing interior doors with your own hands

Every owner who has started a major overhaul in an old apartment is faced with the problem of dismantling interior or entrance doors. It would seem that it is difficult to remove the canvas from the hinges and “uproot” the box. But not everything is so simple. As practice shows, if you want to get an even and beautiful doorway, you must remove the old structure correctly. We will talk about how to dismantle doors in this article.

Many inexperienced self-taught builders mistakenly believe that removing an old door is as simple as picking the jambs off the wall. But in practice, everything is not so simple. Often, with improper and aggressive dismantling, not only the door structure is destroyed, but also part of the wall. This situation is especially common in old Soviet houses, where fragile gypsum boards were used for the construction of interior partitions.

If you do not want to lose part of the wall when dismantling interior doors, you need to be creative in your work. First of all, decide whether you need an old door or are you going to take it on its last journey - to a landfill. In the first case, dismantling must be carried out carefully so as not to damage the components, for example, if you want to rearrange the door from the apartment to the dacha. If you don’t need the box and all its elements, there is a faster and “merciless” way, which we will talk about a little later.

But no matter what method of dismantling the old doors you choose, the work must be carried out as carefully as possible so as not to damage the wall. Otherwise, after removing the box, you will have to spend time and money on puttying and plastering.

But first, some theory. Any such design consists of two vertical posts, one horizontal crossbar on top and the door leaf itself, sometimes there is also a lower horizontal - a sill. Often, old doors have survived 5 or even 10 painting sessions in their long life, becoming several millimeters thicker, and therefore heavier.

The paint has long hidden the slightest hint of the location of screws, nails and other fasteners, but on an intuitive level, you can still recognize where everything is. So, usually a wooden bar is located between the wall and the door frame. Its thickness was selected in such a way that the vertical posts were located strictly perpendicular to the floor surface. Large nails 120 or 150 mm long were driven into this beam: two into the left vertical rack, two into the right, and one (sometimes two) into the upper horizontal bar. If the doors have not been changed for 30-50 years, then these nails must have rusted, so you won’t be able to just remove the box.

In order not to uproot part of the wall with the bars, use a nail puller or a mount. You will also need a hammer, an ax and a saw (hacksaw).

Gentle way

In this chapter, we will explain how to remove the door and frame so that they can be used later.

Working process:

We have described one of the most problematic door removal options using large nails as fasteners. If you see that the elements are fastened with screws, then disassembling such a box is not difficult - just use a screwdriver.

A video about dismantling the door will help you to carry out the work more accurately:

Fast way

If you plan to get rid of the old door and are not going to install it elsewhere, use the easier and faster way to dismantle the box.

To work, you will need the following tools:

axe;
hammer;
crowbar;
wood cutter.

How to quickly dismantle the door:

We remind you that if you do not need the old door frame, then the remaining wall will still be useful for installing a new door, so do the job as carefully as possible.

Dismantling the plastic door

Plastic and metal-plastic doors have long ceased to be a novelty, and it is much less common to see a high-quality massive canvas made of wood than a familiar structure shining with pristine whiteness. However, for proper operation, repair and adjustment, you need to know some secrets that are not known to all owners of plastic doors.

The most important thing is to understand the device and the functioning of the hinges on which the door rests. Then you can use all its potential to the maximum, repair or remove the entire structure yourself. The hinge consists of several elements: a steel tab, a frame with fixing pins, a spacer located between the tab and the frame.

Dismantling the door on the balcony

If you try to dismantle the plastic door according to the above instructions, you will not succeed. The fact is that such structures have their own installation and, therefore, dismantling features, so they need to be removed in a special way.

Dismantling the balcony door:

Front door dismantling

The device of the plastic front door is different from the balcony door, so the dismantling is a little different. The main difference is that the entrance doors have a reinforced structure, and they do not have double-glazed windows.

The structure of the hinges is also different - they are more powerful, reinforced and have an anti-burglary system. The entrance plastic door has as many as three hinges, the balcony door has two. This is due to the fact that the door is quite heavy, and two hinges would not have coped with such a load.

In principle, the dismantling procedure follows the same scenario as at the balcony door, with the only difference that you will need help - it will not work to remove the front door alone. When you lift the door off its hinges, it must be held firmly, and only two people can handle this.

Dismantling a metal door

In most new buildings, apartments are put into operation with metal entrance doors, but, unfortunately, they seem reliable only at first glance. In fact, this is an ordinary sheet of steel, not strengthened by anything, and even more so without insulating properties. The owners of such apartments prefer to replace the structures with new ones or insulate the existing ones, but first you need to somehow remove the canvas itself.

Dismantling a metal door is quite simple:

Chip away the plaster near the door jamb to expose the door lug attachment points.
Since modern metal doors are fixed with anchor wedges or anchor bolts, try unscrewing them with a wrench or a screwdriver.
If the fasteners do not lend themselves, gouge them with a perforator chisel.
Between the wall and the door frame is a layer of mounting foam - cut it with a knife to free the door.
Raise the door leaf and remove it from the hinges when open.
Then you can take out the door frame and install a better door.

As you can see, dismantling an old door is not difficult at all, whether it is wooden, plastic or iron. The main thing is to do everything measuredly and carefully so as not to spoil the opening in the wall, which is still useful for installing a new door.