Door Framing Device for Pre-Hung Door Assemblies and Method

The present invention relates, in general, to apparatus and methods for mounting of hinged members, such as doors, and more particularly, relates to apparatus and methods for the mounting of a pre-hung door and door jamb assembly in a door opening.

At the present time a very high percentage of all of the residential doors which are installed, for example, more than 70 percent and possibly as high as 90 percent, are supplied to builders as pre-hung door and jamb assemblies. Thus, the door is already mounted or hung in the jamb assembly at the factory by hinge means to one of the jamb members. The other side of the door will be formed with a lockset and knob opening and the jamb member will have a latch or striker plate opening.

Typically, pre-hung door and jamb assemblies are shipped to the installation site from the factory with the jamb member opposite the door hinges either fastened directly to the edge of the door or spaced from the door edge by a plurality of shipping stabilizers. Sometimes the shipping stabilizers are merely thin pieces of wood, paper or cardboard that is nailed or adhesively secured between the door and jamb and held in place by strapping.

In other instances, L-shaped stabilizing brackets have been provided which are bolted into the edge of the door and the front of the jamb. This stabilizing bracket and bolt system, for example, is more commonly used on commercial metal pre-hung doors by manufacturers such as Stanley Tools.

In most cases, when the door is received at the installation site, the jamb member opposite the hinges is freed or unfastened. The stabilizer members are usually left in place, if they are the cardboard variety, or removed, if they are metal L-shaped brackets. There would be no practical way to remove the metal bracket stabilizers if the doors were installed with them in place. While the door is hinged to one side of the jamb assembly, removal of the spacers and/or unbinding of the assembly frees the opposite door jamb member to move relative to the door. The door assembly installer must position the door in the door opening, do the necessary shimming between the door opening and the jamb members so as to mount the door assembly in a squared-up relationship inside the door opening. Moreover, the stabilizers are usually thinner than the desired reveal space between the door and jamb, so the installers manipulate the jamb to produce the desired reveal space, usually establishing the reveal space by eye. During this process, two installers are often employed, particularly to control the free or lockset side of the door. Using conventional installing techniques approximately 20 to 30 minutes will be required to install a pre-hung door. This is a significant time savings over doors which are not pre-hung, but it still represents a significant amount of time, particularly when two installers are employed.

French or double doors are even more difficult to install. While they are hinged at the opposed jamb members, the doors at the center will be free to move, once the assembly is unpacked and the shipping fasteners and stabilizers are removed. Moreover, since the bottoms of the jamb members are not connected, they are free to diverge, making plumbing of the door in the door opening a difficult and time-consuming job.

The difficulties in connection with manipulating pre-hung door assemblies can compromise the quality of the installation. Installers with less experience and patience will install pre-hung doors in varying degrees of skew, particularly when the door openings are roughly constructed, which is almost always the case.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door framing device and method which is suitable for use for installing pre-hung door and jamb assemblies to greatly aid in the manipulation of these assemblies during installation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a spacer device which can be used with pre-hung doors to secure the doors to the jamb, or another door, can be left in place during installation, and easily removed after installation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a door framing device and method which is easy and inexpensive to construct, can be used by relatively unskilled personnel, effects a substantial savings in door assembly installation costs, is suitable for use with single and double doors, and produces a spacing of the door relative to the jamb assembly equal to the desired reveal space.

The door framing device of the present invention may be used to space a pre-hung door mounted by hinged means to a jamb assembly during installation of the door and jamb assembly in a door opening. The framing device of the present invention comprises, briefly, a spacer formed for positioning between the door and one of another door and the jamb assembly. The spacer has a thickness dimension substantially equal to a desired reveal space to be maintained between the door and the jamb assembly, and fasteners are provided for fastening the spacer to both the door and the jamb assembly (or another door). Finally, the spacer is formed to secure the door to the jamb assembly (or other door) and is formed to enable opening of the door after installation to allow removal of the spacer. In the preferred form, the spacer is formed with a door portion which is secured to the door by a fastener, a jamb portion secured to the jamb by a fastener and a connecting portion connecting the door portion and the jamb portion. The connecting portion of the spacer is severable, for example, by cutting, so as to free the door portion from the jamb portion and permit opening of the door after installation in the door opening for removal of the spacer.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of installing a pre-hung door assembly in a door opening is provided and is comprised, briefly, of the steps of positioning a combination door and jamb assembly in a door opening with a spacer mounted therebetween having a thickness dimension equal to a desired reveal space between the door and jamb assembly. The spacer is secured to both the door and jamb assembly to couple the same together as a unit for handling during the positioning step. The method further includes the steps of securing the combination door and jamb assembly in the door opening and, thereafter, from one side of the installed door and jamb assembly, releasing the spacer for opening of the door, preferably by severing a connecting portion of the spacer.

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view, partially broken away, of a door assembly installed in a door opening using the door framing device and method of the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of a double door assembly supported on a horizontal surface during installation of the spacers constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a spacer assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a top plan view of an alternative embodiment of the spacer assembly of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the spacer assembly of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3A is a top perspective view, corresponding to FIG. 3, and partially broken away of the spacer assembly of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a further alternative embodiment of the spacer of FIG. 2, with the spacer legs rotated by 90 degrees.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the spacer assembly of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 6--6 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line 7--7 in FIG. 1.

The framing apparatus and method of the present invention are described in connection with their use in the installation of pre-hung doors. It will be understood, however, that the present spacer assembly and method may have other applications in connection with hinge-mounted partitions and the like.

Referring now to FIG. 1 a door, generally designated 21, can be seen to be mounted by hinges 22 to a door jamb assembly, generally designated 23. Jamb assembly 23 includes a first vertical door jamb member 26, to which hinges 22 couple door 21, a second vertically extending door jamb member 27 and a transversely extending jamb rail member 28. As will be seen in FIG. 1, there will be a small space 29 between door 21 and jamb assembly members 26, 27 and 28, which space is referred to as the "reveal" space. The desired reveal space on most residential doors is approximately 0.100 inches, although smaller or larger reveal spaces are also used.

Door 21 and jamb assembly 23 are shown installed in a rough door opening 31, which is usually defined by structural framing members, such as 2.times.4 studs 32 to which a wall surface, such as sheetrock 33, may be mounted. Positioned between framing members 32 and jamb assembly 23 are a plurality of shims 34 which are used to true-up or plumb the door and jamb assembly in opening 31. Once the jamb assembly and door are shimmed into a plumb position in opening 31, the jamb members 26, 27 and 28 will be secured by fasteners, usually nails, to framing members 32 to hold door 21 squarely in place in opening 31. As thus far described, the door, jamb assembly and structure defining the door opening are all well known in the art and do not comprise a portion of the present invention.

In order to greatly facilitate installation of pre-hung door 21 and jamb assembly 23, a door framing device is provided in the form of a spacer means, generally designated 41, and best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. Spacer means 41 is formed for positioning of a portion thereof between door 21 and jamb assembly 23. The same spacer means 41 can also be used in connection with pre-hung double-doors, by mounting the spacer between a first door 21 and a second door 21a, as best may be seen in FIG. 1A. The positioning of spacer 41 between two doors will be described in greater detail hereinafter, but the construction of spacer 41 will first be described in connection with mounting of a single door within a jamb assembly, as shown in FIG. 1.

Spacer means 41 is formed with a thickness dimension, t, in the portion positioned between the door and jamb (or between two doors) which is substantially equal to the desired reveal space between door 21 and jamb assembly 23 once the door is installed. Thus, in most cases, the thickness, t, of the spacer 41 will be one the order of about 0.100 inches. Installation of spacer means 41 between the door and jamb can be seen in FIG. 6, as can thickness dimension, t. It will be noted that spacer 41 has been rotated by 180 degrees as installed in FIG. 6, as compared to FIG. 2.

The door framing device of the present invention further includes fastener means, such as staples 42 and 43 in FIG. 6, or nails 42a and 43a in FIG. 7, which fasten the spacer to both door 21 and jamb assembly 23, or to second door 21a an a double door installation.

In order to allow the door and jamb assembly to be handled as a unit in a manner similar to pre-hung window assemblies, spacer 41 further acts as a separable connector between door 21 and jamb assembly 23 during installation. Moreover, and very importantly, spacer 41 is formed to enable easy opening of the door after installation of the door and jamb for removal of the spacer. This separable coupling together of the door and jamb is preferably accomplished by forming spacer 41 with a door portion 46, a jamb portion 47, and a connecting portion 48 coupling the door portion to the jamb portion of the spacer.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, door portion 46 can advantageously be provided by an L-shaped door element having one leg 49 which extends between the door and jamb and another leg 51 extending along a front surface 52 of door 21. Similarly, jamb portion 47 may advantageously be provided as an L-shaped jamb element having one leg 53 extending between the door and the jamb and a second leg 54 extending transversely along front surface 56 of jamb member 27. As will be seen, therefore, from FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, the combined thickness of legs 49 and 53 of the door element and jamb element should equal the desired reveal space thickness, t.

In order to facilitate release of the coupled together door element and jamb element, it is preferable to provide connecting portion 48 as means which can be parted, severed or separated, for example, a pair of hinges 57 and 58. Hinges 57 and 58 are joined and extend between door element leg 51 and jamb element leg 54. As can be seen in FIG. 6, hinges 57 and 58 stick outwardly from spacer 41 on a front side of the door. It is a simple matter, therefore, to use a knife to cut hinges 57 and 58 along the interface or seam 59 between opposed door element leg 51 and jamb element leg 54. In order to facilitate severing or cutting of hinges 57 and 58, it is preferable that spacer 41 be formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene, Nylon or a similar easily injection molded plastic. The hinge structure also permits molding of spacer 41, in a manner which we described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5.

Alternative means which can be used to couple door element 46 and jamb element 47 together might include providing a tear strip or perforated connection proximate seam 59, a snap-acting coupling or an embedded tear wire.

In order to facilitate opening of door 21 after severing of hinges 57 and 58, leg 49 of door element 46 preferably has a thickness dimension which decreases in a direction away from leg 51 of the door element. Conversely, jamb element leg 53 preferably has a thickness dimension which increases in a direction away from jamb element leg 54 so as to support the door and jamb in spaced relation over the full door thickness. As will be appreciated, this mating tapering of legs 49 and 53 enables door 21 and leg 49 to swing passed the outermost edge of leg 53 of the jamb element.

Moreover, in order to provide a temporary detent which will hold the door in a closed position relative to the jamb, and further in order to provide alignment of the door element and jamb element, a protrusion 61 and mating recess 62 may be provided proximate hinge means 48. As shown in the drawing, protrusion 61 is formed in the outermost edge of jamb element leg 53, while mating recess 62 is proximate the outermost edge of door element leg 49. Groove 62 also may be seen (FIG. 3A) to extend over the height of the spacer, as preferably also is the case for protrusion 61.

A further feature of spacer 41 of the present invention is that it may be formed with mating vertical registration surfaces. As best may be seen in FIG. 3A, door element leg 49 can have formed therein a gradually outwardly projecting protrusion 66 having V-shaped side edges 67 and 68. A mating V-shaped recess 69 is provided in jamb element leg 53. When protrusion 66 is mated with recess 69, the registration of surfaces 67 and 68 prevents vertical shifting of the door element relative to the jamb element. The registering protrusion 66 and recess 69 prevent the door from slipping or sagging downwardly relative to the jamb.

Spacer 41 is constructed to enable the same to be positioned at the door knob and lockset opening. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, door 21 can be formed with a knob opening 71 with a lockset bore 72 which extends from knob opening 71 to the edge of the door. A similar latch plate or striker plate bore 73 is provided in jamb member 27 in longitudinal alignment with the lockset bore 72. Such construction is conventional in pre-hung door assemblies. When double doors are employed, both of the doors may have a knob hole bore 71 and transversely extending lockset and latch bores.

Spacer means 41, therefore, may be provided with lockset opening registration means 76 on door element 46 and a similar registration means 77 on jamb element 47. These lockset opening registration means extend outwardly from legs 49 and 53 and preferably include radially extending vane means 78 (FIG. 3) formed for engagement with the door and jamb defining the lockset bores. Passageway means 79, best seen in FIG. 6, extends through the lockset opening registration means 76 and 77 and allows a tie means, such as strap 81 to tie the assembly positively together against the spacer as a unit. Tie means 81 can include a one-way cinching means 82 through which strap end 83 is inserted and pulled down until the strap is tight. The excess of strap beyond one-way cinching means 82 may be cut off. As will be appreciated, passageway 79 is located about midway between hinges 57 and 58, which permits strap 81 to pass between the hinges along the front side of the spacer. It is further desirable and an advantage of the present invention to form the strap of a plastic material which also can be severed by a knife by reaching into knob opening 71 from either side of the door and cutting the strap or by running a knife along seam 59 between the door element and jamb element. As will be seen from FIG. 2, vanes 78 can be slightly tapered to accommodate lockset bores of various diameters, and can be bent over or trimmed for smaller diameter door lockset bores 72 and 73.

Spacer 41, with its lockset registration means, is not suited for use at locations which do not have lockset bores or openings. Accordingly, a similarly formed spacer, without the lockset registration means, can be employed for spacers at other locations. Spacer 41a is constructed without lockset registration means, as shown in FIG. 2A. Thus, the inwardly extending legs 49a and 53a are planar on the door and jamb engaging surfaces and have a combined thickness substantially equal to the desired reveal thickness, t. The legs 51a and 54a are constructed in a manner similar to the corresponding legs in spacer 41, and the door element 46a is connected to jamb element 47a by hinge means 48a. Spacer 41a also can be used in a lockset position by providing a passageway 79a through legs 49a and 53a for passage of a strap or tie therethrough. The installation of spacer means 41a is shown in FIG. 7.

As a further aid to installation of the door and jamb assembly, leg 54a on jamb portion of the spacer assembly can be provided with a tab 91 which extends outwardly, as shown in FIG. 7, to a position flush with the front surface 92 of sheetrock member 33. Tab 91, therefore, assists the installer in positioning and securing the door and jamb assembly flush with the front surface 92 of the wall. As will be appreciated, both lockset spacers 41 and non-lockset spacers 41a may include alignment tabs 91.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate door framing spacer 41 of the present invention with legs 51 and 54 rotated by 90 degrees about hinge means 48. In the position of FIGS. 4 and 5, it will be seen that spacer means 41 can be injection molded with parting lines along surfaces 93 of the legs 49 and 53. This allows one mold half to be pulled upwardly from surfaces 93, while the other mold half is pulled away in a downward direction.

Having described the spacer assembly of the present invention in detail, use of the same to install both a single and double door assemblies, as well as the method of the present invention, can be described.

For a single door, door jamb assembly 23 can be laid on a flat surface with door 21 hinged to jamb member 26 and the door propped open slightly relative to jamb member 27 so as to expose the edge of the door facing jamb 27. Spacer 41 can be mounted at lockset bore 72 and nailed or stapled to the exposed edge of the door. Similarly, a plurality of spacers constructed as shown for spacer 41a can be spaced along the edge of door 21 opposite jamb member 27, for example, as shown in FIG. 1. An additional spacer 41a can be positioned between jamb member 28 and the top edge of door 21. Each of spacers 41a are then nailed or stapled through legs 49 to the edge of the door so as to secure the spacers to the door.

Jamb element legs 53, 53a may be folded against door element leg 49, 49a and the door 21 closed, that is, positioned so that inner surface 96 of the door (FIG. 6) bears against jamb trim member 97. Since the lower end 98 of jamb member 27 is not secured as yet, jamb member 27 can be displaced away from the edge of door 21 during the closing process to enable lockset alignment means 76 to be inserted into bore 73 in jamb member 27. Once inserted, lower end 98 of jamb member 27 can be brought up flush against legs 53 and 53a of the spacers. Jamb member 27 is then pressed against the combined legs 49 and 53, which automatically establish or set the reveal space. A second nail or fastener 42, 42a is driven through jamb element leg 54 or 54a and into the door jamb. This couples the door to the jamb member on the side of the door away from hinges 22. In order to further secure the assembly, tie means or strap 81 may be inserted through passageway 79 in the spacer and pulled down against one-way cinch 82 to even more positively secure the door and jamb assembly together.

With spacers 41, 41a mounted between door 21 and jamb assembly 23, the entire unit may be taken to door opening 31 and shimmed to a plumb condition in the opening with relative ease. Once properly shimmed, the jamb assembly may be nailed to the supporting door frame structure 32, and the spacers are now ready to be parted, severed or released.

Using a razor or knife, hinges 57 and 58 can be severed and tie 81, for example, by running the knife along seam 59 between the opposed edges of the door and jamb portions of the spacer. The detent groove 62 and protrusion 61 prevent-the door from swinging open, but one can easily reach through knob opening 71, grab the door and pull or push the door open by forcing the protrusion out of the recess. One or more of the spacers 41 and 41a may be left between the door and jamb as a temporary latch mechanism, and the remaining spacers may be removed by pulling fasteners 42, 42a and 43, 43a. It will be noted that after the spacer and tie have been removed, a trim member 98 (shown in phantom in FIG. 6) can be positioned and secured jamb 27 across the gap to sheetrock or wall member 33. Trim member 98, therefore, hides any nail or staple holes caused by fasteners 42 and 42a. The staple or nail holes caused by fasteners 43 and 43a are on the edge of the door and can be filled so as not to be unsightly.

The insulation process for the double or dutch door assembly of FIG. 1A is similar, except that spacers 41 and 41a are positioned between the two doors.

First, the double door and jamb assembly is laid flat on a support surface with the hinge side facing up. Existing shipping nails and spacers are removed and then the doors are propped up slightly so as to enable installation of spacer assemblies 41a at top 101 of both doors proximate the unhinged edges. The spacers are nailed by their door legs 49a to edges 101 of doors 21 and 21a. The hinge pins for door 21 are then removed and door 21 is folded to the position shown in FIG. 1A, namely, superimposed over second door 21a, which remains hinged to jamb 27. Spacers 41 and 41a are then inserted along the length of the two doors, as shown by arrows 102. Each of spacers 41 and 41a are oriented as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the legs 51, 51a and 54, 54a are inserted between doors 21 and 21a. A nail or staple is now used to secure leg 49 to edge 103 of door 21 and a second nail is used to secure leg 53 to edge 104 of door 21a. Door 21 may now be swung about the hinged spacer members 41 and 41a until door edge 106 is next to jamb member 26. The hinge pins now may be installed in each of hinges 22 to secure the door 21 to jamb 26. This results in the legs 51, 51a and 54, 54a being exposed on the front of the door, and a second nail or fastener can be used to secure one of the two legs to the other door. In order to hide the nail holes, normally the leg which would be under a jamb trim piece mounted to one of the doors would be the leg which is nailed to the front of one of the doors. Finally, a tie or strap 81 can be mounted through the knob opening and lockset bores and cinched down to further secure the assembly together as a unit.

Spacer assemblies 41, 41a, therefore, tie edge 103 to edge 104, and the hinges 22 tie the opposite edges to jambs 26 and 27. The spacing of the upper edges 101 of the doors is secured also by spacer 41a, and the entire assembly can now be lifted up and installed, as a unit, in a door opening. Once plumbed and secured in the door opening, the tie and hinges can be severed, the doors opened, and the spacers removed, as above described.