How to fill a gap in a doorway?

Doorways are prone to develop some gaps over a period of time. Since doors are used quite frequently in our day to day life, the doorways are the first to bore the brunt of the wear and tear. The good news however is that one can cover a door with plasterboard to fill in any developing gaps in the doorway. What’s more one does not need to hire any specialists and the job can be done easily at home. Let us look at the various steps involved in filling up of a gap in the doorway at home.

Use adequate safety precautions

Before attempting to fix any doorway gap one must ensure to follow all safety precautions. All tools and material used in the repair work must be kept away from the reach of children. All instructions must be followed while attempting any repair work and skipping of any step must be avoided. Use safety goggles and long sleeves shirt to minimize the chances of any physical contact with the plaster and other materials. Make sure to avoid inhalation of dried plaster and water as it releases way too much carbon and other harmful fumes.

Materials to be used for fixing a gap in a doorway

Make sure to get the required materials for filling up of the doorway using plasterboard. The essential materials include framing timber, plasterboard, plasterboard compound, and sandpaper and sponge, plasterboard joining tape, plastic blade, a trimming knife and a hammer.

Prepare the frame: The first step towards building a doorway is to create the frame that would hold on to the plasterboard. The easiest way to create a frame is to use a trimming knife to cut the existing plasterboard. If the frame needs to be completely rebuilt one must make sure to take appropriate measurements allowing a leverage of 10mm on either side of the frame. Attach the frame in the doorway once it’s done to check the size and space for any errors in measurement. If you find making a complete new frame a difficult task, you can get in touch with a professional frame manufacturer for help.

Fixing of the plasterboard:Once the frame is ready, the next step is to measure the doorway opening to fix the plasterboard on to the frame. The plasterboard must be cut using a trimming knife and nailed onto the frame. Make sure to nail the plasterboard using specific plasterboard nails approximately at a distance of 200 mm from the frame’s perimeter. For best results keep a distance of 300 MM along the center stud of the plasterboard.

Finishing and cleaning: After successful application of plasterboard on to the frame using plasterboard nails, the area must be cleaned using a damp sponge. Use a plasterboard tape along the length of the side as well as the top joints to make sure the plasterboard does not fall off the place. Once the tape is applied, use a thin layer on compound and apply it on all joints. A filling dry knife can be used to even out the compound making sure all joints and screw holes are covered. Allow the frame to dry for a minimum of 24 hours before using it.

Weather stripping your doors

You can even try using weather strip for your doors. It not only helps you to fix the gap in a doorway, but also to keep energy costs down.