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Trim Specialties Inc |
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Bi-pass Doors
For
bi-pass doors I have to assemble the doorjamb myself. I use doorjamb legs that are the same height as those used on the pre-hung
doors. This assures me it will finish at the same height as the rest of the doors. It requires a little more work as the door
itself hangs a little lower due to the hardware, meaning the door will have to be cut down if it is in a carpeted area. The
jambs are supplied with a rabbit at the top to receive the head jamb. I cut the head jamb to size so that the opening will
finish one inch less than the width of the two door slabs together. This gives me an overlap at the center of the doors of
one inch. As the head jamb sits in the rabbet of the side jambs the length will be the desired opening plus the depth of the
two rabbets. I lay the jambs on the floor and staple them together with 1 ¼” long staples that are ¼”
wide. I will prepare the opening in the same manor as the pre-hung doors, I check the floor with the level to see which side is higher, and I will shim that side plumb and nail the shims in place. I then stand the doorframe up in the opening and nail it through the shims into the studs. I keep the jamb flush with the opening all along the side. With the first side plumb and nailed I place a straight edge against the head jamb, so I know I am reading the height at the two ends, and check it for level. I will place shims under the other side jamb until the top is level. I then shim the remaining side from the top down using the level to keep it plumb and check it with a tape measure to make sure it is the same all the way down the side. When both sides are plumb and nailed I will place my straight edge along the head jamb and shim it in a couple places so it is flat. I won’t install any of the door hanging hardware until later so it will get finished under where the track will lie. If we are using very heavy doors I will actually use two pocket door tracks laid side by side as they will bear a heavier load than traditional bi-pass hardware. If
the bi-pass door is in a carpeted area I will cut the doors to length after the carpet is installed so I can get an accurate
height for the doors. If the doors are on a concrete floor, like a basement, and will be carpeted, I will take a piece of
½ -inch plywood about five inches square and glue it to the floor with construction adhesive at the center of the opening.
The carpet layers will cut their carpet pad around the plywood and the carpet over it. This will give me a wood surface to
screw the door guide to without having to drill the concrete floor for anchors. |
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