Lesson 8: DOORS AND WINDOWS

Learning Objectives:
Cognitive:

 Describe Door and Windows.

Affective:

 Study and Value the parts of Doors and Windows.

Psychomotor:

 Identify and Draw Doors and Window.

DOORS
Here the term door opening will be understood as the passageway, and door will mean the cover of
the opening.
Frame of the Opening
Rough Frame- The rough frame of the opening consists of the studs at the sides and lintel above.
Studs are placed at both sides of the door opening to make it strong and stiff. The studs sometimes double
as jambs.
Finish Frame and Trims- The finish frame, fig. 211, of a door consists of the side jambs, the head
jambs and the sill. The trims are the side casings and the head casing. A threshold may be placed on main
doors.

Door Jambs- Door jambs can be a separate frame or a combination of stud and jamb, as shown in
fig. 211.
The jambs and studs may be joined to the sole and sill, as shown in figs. 212-A&B. At A, the jamb is
inserted to a mortise on the sill. If there is no sill, the jamb is placed in a hollow mortise on the floor or it
can be sent through the flooring, its end attached to the floor joist.
 Rabbet and Groove at Jambs- At opening side of the jambs, a rabbet is cut as shown in fig. 213. The
shoulder of the rabbet acts as door stop and seals the joints of the sash and jambs. In cheap construction a
piece of board or molding is nailed to the jambs as a stop.

A rabbet or groove is cut at the wall side of the jambs where the sidings are nailed or where the
sidings are inserted.
Sill- A sill, fig. 212, is placed at door openings leading to a lower level. The sill is usually thicker than
the flooring, hence it has to be sunk into the floor joist to make its top in level with the flooring.
Threshold- The threshold is a piece of board placed on top of the sill to prevent water from entering
through the gap between the door and the sill.
Joints- The side and head jambs are usually miter-slip joined or dado joined, fig. 211. Another way
to join the head jamb to the side jambs is to let the ends of the ends of the head jambs protrude beyond
the sides of the side jambs. Other ways of construction are shown in figs. 214 and 215. Fig. 216 shows how
the casings are joined.
Doors
Fig. 217 shows the parts of a door. They are the stiles, bottom, middle and top rails, and the cover.
A vertical piece which divides a door is called the rail or mullion.

Doors are grouped in terms of the way they open:

1. Swinging Doors
2. Sliding Doors
3. Folding Doors
An opening may have single, double, or multiple doors. For public buildings swinging doors are
made to swing outside so that in case of emergency, the people inside can easily push the door out.
Panel and Flush Doors
There are many ways by which the door sash is covered, but the two most common are the panel-
covered and the flush-covered, fig. 217. The panels of the door are held in place with either grooves or
molding, fig. 218. Paneled doors may be single or double-faced panels have decorative finish on both sides.
 The flush door has plain sides. The sides are covered with plywood, lawanit, or other materials
nailed to the frame. To protect the edges of the board cover, a rabbet is cut at the frame or a casing is
placed around the edges of the sash, fig. 218.

Astragal or Rabbet
The meeting sides of double doors or multiple doors are either rabbeted or fitted with astragal to
cover the gap between doors, fig. 219.

Fitting a Doors
Follow this procedure in fitting a door:
1. Place the door against the door opening, fig. 220. Provide a clearance of 1/8” between the floor and
the door. To do this, insert two 1/8” wedges to hold the door up.

2. Trace the outline of the opening on the sash. Provide a clearance of 1/16” at the sides and top.
 3. Plane the extra edges. Fig. 221 shows a simple device for holding the sash for planning. A little bevel
is cut at the lock edge of the sash so that this edge will clear the jamb when it is swung in or out.

4. Try the door sash. Plane as needed.

Hanging Door sash with Hinges
To hang a door sash with hinges, follow these steps:
1. Erect the door sash at the door opening, fig. 222.

2. On the stile and jamb, mark the places for the hinges. The distance between the hinges and the top
and bottom of the door is usually from 6” to 8”. The nearer the hinges to the top, the greater their
holding power.
Two or more hinges are used to attach the door, depending upon the weight. If the hinges are three
or more, they have equal distances from one another.
 3. Bring down the door and lay out the hinges, fig. 223 on both the stile and the jamb. Sink the hinge
down to ½ of its thickness. Take the thickness of the hinges when it is closed. Do not always
measure from the thickness of the leaf that you are using as the depth of the recess cut because
hinges come in different ways of construction.

4. Chisel the gain for the hinges on the stile and jamb. Be careful that the gain is not deeper than
required; otherwise, the leaves of the hinges will bend and the door will spring out when closed.
5. Attach the hinges to the stile. If loose-pin butt hinges are used, remove the pin and attach each leaf
to the stile and jamb. Do not replace all the screws. Place them all after you have assembled the
hinges.
6. Erect the door in the open position and fasten the hinges to the jamb.
Right-hand and Left-hand Door
The hand of a door refers to the swing and the place of the hinges on it. To determine the hand of a
door, stand at the side where the door is pushed to open. If the door is hinged at your left, it is a left-hand
door. If hinged at your right, it is a right-hand door. Thus, a left-hand door is pushed open to the left, and a
right-hand door is pushed to the right.
Hinges
Two types of hinges are generally used for hanging doors; 1. The but loose-pin hinge and, 2. The
butt fix-pin hinge, fig. 224. Loose-pin hinges should not be used for a door opening outside because the
door can be opened by simply removing the pins. The width and the length of the hinges are measured
when the hinge is opened.

Screws
Fig. 225, are used to fasten hinges and to serve other purposes. To drive the screws easily in hard
wood, bore a hole for the shank and core of the screw. Sometimes a nail hole will suffice.
Lock
In order that a two-swinging door can be locked, hold one of the wings close with sliding bolts or
similar devices attached at the bottom and the top of the door.
The types of door locks commonly used with swinging doors are the rim, mortise, and cylindrical.
Night latches are also used. Night latches are also used. Night latches differ from the other types in that
they have no knobs.
The parts of a lock are shown in fig. 226. They are:

1. The box which encloses the bolt, the latch and the locking mechanism,
2. The selvage,
3. The knob and spindle,
4. The strike latch plate, and
5. The escutcheons.
With most door locks, the latch can be turned so that the door can be locked either to the left or to
the right. This is done by simply opening the box and turning the latch.

Windows
Window is general term which includes the frames, opening, and sashes. The window opening is
laid out before the different places of the studs are located. Vertical studs are placed at both sides of the
opening.
The construction of the frame for window openings in generally the same as that for doors. But
because of many variations in how window sashes are attached to the frames, each method calls for a
particular construction.
Rough Frame- the finish frame consists of the opening includes the studs, the subsill, and the lintel.
Finish Frame- The finish frame consists of the side jambs, the sill, the side casings, and the upper
and lower casings (apron). The casing can be in both the outside and the inside.
Construction of Frame
In general, the sash sides of the sill and jamb are rabbeted or a piece of board is nailed to the jambs to serve
as stop, the same as in frames for door openings. The wall sides of the jambs and sills are either rabbeted or grooved
to admit the sidings.

The wall side of the head jamb may be rabbeted, but it should not be grooved or else water will accumulate
at the groove and hasten the decay of the jamb. However, if a groove is desired, the joints of the siding to the jamb
should be sealed with putty or similar material.
Sill
The rabbet of the sill is slanted so that the water will drain. Sills with grooves, staples, and rails are
used for sliding sashes.
Jambs
Window jambs are similar in construction to door jambs. (See illustration in door jambs.) These are
cases where intermediate jambs, called mullions, divide wide openings into narrower spaces, fig. 228. The
mullions have stops on both sides.

Joints
The subsill and the lintel may be butt-or dado-joined to the studs. The joints of the jambs and the
sill may be a slip-mitter joint, a dado joint, or any other kind of joint which the particular construction
demands. The mullions are mortised at both ends but the mortise at the sill is shallow, fig. 229, so that
water will drain out.
 The ends of the casing may be mitered or butt-joined. They are nailed only to the frame or sidings.
In cases where the frame is separate from the studs, it is first assembled down and then brought up to its
place. The window frames are installed before the sidings are nailed. Fig. 230 shows the details of sill, side
jambs, and head assemblies.
Window Sashes
You can buy window sashes from a sash factory, or you can make them yourself. It is cheaper to
buy them from a factory where mass production is possible by machine.

Fig. 231 shows the different parts of a window sash: the tiles, the bottom and upper rails, and the
muntins. The window panes may be glass, G.I. board, shells, or other local materials.
Fitting Window Sashes
Different methods of attaching the sashes to the frame call for different ways of fitting them to the
opening. Care should be exercised not to produce gaps where water will enter. Fig. 232 shows how to mark
the bottom of the rail for beveling.
Attaching Sashes to Window Frames and How They Open
There are many ways to attach window sashes to window frames. Each method calls for a different
method of sill and jamb construction.
1. Window sashes sliding along the sill. The sashes are made to slide on the sill. The sill is placed either
outside or inside the room. The sills and head jambs are long enough for the sashes to slide out and
be fully opened. They are secured to the wall by means of bolts and nails.
Meeting of Window Sashes
The meeting rails (Sometimes called check rail), or the stiles of two meeting sashes are either
rabbeted, fitted with astragal, or made to overlap to prevent eater from entering.
Transom Window
Transom windows are those placed higher than ordinary height of the window. They are found in
the bathrooms and toilets and even above door and window openings.
Window Locks
Many kinds of window locks are available on the market. Aside from the window locks, the hook
and eye and the sliding bolt and barrel, are also used to lock windows.
Glazing Window Sashes
Fig. 235. Triangular pieces of galvanized iron are cut and driven into the stiles, muntins, and rails to
secure the glass to the sash. The joints of the glass to the sash are sealed with putty. Before the glass is
laid, a layer of thinned putty is spread along the rabbet as a bed for the glass. The glass is gently pressed to
even the putty bed. The triangular pieces of G.I. are driven in and the putty is applied to seal the joints of
the glass and the sash. A putty knife is used to spread the putty.

Awning
An awning is a sort of roof above a door or window opening. It offers more shade than the drip cap.
The rafters of the awning are attached to the studs and secured by nails and bolts. The lower ends of the
rafters are supported with braces.
Hand Grooving and rabbeting Sills and Jambs Grooving
Next to be discussed are the subjects of hand grooving and rabbeting of sills and jambs.
 A groove is a U-shaped cut along the grain of the wood. Two grooving planed, A and B are shown in
fig. 236. They are made of hard wood. A is a simple make. B is the better design with two adjustments, the
depth and distance from the edge of board being grooved.

Rabbeting
A rabbet is an L-shaped cut at the edge of a board.
A wooden rabbet plane is shown in fig. 238. This is like an ordinary wooden plane except that the
cutting edge of the blade is not 90 degree to the sides but slants as shown in the figure. The cap of the
blade has to follow the angle of the cutting edge.

A simple device for holding a window sash for rabbeting or grooving is shown in fig. 240.
Construction of Sashes by hand
 The process discussed here are not the step-by-step procedures to finish a sash. But the principles
and operations involved are applicable, not only to sashes, but also to similar constructions.
The most common joints of sashes are the mortise-and-tenon joints. The haunch mortise-and-
tenon joints is made at the end of the sash and either through or blind mortise-and-tenon joint at the
middle rail, fig. 241. The thickness of the tenon and the mortise is from 1/3 to ½, the thickness of the stock.

Laying Out the Length of Cuts for Mortise and tenon

The job of laying out the length of cut for either mortise or tenon is done simultaneously to all
pieces of the same cut.
If there are many pieces to be marked, place them side by side. Mark two pieces as template, and
place them at the outer side. Connect these marks with a straight edge and mark the others.
To transfer the marks for the mortise to the opposite side, construct a try square out of a piece of
board whose tongue is as wide as the length of the mortise. This will facilitate the work because both ends
of the mortise are located at the same time. A try square can be used, but it requires two operations to
locate the ends of the cut. A try square is used to transfer the lines of a tenon to the other side.
Boring the Mortise
The mortise is first bored with an auger bit and then finished with a chisel.
Cutting the Tenon
The shoulder of the tenon is not cut square to the sides. Instead, a slight inclination is made inside
to make it easy to fit the joints together.
The sides of the tenon are cut with a ripsaw. A chisel should not be used because it will destroy the
tenon, especially when the wood is crossed grained.
Fitting the Joints
After assembling the sash, fit the joints because a shoulder of a tenon might be touching the other
side while the other shoulder is still far.
Clamp the frame. Then with a backsaw or a fine-tooth crosscut saw, saw on both sides of the tenon
and tighten the clamp. Repeat the operation until the joints have no gaps.
Securing the joints
The joints may be secured by a glue, a wedge, or with pegs, or a combination of these. Figure 242 is
an illustration of bamboo-framed windows. The same method of construction can be used with doors.

References:
Building Construction House Plumbing House Construction and Estimating (Pg. 97-98)
https://studylib.net/doc/18576879/basic-roof-and-ceiling-framing
https://www.scribd.com/doc/126358278/Carpentry-Notes-on-Basic-Roof-Ceiling-Framing
https://slideplayer.com/slide/3928621/