Door Frames

[maglite]

Hello all,

Our house reno is well underway and the time is fast approaching that we have to fix door frames .
I was thinking of using MDF frames and painting them, a friend suggested using steel and another suggested using hard wood.(Jarrah)
Does anybody know of/or had any issues with the MDF or Steel frames.
It feels like a crime to install Jarrah and paint it.

Interested in my learned fellow members opinions.

Cheers
Steve

[johnc]

Steve,

I would much rather try to square and fix MDF than steel any day, and like you Jarrah seems a bit of a waste when you are only going to paint it. Our frames are Meranti which take a plane or nail very easily.

John.

[echnidna]

Meranti or even pine would be far better than mdf. If the hinges ever come loose with mdf the screw holes may not take a screw again.

[journeyman Mick]

Steve,
I've lost count of how many doors I've hung, however the few that I framed in MDF stick in my memory. MDF is an absolute nightmare to jamb a door out with. You can put packers in every 100mm or so and it still won't be straight. Save yourself a lot of aggravation and steer clear of MDF.

There are steel doorframes made specifically for concrete block walls, they are fast, straight and easy. I don't know if similar frames are made for brick walls.

Finger jointed pine comes in 5.2M lengths, perfect for framing doors. It comes in a variety of widths to suit most wall thicknesses. It's straight, easy to nail and paint and relatively cheap.

Mick

[jaws]

Steve,
Mick is spot on when he says to use finger jointed pine jambs for painting, they are strong,straight and take screws well.
MDF is crap for jambs, good for archs and skirts.
KD hwd (tas oak) is good for jambs if staining, I guess being from WA makes jarrah more attractive but what a waste as far as I know jarrah forests are being decimated by Bunnings and should be avoided if possible.
cheers,
John

[conwood]

no MDF

conwood

[Gaza]

FJ pine, its the best u can get, give it a light sand and away u go, if it was my house pre-prime the jamb all the way around.



Dont use MDF its rubbish and not much cheaper, i would use FJ-pine for skirtings and archs as well, for a few cents a meter not worth it.

[ThePope]

I rarely get to use anything but MDF in new homes, in general it's fine for hanging hollow core doors off. But when used in wet areas paint the ends as it doesn't like getting wet.

Timber is better of course and slightly more expensive, steel I'd forget about for internal doors.

Mick
"100 mm packers and still can't get it straight"

you need more practice mate :)
but yeah your right, at times it can be a *****...