Reinforce doorway walls

Reinforce doorway walls
FAMILY HANDYMAN

A wall that supports a door takes a lot of abuse. Some solid-core doors weigh more than 45kg. Add an emotional, door-slamming teenager, and you have a door frame that needs to withstand a lot of force. It’s important to add extra support to doorway walls, both on the hinge and on the latch side. Do that by applying construction adhesive under the bottom plate on each side of the opening and by adding a couple of 80mm toe screws.

Advertisement

Make sure anchors are where they belong

Make sure anchors are where they belong
FAMILY HANDYMAN

Meet with the masons before they build the foundation. They should know that anchor bolts are required to secure wall plates every 180cm on centre and within 30cm from the ends and each side of joints. But sometimes anchors end up where they don’t belong, like in door openings or under jack studs. A short meeting to discuss locations of openings and splices could spare you from cutting out misplaced anchors and installing new ones.

Shelter your materials

Shelter your materials
FAMILY HANDYMAN

A little moisture isn’t going to hurt most building materials, but if a project is delayed or you know you’re in for a long run of wet weather, cover your materials with a tarp. Long exposure to wet conditions can promote mould as well as cause engineered timber to delaminate and framing timber to warp and twist. Plus, no one wants to work with wet timber! Keep the tarp a little loose at the bottom for air circulation.

Sign up here to have Handyman’s favourite stories straight to your inbox.

Source: Family Handyman