Door framing device for pre-hung door assemblies and method

A door framing spacer apparatus (41, 41a) and method for use with a pre-hung door (21, 21a) to enable installation of the door in a door opening (31). The spacer assembly (41, 41a) is formed for positioning between the door (21) and a door jamb member (27) or the door (21) and another door (21a). The portion of the spacer (41, 41a) between the door (21) and jamb member (27) has a thickness dimension (t) therebetween substantially equal to a desired reveal space (29) to be maintained between the door (21) and jamb (27). The spacer (41, 41a) can include a door portion (46, 46a) which is secured by a fastener (43, 43a) to the door and a jamb portion (47, 47a) which is secured by a fastener (42, 42a) to the jamb. The spacer additionally includes a connecting portion (48) between the door and jamb portions which couples the two together as a unit and in turn couples the door (21) to the jamb assembly (23) to enable manipulation of the assembly during installation. Once the door (21) and jamb assembly (23) are installed, the connecting portion (48) of the spacer (41, 41a) can be severed to release and permit opening of the door and removal of the spacer assemblies.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates, in general, to apparatus and methods for 
mounting of hinged members, such as doors, and more particularly, relates 
to apparatus and methods for the mounting of a pre-hung door and door jamb 
assembly in a door opening. 
BACKGROUND ART 
At the present time a very high percentage of all of the residential doors 
which are installed, for example, more than 70 percent and possibly as 
high as 90 percent, are supplied to builders as pre-hung door and jamb 
assemblies. Thus, the door is already mounted or hung in the jamb assembly 
at the factory by hinge means to one of the jamb members. The other side 
of the door will be formed with a lockset and knob opening and the jamb 
member will have a latch or striker plate opening. 
Typically, pre-hung door and jamb assemblies are shipped to the 
installation site from the factory with the jamb member opposite the door 
hinges either fastened directly to the edge of the door or spaced from the 
door edge by a plurality of shipping stabilizers. Sometimes the shipping 
stabilizers are merely thin pieces of wood, paper or cardboard that is 
nailed or adhesively secured between the door and jamb and held in place 
by strapping. 
In other instances, L-shaped stabilizing brackets have been provided which 
are bolted into the edge of the door and the front of the jamb. This 
stabilizing bracket and bolt system, for example, is more commonly used on 
commercial metal pre-hung doors by manufacturers such as Stanley Tools. 
In most cases, when the door is received at the installation site, the jamb 
member opposite the hinges is freed or unfastened. The stabilizer members 
are usually left in place, if they are the cardboard variety, or removed, 
if they are metal L-shaped brackets. There would be no practical way to 
remove the metal bracket stabilizers if the doors were installed with them 
in place. While the door is hinged to one side of the jamb assembly, 
removal of the spacers and/or unbinding of the assembly frees the opposite 
door jamb member to move relative to the door. The door assembly installer 
must position the door in the door opening, do the necessary shimming 
between the door opening and the jamb members so as to mount the door 
assembly in a squared-up relationship inside the door opening. Moreover, 
the stabilizers are usually thinner than the desired reveal space between 
the door and jamb, so the installers manipulate the jamb to produce the 
desired reveal space, usually establishing the reveal space by eye. During 
this process, two installers are often employed, particularly to control 
the free or lockset side of the door. Using conventional installing 
techniques approximately 20 to 30 minutes will be required to install a 
pre-hung door. This is a significant time savings over doors which are not 
pre-hung, but it still represents a significant amount of time, 
particularly when two installers are employed. 
French or double doors are even more difficult to install. While they are 
hinged at the opposed jamb members, the doors at the center will be free 
to move, once the assembly is unpacked and the shipping fasteners and 
stabilizers are removed. Moreover, since the bottoms of the jamb members 
are not connected, they are free to diverge, making plumbing of the door 
in the door opening a difficult and time-consuming job. 
The difficulties in connection with manipulating pre-hung door assemblies 
can compromise the quality of the installation. Installers with less 
experience and patience will install pre-hung doors in varying degrees of 
skew, particularly when the door openings are roughly constructed, which 
is almost always the case. 
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door 
framing device and method which is suitable for use for installing 
pre-hung door and jamb assemblies to greatly aid in the manipulation of 
these assemblies during installation. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a spacer device 
which can be used with pre-hung doors to secure the doors to the jamb, or 
another door, can be left in place during installation, and easily removed 
after installation. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a door framing 
device and method which is easy and inexpensive to construct, can be used 
by relatively unskilled personnel, effects a substantial savings in door 
assembly installation costs, is suitable for use with single and double 
doors, and produces a spacing of the door relative to the jamb assembly 
equal to the desired reveal space. 
The door framing device of the present invention may be used to space a 
pre-hung door mounted by hinged means to a jamb assembly during 
installation of the door and jamb assembly in a door opening. The framing 
device of the present invention comprises, briefly, a spacer formed for 
positioning between the door and one of another door and the jamb 
assembly. The spacer has a thickness dimension substantially equal to a 
desired reveal space to be maintained between the door and the jamb 
assembly, and fasteners are provided for fastening the spacer to both the 
door and the jamb assembly (or another door). Finally, the spacer is 
formed to secure the door to the jamb assembly (or other door) and is 
formed to enable opening of the door after installation to allow removal 
of the spacer. In the preferred form, the spacer is formed with a door 
portion which is secured to the door by a fastener, a jamb portion secured 
to the jamb by a fastener and a connecting portion connecting the door 
portion and the jamb portion. The connecting portion of the spacer is 
severable, for example, by cutting, so as to free the door portion from 
the jamb portion and permit opening of the door after installation in the 
door opening for removal of the spacer. 
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of installing a 
pre-hung door assembly in a door opening is provided and is comprised, 
briefly, of the steps of positioning a combination door and jamb assembly 
in a door opening with a spacer mounted therebetween having a thickness 
dimension equal to a desired reveal space between the door and jamb 
assembly. The spacer is secured to both the door and jamb assembly to 
couple the same together as a unit for handling during the positioning 
step. The method further includes the steps of securing the combination 
door and jamb assembly in the door opening and, thereafter, from one side 
of the installed door and jamb assembly, releasing the spacer for opening 
of the door, preferably by severing a connecting portion of the spacer.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
The framing apparatus and method of the present invention are described in 
connection with their use in the installation of pre-hung doors. It will 
be understood, however, that the present spacer assembly and method may 
have other applications in connection with hinge-mounted partitions and 
the like. 
Referring now to FIG. 1 a door, generally designated 21, can be seen to be 
mounted by hinges 22 to a door jamb assembly, generally designated 23. 
Jamb assembly 23 includes a first vertical door jamb member 26, to which 
hinges 22 couple door 21, a second vertically extending door jamb member 
27 and a transversely extending jamb rail member 28. As will be seen in 
FIG. 1, there will be a small space 29 between door 21 and jamb assembly 
members 26, 27 and 28, which space is referred to as the "reveal" space. 
The desired reveal space on most residential doors is approximately 0.100 
inches, although smaller or larger reveal spaces are also used. 
Door 21 and jamb assembly 23 are shown installed in a rough door opening 
31, which is usually defined by structural framing members, such as 
2.times.4 studs 32 to which a wall surface, such as sheetrock 33, may be 
mounted. Positioned between framing members 32 and jamb assembly 23 are a 
plurality of shims 34 which are used to true-up or plumb the door and jamb 
assembly in opening 31. Once the jamb assembly and door are shimmed into a 
plumb position in opening 31, the jamb members 26, 27 and 28 will be 
secured by fasteners, usually nails, to framing members 32 to hold door 21 
squarely in place in opening 31. As thus far described, the door, jamb 
assembly and structure defining the door opening are all well known in the 
art and do not comprise a portion of the present invention. 
In order to greatly facilitate installation of pre-hung door 21 and jamb 
assembly 23, a door framing device is provided in the form of a spacer 
means, generally designated 41, and best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. Spacer 
means 41 is formed for positioning of a portion thereof between door 21 
and jamb assembly 23. The same spacer means 41 can also be used in 
connection with pre-hung double-doors, by mounting the spacer between a 
first door 21 and a second door 21a, as best may be seen in FIG. 1A. The 
positioning of spacer 41 between two doors will be described in greater 
detail hereinafter, but the construction of spacer 41 will first be 
described in connection with mounting of a single door within a jamb 
assembly, as shown in FIG. 1. 
Spacer means 41 is formed with a thickness dimension, t, in the portion 
positioned between the door and jamb (or between two doors) which is 
substantially equal to the desired reveal space between door 21 and jamb 
assembly 23 once the door is installed. Thus, in most cases, the 
thickness, t, of the spacer 41 will be one the order of about 0.100 
inches. Installation of spacer means 41 between the door and jamb can be 
seen in FIG. 6, as can thickness dimension, t. It will be noted that 
spacer 41 has been rotated by 180 degrees as installed in FIG. 6, as 
compared to FIG. 2. 
The door framing device of the present invention further includes fastener 
means, such as staples 42 and 43 in FIG. 6, or nails 42a and 43a in FIG. 
7, which fasten the spacer to both door 21 and jamb assembly 23, or to 
second door 21a an a double door installation. 
In order to allow the door and jamb assembly to be handled as a unit in a 
manner similar to pre-hung window assemblies, spacer 41 further acts as a 
separable connector between door 21 and jamb assembly 23 during 
installation. Moreover, and very importantly, spacer 41 is formed to 
enable easy opening of the door after installation of the door and jamb 
for removal of the spacer. This separable coupling together of the door 
and jamb is preferably accomplished by forming spacer 41 with a door 
portion 46, a jamb portion 47, and a connecting portion 48 coupling the 
door portion to the jamb portion of the spacer. 
As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, door portion 46 can advantageously be 
provided by an L-shaped door element having one leg 49 which extends 
between the door and jamb and another leg 51 extending along a front 
surface 52 of door 21. Similarly, jamb portion 47 may advantageously be 
provided as an L-shaped jamb element having one leg 53 extending between 
the door and the jamb and a second leg 54 extending transversely along 
front surface 56 of jamb member 27. As will be seen, therefore, from FIGS. 
2, 3 and 6, the combined thickness of legs 49 and 53 of the door element 
and jamb element should equal the desired reveal space thickness, t. 
In order to facilitate release of the coupled together door element and 
jamb element, it is preferable to provide connecting portion 48 as means 
which can be parted, severed or separated, for example, a pair of hinges 
57 and 58. Hinges 57 and 58 are joined and extend between door element leg 
51 and jamb element leg 54. As can be seen in FIG. 6, hinges 57 and 58 
stick outwardly from spacer 41 on a front side of the door. It is a simple 
matter, therefore, to use a knife to cut hinges 57 and 58 along the 
interface or seam 59 between opposed door element leg 51 and jamb element 
leg 54. In order to facilitate severing or cutting of hinges 57 and 58, it 
is preferable that spacer 41 be formed of a plastic material, such as 
polyethylene, Nylon or a similar easily injection molded plastic. The 
hinge structure also permits molding of spacer 41, in a manner which we 
described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5. 
Alternative means which can be used to couple door element 46 and jamb 
element 47 together might include providing a tear strip or perforated 
connection proximate seam 59, a snap-acting coupling or an embedded tear 
wire. 
In order to facilitate opening of door 21 after severing of hinges 57 and 
58, leg 49 of door element 46 preferably has a thickness dimension which 
decreases in a direction away from leg 51 of the door element. Conversely, 
jamb element leg 53 preferably has a thickness dimension which increases 
in a direction away from jamb element leg 54 so as to support the door and 
jamb in spaced relation over the full door thickness. As will be 
appreciated, this mating tapering of legs 49 and 53 enables door 21 and 
leg 49 to swing passed the outermost edge of leg 53 of the jamb element. 
Moreover, in order to provide a temporary detent which will hold the door 
in a closed position relative to the jamb, and further in order to provide 
alignment of the door element and jamb element, a protrusion 61 and mating 
recess 62 may be provided proximate hinge means 48. As shown in the 
drawing, protrusion 61 is formed in the outermost edge of jamb element leg 
53, while mating recess 62 is proximate the outermost edge of door element 
leg 49. Groove 62 also may be seen (FIG. 3A) to extend over the height of 
the spacer, as preferably also is the case for protrusion 61. 
A further feature of spacer 41 of the present invention is that it may be 
formed with mating vertical registration surfaces. As best may be seen in 
FIG. 3A, door element leg 49 can have formed therein a gradually outwardly 
projecting protrusion 66 having V-shaped side edges 67 and 68. A mating 
V-shaped recess 69 is provided in jamb element leg 53. When protrusion 66 
is mated with recess 69, the registration of surfaces 67 and 68 prevents 
vertical shifting of the door element relative to the jamb element. The 
registering protrusion 66 and recess 69 prevent the door from slipping or 
sagging downwardly relative to the jamb. 
Spacer 41 is constructed to enable the same to be positioned at the door 
knob and lockset opening. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 6, door 21 can be 
formed with a knob opening 71 with a lockset bore 72 which extends from 
knob opening 71 to the edge of the door. A similar latch plate or striker 
plate bore 73 is provided in jamb member 27 in longitudinal alignment with 
the lockset bore 72. Such construction is conventional in pre-hung door 
assemblies. When double doors are employed, both of the doors may have a 
knob hole bore 71 and transversely extending lockset and latch bores. 
Spacer means 41, therefore, may be provided with lockset opening 
registration means 76 on door element 46 and a similar registration means 
77 on jamb element 47. These lockset opening registration means extend 
outwardly from legs 49 and 53 and preferably include radially extending 
vane means 78 (FIG. 3) formed for engagement with the door and jamb 
defining the lockset bores. Passageway means 79, best seen in FIG. 6, 
extends through the lockset opening registration means 76 and 77 and 
allows a tie means, such as strap 81 to tie the assembly positively 
together against the spacer as a unit. Tie means 81 can include a one-way 
cinching means 82 through which strap end 83 is inserted and pulled down 
until the strap is tight. The excess of strap beyond one-way cinching 
means 82 may be cut off. As will be appreciated, passageway 79 is located 
about midway between hinges 57 and 58, which permits strap 81 to pass 
between the hinges along the front side of the spacer. It is further 
desirable and an advantage of the present invention to form the strap of a 
plastic material which also can be severed by a knife by reaching into 
knob opening 71 from either side of the door and cutting the strap or by 
running a knife along seam 59 between the door element and jamb element. 
As will be seen from FIG. 2, vanes 78 can be slightly tapered to 
accommodate lockset bores of various diameters, and can be bent over or 
trimmed for smaller diameter door lockset bores 72 and 73. 
Spacer 41, with its lockset registration means, is not suited for use at 
locations which do not have lockset bores or openings. Accordingly, a 
similarly formed spacer, without the lockset registration means, can be 
employed for spacers at other locations. Spacer 41a is constructed without 
lockset registration means, as shown in FIG. 2A. Thus, the inwardly 
extending legs 49a and 53a are planar on the door and jamb engaging 
surfaces and have a combined thickness substantially equal to the desired 
reveal thickness, t. The legs 51a and 54a are constructed in a manner 
similar to the corresponding legs in spacer 41, and the door element 46a 
is connected to jamb element 47a by hinge means 48a. Spacer 41a also can 
be used in a lockset position by providing a passageway 79a through legs 
49a and 53a for passage of a strap or tie therethrough. The installation 
of spacer means 41a is shown in FIG. 7. 
As a further aid to installation of the door and jamb assembly, leg 54a on 
jamb portion of the spacer assembly can be provided with a tab 91 which 
extends outwardly, as shown in FIG. 7, to a position flush with the front 
surface 92 of sheetrock member 33. Tab 91, therefore, assists the 
installer in positioning and securing the door and jamb assembly flush 
with the front surface 92 of the wall. As will be appreciated, both 
lockset spacers 41 and non-lockset spacers 41a may include alignment tabs 
91. 
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate door framing spacer 41 of the present invention 
with legs 51 and 54 rotated by 90 degrees about hinge means 48. In the 
position of FIGS. 4 and 5, it will be seen that spacer means 41 can be 
injection molded with parting lines along surfaces 93 of the legs 49 and 
53. This allows one mold half to be pulled upwardly from surfaces 93, 
while the other mold half is pulled away in a downward direction. 
Having described the spacer assembly of the present invention in detail, 
use of the same to install both a single and double door assemblies, as 
well as the method of the present invention, can be described. 
For a single door, door jamb assembly 23 can be laid on a flat surface with 
door 21 hinged to jamb member 26 and the door propped open slightly 
relative to jamb member 27 so as to expose the edge of the door facing 
jamb 27. Spacer 41 can be mounted at lockset bore 72 and nailed or stapled 
to the exposed edge of the door. Similarly, a plurality of spacers 
constructed as shown for spacer 41a can be spaced along the edge of door 
21 opposite jamb member 27, for example, as shown in FIG. 1. An additional 
spacer 41a can be positioned between jamb member 28 and the top edge of 
door 21. Each of spacers 41a are then nailed or stapled through legs 49 to 
the edge of the door so as to secure the spacers to the door. 
Jamb element legs 53, 53a may be folded against door element leg 49, 49a 
and the door 21 closed, that is, positioned so that inner surface 96 of 
the door (FIG. 6) bears against jamb trim member 97. Since the lower end 
98 of jamb member 27 is not secured as yet, jamb member 27 can be 
displaced away from the edge of door 21 during the closing process to 
enable lockset alignment means 76 to be inserted into bore 73 in jamb 
member 27. Once inserted, lower end 98 of jamb member 27 can be brought up 
flush against legs 53 and 53a of the spacers. Jamb member 27 is then 
pressed against the combined legs 49 and 53, which automatically establish 
or set the reveal space. A second nail or fastener 42, 42a is driven 
through jamb element leg 54 or 54a and into the door jamb. This couples 
the door to the jamb member on the side of the door away from hinges 22. 
In order to further secure the assembly, tie means or strap 81 may be 
inserted through passageway 79 in the spacer and pulled down against 
one-way cinch 82 to even more positively secure the door and jamb assembly 
together. 
With spacers 41, 41a mounted between door 21 and jamb assembly 23, the 
entire unit may be taken to door opening 31 and shimmed to a plumb 
condition in the opening with relative ease. Once properly shimmed, the 
jamb assembly may be nailed to the supporting door frame structure 32, and 
the spacers are now ready to be parted, severed or released. 
Using a razor or knife, hinges 57 and 58 can be severed and tie 81, for 
example, by running the knife along seam 59 between the opposed edges of 
the door and jamb portions of the spacer. The detent groove 62 and 
protrusion 61 prevent-the door from swinging open, but one can easily 
reach through knob opening 71, grab the door and pull or push the door 
open by forcing the protrusion out of the recess. One or more of the 
spacers 41 and 41a may be left between the door and jamb as a temporary 
latch mechanism, and the remaining spacers may be removed by pulling 
fasteners 42, 42a and 43, 43a. It will be noted that after the spacer and 
tie have been removed, a trim member 98 (shown in phantom in FIG. 6) can 
be positioned and secured jamb 27 across the gap to sheetrock or wall 
member 33. Trim member 98, therefore, hides any nail or staple holes 
caused by fasteners 42 and 42a. The staple or nail holes caused by 
fasteners 43 and 43a are on the edge of the door and can be filled so as 
not to be unsightly. 
The insulation process for the double or dutch door assembly of FIG. 1A is 
similar, except that spacers 41 and 41a are positioned between the two 
doors. 
First, the double door and jamb assembly is laid flat on a support surface 
with the hinge side facing up. Existing shipping nails and spacers are 
removed and then the doors are propped up slightly so as to enable 
installation of spacer assemblies 41a at top 101 of both doors proximate 
the unhinged edges. The spacers are nailed by their door legs 49a to edges 
101 of doors 21 and 21a. The hinge pins for door 21 are then removed and 
door 21 is folded to the position shown in FIG. 1A, namely, superimposed 
over second door 21a, which remains hinged to jamb 27. Spacers 41 and 41a 
are then inserted along the length of the two doors, as shown by arrows 
102. Each of spacers 41 and 41a are oriented as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, 
and the legs 51, 51a and 54, 54a are inserted between doors 21 and 21a. A 
nail or staple is now used to secure leg 49 to edge 103 of door 21 and a 
second nail is used to secure leg 53 to edge 104 of door 21a. Door 21 may 
now be swung about the hinged spacer members 41 and 41a until door edge 
106 is next to jamb member 26. The hinge pins now may be installed in each 
of hinges 22 to secure the door 21 to jamb 26. This results in the legs 
51, 51a and 54, 54a being exposed on the front of the door, and a second 
nail or fastener can be used to secure one of the two legs to the other 
door. In order to hide the nail holes, normally the leg which would be 
under a jamb trim piece mounted to one of the doors would be the leg which 
is nailed to the front of one of the doors. Finally, a tie or strap 81 can 
be mounted through the knob opening and lockset bores and cinched down to 
further secure the assembly together as a unit. 
Spacer assemblies 41, 41a, therefore, tie edge 103 to edge 104, and the 
hinges 22 tie the opposite edges to jambs 26 and 27. The spacing of the 
upper edges 101 of the doors is secured also by spacer 41a, and the entire 
assembly can now be lifted up and installed, as a unit, in a door opening. 
Once plumbed and secured in the door opening, the tie and hinges can be 
severed, the doors opened, and the spacers removed, as above described.