Entrances to any building are such basic things that people do not always talk about them. They would rather talk about other things on a building leaving out perhaps the most important part of the building.
Without a doorway, we are going to find it very difficult to enter the building.
That leads us to the doorframes and the doors.
The type of Door frames one uses when constructing depends on a number of things- things like the size
of the building, the type of the wall, the thickness of the wall, whether or not it is a temporary structure,
the thickness and weight of the door to be used, the beauty of the building and many other things.
One of the main things used to determine the type of a doorframe is how long the structure is expected
to last. If the structure is temporary, one may get away with a type of doorframe that is not so strong. It
is the choice because it is cheaper. However, if the structure is going to last a reasonably long
time then it will need a good doorframe. A good doorframe may cost a little bit more but it will last
longer and serve the owner a lot of unnecessary running around with repairs. The running around to
carry out repairs can start well before the property owner has settled in. It is therefore important to
choose the right material when building a house, office, or factory.
As a guide, there are generally two thicknesses of walls – the one which is 115mm and the one which is
230mm. Normally, the inside walls can be 115mm thick while the outside walls are 230 mm. Doorframes
are made to suit these thicknesses. Door frames can be wooden doorframes or steel door frames. For
today we will focus on steel doorframes. We thus have 115mm Steel doorframes and 230mm Steel
doorframes.
We then come to the thickness of the steel door frame- that is the thickness of the metal or steel used to
make the doorframe. This thickness will normally determine the strength of the doorframe. We have
0.6mm steel door frames—these are basically the economy type door frames, which ordinarily would not
last long. The next size is the 0.8mm steel doorframe thickness. This is the standard thickness of the
steel doorframe. Another thickness is 1.0mm steel doorframe. This is a stronger doorframe than the
standard doorframe. These type of doorframes are preferred when the type of door that is going to be
used is the heavier type. These doors include most of the metal doors being used these days. One must
note that if the doorframe is not thick enough for the door that will be fitted onto it then the doorframe
will not last long. It is important to use the correct strength for the type of doors to be used.
Some buildings require additional light to enter the corridors or other areas. They will require one to use
Fan-light steel doorframes. A Fan-light doorframe has an additional section at the top (fitted with glass)
that allows light to enter. Fan-light doorframes are generally on standard thickness or thicker.
Door frames are designed for different purposes. This includes Steel doorframes designed to slow or stop
the spread of flames in the event of a fire in the building. Such doorframes are called fire-rated steel
doorframes. Fire-rated steel doorframes should be a minimum of 1.6 mm thick. Ideally, they should be
even thicker. This fire-rated doorframe allows one to fit a fire-rated door. Fire-rated doors are made of
materials that will help in slowing the spread of the fire and smoke. The specifications for these doors are
a subject for another day. Due to a lack of demand, steel door frames which are thicker than the 1mm are
made as per special order.
Highriders is one of the Steel doorframe suppliers of most types of door frames that are required by
builders in Harare, Mutare and Zimbabwe as a whole. They can supply individual steel doorframes or
supply them in bulk.