New Bathroom Door Frame

ChasBG

The plastic trim around our bathroom door had become brittle and broken.  I replaced it with some 3/4" aluminum channel from Lowes.  I used a dremel with miniature cutoff wheel to cut the aluminum.  It fits perfectly.

 

junglerich

Very nice! How did you affix it? Screws, adhesive?

ChasBG

I used some Dowsil 795 I had left over from sealing the exterior of the round windows.  Liquid Nails would probably work as well.

scott14

@ChasBG that looks very good!  We have a 2019 T@B 400 and our plastic trim is also cracking and coming off.  Do you have any tips for taking off and reattaching the door?  I would guess you needed to mark and drill pilot holes in the aluminum channel once mounted?  Also, did the thickness of the channel cause any issues with reattaching the hinges?  Thank you for sharing this and giving me an idea.

ChasBG

scott14 said:

@ChasBG that looks very good!  We have a 2019 T@B 400 and our plastic trim is also cracking and coming off.  Do you have any tips for taking off and reattaching the door?  I would guess you needed to mark and drill pilot holes in the aluminum channel once mounted?  Also, did the thickness of the channel cause any issues with reattaching the hinges?  Thank you for sharing this and giving me an idea.

I put some painters tape in the upper right inside on the door (hinge side from inside the bath) and marked the outline of the top and side of the corner so I could put the door back in relatively close to where it was.  I removed the door by taking off the frame side of the hinge and leaving the door side attached.  When I put it back on I had my wife hold the door up from the outside so I could position the door correctly per by marks on the tape and then I marked all of the top screw holes through the hinge onto the aluminum frame.  I pre-drilled those with a bit slightly smaller than the screw and then used a smaller bit to predrill into the plywood.  I attached the door on just the top screw then I went back and drilled the holes for the bottom hole and put those screws in.  That way I got a precise placement of the holes.  The door just closes against the wall so the new frame had no impact to the door fitting and the aluminum is not much thicker than the plastic was so the screws are plenty long and actually get a more secure bite with the aluminum if you slightly undersize the predrill.  After I mounted the door I closed if while inside and watched where the door latch hit on the opposite side and mounted the striker.  Don't forget to remove and then reattach the nylon strap on top of the door.  Good luck.  I think its a great upgrade that looks way better than brittle busted plastic and will more securely attach the door.  We considered painting the aluminum but decided it would just get scuffed.  Brushing with steel wool and then sealing with a clear coat might have been a good idea too but I just cleaned it with rubbing alcohol to get off the goo from the labels and put it in.

Horigan

Nicely done @ChasBG!

jimcenname

@ChasBG any trouble reusing the holes for the hinges? The door feels heavy.

ChasBG

jimcenname said:

@ChasBG any trouble reusing the holes for the hinges? The door feels heavy.

I didn't go straight back into the existing holes.  My placement of hinges on the frame was slightly shifted from what I could tell from the pilot holes that I drilled.  Also, the aluminum frame is taking much of the load.