Angle grinder on doorframes

[Kathy2]

Hello, we are about to lay engineered wood throughout house. Wood suppliers say to angle grind bottom of doorframes so wood fits snug in rather than trying to cut wood.  Has anyone done this, and any tips on the best way to go about it ie without sparks damaging walls etc.

[MitchellM]

@Kathy2 welcome to the Workshop Community, I trust someone will be able to give a helpful answer shortly.

In the interim I have been giving your question some thought, a few things spring to mind.

Firstly if you are going to give this a go yourself, I would prefer if you have some decent experience using an angle grinder.

If you can afford it I would pay for a professional to do it for you, as you'll be working in a limited space to the current floor and angle grinders are dangerous even for experienced users.

Secondarily, if I was ever given an option to cut timber or metal to size, I wood pick the timber. 

I'd also have to question why are we cutting the bottom of a doorframe out?

Surely there will need to be some sort of finish beading needed at the join no matter which we cut.

This may well not be the case, but I'm assuming it makes the work of the installer much easier if they can just slide the flooring inside. Whether it is your job to facilitate that, I'm not sure.

Perhaps this is just an industry standard which I am not familiar with, but seems like a lot of work for you.

In regards to your question, perhaps tape aluminium foil onto the surrounding surfaces?

Hopefully someone with more experience chimes in shortly.

[Brad]

When I did my floors, multitool to cut the wooden stop at finished floor height. Angle grinders are for young people like @ProjectPete as I am old and broken while I do own one it is the last resort tool.

[ProjectPete]

Undercutting the door frame is definitely the best way to go @Kathy2 . So much so, even so professionals don't do it.

I do it on every job as it gives the best finish although it's isn't a s easy as some may think.

 

If you want to give it a go, I can give you the tips.

[Jason]

Hi @Kathy2,

Welcome to Workshop. Great to see you make your first post and receive some fantastic assistance from some of our leading members on the site. 

We are looking forward to hearing back from you regarding next steps.

Please feel free to post anytime you need a hand with anything around the house and garden. As you've already discovered, we have helpful community members sharing information, advice and inspiration on the site every day. 

Jason

[MitchellM]

@ProjectPete that looks fantastic, as I thought I was not familiar with how that fits into the steel jamb. I saw the word "bottom" and took it to mean literally the bottom rail of the jamb. Couldn't invisige how that would work.

Do you just free hand that straight line, or did you make some jig for it @ProjectPete ?

[ProjectPete]

@MitchellM 

- Place your floorboard against the doorframe (including the underlay of its separate to board) and mark a fine pencil line around the whole door frame.

- Cut the frame out with your angle grinder following the line precisely.

- Using a chisel, jimmy the bottom section out enough to cut it so its in two sections allowing you to grab it with pliers.

- Wiggle back and forth until each piece snaps off (it's not too hard as they're only 5-12mm depending on you boards).

- Using a multitool with a diamond bit, "grind" out the cement from under/within the frame. The more you get out, the better as it'll give you more room to fit your floorboard under.

In every case - think safe, work safe. Grinders are hard to handle, especially at this angle and working on a jagged door frame.

It's not easy to do, but gives the best finish.

If you're in Perth I'm happy to show you.

You can cut the frame with a multitool which will be safer bit take longer and you'll probably go through more blades than grinder discs as the steel frame is quite thick.

I'll take photos/video next time I do it and share it.

[MitchellM]

@ProjectPete Thanks for sharing your expert knowledge with us all! Learnt something new today!

[proxyau]

Hey @ProjectPete, sorry to dig up an old thread - did you ever post those videos? We're about to receive handover of our property and need to undercut the metal door frames as we're installing our flooring. Is there a particular grinder and cutting disk you recommend?

[EricL]

Hello @proxyau

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you for joining the discussion.

Let me tag @ProjectPete to make sure he sees your question about using an angle grinder on door frames. I believe the most critical part of the project is making sure that you don't cut past the guideline marked on your door frame. Please make sure to wear a long sleeve shirt and use gloves and eye protection when grinding steel. Please note that there are two types of discs for steel, one is a cutting disc and the other is a grinding disc. 

I recommend bringing your grinding tool to the shop to make sure that the discs will fit into your tool. I suggest purchasing the best cutting and grinding wheel your budget will allow so that you'll get the best possible finish on your steel door frame. 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your flooring installed.

Eric