Do-it-yourself Chinese metal door repair

The main advantage of metal Chinese doors is obvious - it's affordable cost. However, such a competitive advantage often leads to the appearance of quite serious problems associated with the operation of steel products. As a result, the homeowner has to repair the Chinese door, and often already in the second or third year of its use.

Among the features of entrance doors from Chinese manufacturers are the simplicity of their design, the use of traditional materials and, as a result, low cost. It is quite natural that it is quite illogical to expect a high level of strength and reliability from a product made of steel with a thickness of 0.5 or 0.8 mm. It should be noted that most of the components and accessories used in the manufacture of the structures under consideration belong to the budget price group.

That is why in most situations when the repair of Chinese entrance doors is required, we are talking mainly about replacing or eliminating malfunctions associated with the operation of locking devices, hinges or loose fit of the sash and frame. In this case, an obvious advantage is the fact that almost all of the listed work can be performed by the owner of the home independently, that is, without the invitation of expensive specialists.

A fairly common malfunction that may require the repair of a Chinese metal door is incomplete operation or jamming of the lock latch. In such a situation, it is necessary to dismantle the body of the locking device. It is quite simple to do this, sequentially perform the following operations:

• first, the lining with door handles are unscrewed and removed;
• after that, the screws installed from the end and securing the plate with the crossbars located on it are dismantled;
• then you should remove the filling of the lock from the canvas;
• The device case is securely fastened with 5 or 6 screws installed around the perimeter. Removing them will reveal the insides of the locking device;
• the place where the latch is located during operation is quite often covered with dust, grease residues and black bloom. Naturally, it is necessary to carefully remove all accumulated dirt with a rag soaked in solvent. After that, the moving mechanisms of the lock should be lubricated again;
• The dismantled parts and parts of the locking device are installed in reverse order.

When repairing a Chinese door with your own hands, if it touches the lock, you need to understand that if you need to replace it, you should very carefully purchase a new locking device. The fact is that in the overwhelming majority of cases it is possible to mount only a "native" product, completely identical in size and type of mechanism to that which has become unusable.

Often, the need to repair a Chinese door arises when, during its operation, a creak or other unpleasant sounds appear, and the hinges are skewed. In a similar situation, the work can also be done in-house. This requires the following operations.

The sash opens at a 90 degree angle first. Then it is slightly raised and fixed in this position with a wooden block placed underneath. As a result, the hidden loops of the entrance structure become visible.They must be carefully and thoroughly lubricated, for example, with grease.

In the event of a distortion, loosen the hexagonal screws that secure the door hinge plates with the same raised position of the sash. After that, the canvas must be moved towards the correct location. Then the hardware is re-fixed. If necessary, the described operations can be repeated as many times as needed.

During the operation of Chinese entrance doors, another unpleasant situation often arises when they need to be repaired. It is connected with the fact that over time the sash ceases to adhere tightly and tightly to the box. This can lead to drafts and even freezing of the steel structure.

The easiest repair option in such a situation is to replace the seal, which is located around the perimeter of the box or canvas with a new one. There are a large number of similar materials on the market today. The best quality is deservedly considered rubber and polymer profile or tubular seals.

When performing work, the old gasket is dismantled first. A knife is usually used for this, however, care should be taken in the process. The new seal is attached either to a special self-adhesive layer or using glue. If the design allows two layers of spacer to be placed, it is advisable to do so.

According to users, a metal entrance door should serve for decades and reliably prevent unauthorized access to a home. And since no product lasts forever, the design must be repairable: it is possible to replace fittings, adjust and install new hinges, install a new lock, and so on.

Repairing a Chinese front door excludes most of these possibilities.

The iron Chinese door continues to attract consumers with its unmatched low price. No matter how many and what reviews the owners and builders leave on the forums, the products are popular and the issue of eliminating defects remains relevant all the time. The photo shows the entrance door structure.

Alas, most of the problems arising during the operation of the product cannot be solved: repairing a Chinese metal door is almost the same impossible thing as the safety class indicated by unscrupulous sellers.

• Door hinges - hidden door awnings are installed on Chinese doors, which cannot be cut from the outside, which, of course, is a plus. The downside is the non-standard nature of such parts and the complete impossibility of replacing them - they are not sold as spare parts. In extreme cases, restoration with hand-fitted hinges from other manufacturers is possible. Moreover, fastening is possible only with screws.
• Lock - models from China are equipped with factory mechanisms, as a rule, two - main and additional. Usually, locks are associated with deviators, which makes it practically impossible to repair the lock of a Chinese metal door with your own hands: it is necessary to dismantle the rods, which is difficult to do.

The main mechanism cannot be replaced at all. In some cases, it is possible to install a new larva if it is possible to choose a secret with suitable parameters. And most of the models on Chinese doors have non-standard parameters. If we are talking about a lever device, then repairing the lock of a Chinese metal door is impossible.

It is impossible to strengthen the canvas or at least the locking mechanism: it is impossible to weld on such a thin sheet of metal, and another method of installation is impossible.

• Door hardware is perhaps the only defect that can really be eliminated, and with your own hands.

Constructions from China must be completed with handles. For the owner, this is quite convenient, but it only reduces the overall strength of the constipation.In addition, the vast majority of them are made of silumin - a cheap and soft alloy, so damage to fittings is a common phenomenon.

1. Unscrew the fastening bolts - usually there are 2 of them.
2. Takes out the square pin on which the elements are mounted. If the pin is the same length in the new kit, it does not need to be changed.
3. Attach the inner linings.
4. Plastic or rubber gaskets are pushed onto the handle and pushed onto the pin.
5. The bar is installed so that the latch snaps into place.
6. The product is attached with bolts.

Do-it-yourself repair of Chinese doors is covered in detail in the video.

Among the undoubted advantages of Chinese entrance doors is the low cost of products. However, it is often achieved through the use of less durable and reliable materials, accessories and other components in the manufacturing process. Without a doubt, this is the main reason why the repair of a Chinese door is often required.

The main characteristic feature of metal structures manufactured in China is the use of thinner metal, the thickness of which is usually 0.5-0.8 mm and rarely reaches 1-1.2 mm. Of course, this negatively affects almost all characteristics of the product, with the exception of one - the price. As a result, the repair of Chinese entrance doors is, as a rule, the replacement or elimination of a malfunction of the lock or door hinges, as well as work on adjusting the structure and installing new rubber seals.

This can be explained quite simply. More serious work, for example, with reinforcing the structure or installing additional stiffeners and other protective devices, turns out to be ineffective, since a steel door is simply not able to withstand such a load due to the low bearing capacity of the frame made of thin sheet and profile metal.

As noted above, quite often the repair of Chinese metal doors is limited to replacing individual parts of the locking device or the entire lock. This work is quite feasible without the invitation of professional specialists, that is, with your own hands. In a similar situation, the following actions are performed:

• The cover plates with the door handles mounted in them are removed. To do this, unscrew the bolts located in their upper and lower parts;
• Fasteners are dismantled, most often, screws located at the end of the canvas and holding the plate with crossbars;
• The filling of the castle is removed;
• Unscrewing the screws installed along the perimeter of the locking device body will allow this part of the mechanism to be removed;
• The vacant space is cleaned, after which the moving parts of the lock are lubricated, the defective components are replaced and the device is assembled in the reverse order.

It is obvious that the repair of the lock, carried out in accordance with the given step-by-step instructions, is not a technologically complex operation. In most cases, it is performed by the direct owner of the home, which saves him money.

Quite often, the decision to repair a Chinese door is made by a homeowner when unpleasant sounds are heard during its operation, for example, a creak or even a grinding noise. In this case, it is also quite possible to eliminate the problem on our own, which will require lubrication of the hinges of the entrance structure, as well as adjusting the position of the blade relative to the door frame.

To adjust, when the sash is open at 90 degrees, you should slightly raise it with a wooden block placed from below, loosen the hinge fastening, and then slightly move the canvas in the desired direction. Then the hinges are securely locked again. Next, you should check the smoothness of the product.If the problem is not resolved, the procedure should be repeated the required number of times, bringing the position of the canvas closer to the optimal one, which ensures a smooth and silent opening of the Chinese entrance structure.

Lubrication and cleaning of door hinges of metal doors made in China is carried out as follows. At first, the sash also opens 90-100 degrees, after which it rises and is securely fixed with a wooden block placed underneath. As a result, hidden hinges located inside the structure are revealed. They need to be carefully cleaned of adhering dirt and debris, and then thoroughly lubricated with special compounds, grease or chiseled graphite in the form of a powder obtained from a rod of a simple pencil.

A common malfunction of a Chinese front door, which usually manifests itself after 2-3 years of operation, is the lack of density of the vestibule. This means that the flap of the metal structure does not fit tightly enough to the box. As a result, the insulation parameters of the product are reduced, which often leads to blowing and the formation of drafts.

Moreover, if we are talking about an external metal Chinese door, it is quite possible for condensation to form and even freezing of the structure. Obviously, in such a situation, it is extremely important to take action as soon as possible to eliminate the identified problems. To do this, it is required to replace the seals, which are usually installed along the perimeter of the sash and box joint. After that, the product is adjusted taking into account the changes in the design.

Replacing the seals is not a problem. Old material can be easily dismantled with a regular knife or screwdriver. Use the tool carefully so as not to damage the polymer-powder coating of the metal surfaces of the entrance door. Then new rubber tubular or profile seals are installed. They are sold in almost any hardware store or building materials store, are extremely inexpensive and easy to install, since they have a self-adhesive side. The main thing when performing work is to provide a continuous contour, especially carefully mounting the material in the corners of the structure.

The most widespread phenomenon of our days in terms of entrance doors is Chinese-made metal doors. Watch a do-it-yourself do-it-yourself do-it-yourself master class.

These doors are attracted primarily by the price, as well as by the design and seeming strength and reliability, although on many models the door leaf is opened with an ordinary can opener.

Another Achilles' heel of such doors is the handles. I think many people are familiar with the picture, as in the main photo. Silumin eventually breaks down and breaks off, leaving sharp notches on which you can cut yourself. It is this situation and the method of its solution that served as the basis for this work.

It is also worth noting immediately that this repair is a temporary hut and, in fact, allows the handle to serve until it is replaced with a new one, which should be purchased as soon as possible.

To quickly solve the problem, I used a drill-driver, short self-tapping screws with a drill, a drill with a diameter of 3 mm and a marker.

First of all, I put the broken off handle in its place in order to determine the place of drilling for the self-tapping screw.

To be honest, I simply scratched the place for drilling with a self-tapping screw, and in the photo, just for a sample, I put a handle that came under my arm.

Now we drill a hole in the marked place. Of course, it is advisable to do this on the board and provide for the ability to quickly remove the resulting shavings.

Of course, given the rounded shape of the handle, it is advisable to pre-screw the marked place, otherwise, without having certain skills, it is difficult to drill a hole where necessary.

The drill simply slides off without having time to catch on the surface.

Now we put the handle with the drilled hole in place and fix it with a self-tapping screw with a drill, since one hole has already been drilled, the self-tapping screw does not jump off and quietly cuts where it needs to be.

For greater reliability, it is worth doing the docking with at least two self-tapping screws - one on top of the other from below, but taking into account the fact that this is a temporary option - I screwed two screws from above.

Checking the result. The handle is temporarily restored and can serve for some time, usually until it is replaced with a new one, with which it is not worth tightening at all.

Also, it is worth using a restored handle without any extra enthusiasm, otherwise you risk breaking it off much faster than the first time.

Sharing my personal experience, I note that the doorknob heroically served for almost a day and still broke off from unnecessary effort, but by this time I had already acquired a new one, so see how to change the handle on a Chinese metal door in my next work.

The Chinese iron door is an economical and even quite nice solution. But there are many questions to its quality. Starting from the main material (metal sheet), which is easy to cut with an ordinary can opener, and ending with the supplied accessories. And one of the typical problems faced by owners of Chinese doors is that the handle of a Chinese iron door is broken. This will be the subject of further discussion.

So what can you do in this case!

The first is to completely replace the lock along with all the accessories. The most expensive and not the easiest way, but reliable.

The second is to find exactly the same set of handles with decorative frames together. It is difficult to find them, but it is possible. At the same time, the price of the issue is about 600 rubles.

The third is the replacement of the Chinese door handle. This is the cheapest option, since a suitable set of pens can be found for 200 rubles. But you have to tinker. It is this option that we will consider.

Chinese Iron Door Handle Replacement

If the handle of the Chinese door is broken, then we start by unscrewing the screws that secure the decorative frame of the lock.

Next, just remove the frame with all the content, including the broken handle.

Next, we disassemble the spring mechanism of the handle. The main problem can arise with the clamping washer. Without fear that it will break or burst, bend it back with a small flat screwdriver.

Everything! The frame was disassembled, the broken handle was taken out.

The frame can be put in place, but you will need a piece of the handle to go to the store. We will choose a new one according to it, more precisely, according to its fastening. And the frame is put in place so that the door can be closed.

After the set of pens is purchased (sold only in sets) - install one handle instead of the damaged one, or both at once. We act in the reverse order.

And at the end, we install the decorative frame of the lock along with a new handle on the door.

That's all! If the handle of an iron door is broken, then the handle is replaced in this way.

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Metal is a strong thing, but sooner or later everything in this world falls into disrepair. Entrance doors, like no others, are constantly exposed to diverse loads and the likelihood of failure of one or another unit is very high here. Next, we will analyze step by step the repair of entrance iron doors. That is, first let's talk about the most likely breakdowns, and then you will find out how you can fix them yourself.

Any repair, including the repair of entrance metal doors, begins with diagnostics. Believe me, this construction is not so complicated that you cannot figure it out. Here is a list of the main breakdowns:

• Locks - there are relatively few designs of locks, here you need to decide on the type of lock, after which it will become clear whether you can quickly repair it or it's time to call a specialist;
• Fittings - this includes handles, padlocks, hinges and a peephole;
• Door frame - often metal doors have an all-welded frame. There is not much to break there, but there is a problem of distortions and improper fastening;
• The door leaf itself - as a rule, for the layman, the repair of an entrance metal door is limited only to the leaf. The problems here are mainly 2 - the first is the loss of respectable appearance, and the second is the destruction of integrity, in other words, hacking;
• Platbands - the outer facing of the door is quite often subject to mechanical breakdowns, I am glad that the repair of an iron or wooden lining is quite simple.

By the way, if you decide to repair some unit, for example, replace the lock cylinder, it will not be superfluous to diagnose and prevent all components of the structure. It is easier to prevent a problem at the initial stage than to frantically search for ways to solve it later.

Repair of entrance iron doors directly depends on the place of their installation, so the doors in city apartments break much less often compared to structures that go directly to the street, but the breakdowns for all doors are about the same. Most often, locks break, and we will start with them.

In general, there are 5 types of locks - cylinder, reinforced, crossbar, electromechanical and combined. But most often there are cylinder and lever ones. Details about all types of locks with photos and videos are told "here".

Repair of steel doors with a cylinder lock is considered the simplest and cheapest. In such locks, the larva, into which the key is directly inserted, is removable. Replacing it will not be difficult even for a complete amateur. The general algorithm of actions is something like this:

• From the end of the door on the lock bar, opposite the larva, you will find a locking screw, there is only one, so it is impossible to confuse;
• This screw must be unscrewed with an ordinary Phillips screwdriver and pulled out completely;
• Then you insert the key into the keyhole and start turning it slightly and at the same time trying to pull out the larva;

• As soon as the tongue inside the mechanism "hides" in the larva, it will freely come out of the lock;
• Now you take a broken larva, go with it to the store and buy a similar one. After that, you just have to insert a new larva into the lock and fix it with a locking screw;
• But before going to the market, it will not be superfluous to figure out the types and subtleties of choosing larvae for cylinder locks, all this information is there "here".

You are unlikely to be able to repair a lever or bolt lock with your own hands, so here we are only talking about replacing the entire mechanism.

• If there is a handle on the lock, then it is removed together with the linings first. The fastening screws must be found from the inside;
• Such locks can be cut from the end of the web or installed inside the web. In the first case, you just need to unscrew the fixing screws from the top and bottom, after which the lock should easily be pulled out;
• If the lock was attached to the inside of the canvas or a crab-type locking mechanism is installed (locking on 4 sides), then in order to get to the lock, you will have to remove the inner patch panel completely. After gaining access to the lock, you unscrew the fixing screws in the same way and change it.

In some expensive models of lever locks, it is possible to recode the lock to a different key. Therefore, if the keys are lost, it is not necessary to change the lock, you can simply recode it for a different set of keys.

The box can be skewed for 2 reasons - the first is not a good enough fastening with a heavy door leaf, and the second is the shrinkage of the house, but it happens only in new buildings.As a rule, the box warps gradually, and if you notice that the doors begin to close poorly and rub against the upper or lower edge of the box, then you can fix the situation in one of 3 ways:

1. If there are no obvious deformations of the box itself, and the doors have sagged due to gravity, then you need to tighten and adjust the hinges, plus it is advisable to install an additional canopy in order to reduce the load on the existing ones. Canopy adjustment methods are shown in detail "here", and about the choice of hidden loops, you can find out "here";
2. Old doors can sag due to wear on the hinges, there is no need to cut in anything additionally, just readjust or change the existing awnings;
3. The deformation of the box can be corrected by driving in several wedges, but when the box is in place, it will be necessary to additionally fix it by driving 2 - 3 anchors, next to the old fasteners. The technology for attaching the box to different types of walls is shown in detail "here".

If the door leaf is worn out and the appearance leaves much to be desired, then the repair of metal doors will depend on what the leaf is lined with.

The lowest budget option is painting. During operation, the paint on the metal is scratched and rust spots appear, the lower sector suffers most from this. In this case, it is advisable to completely remove the old paint from the canvas before painting.

If there is no desire to clean the entire canvas, then at least the affected areas need to be sanded to white metal. There are many methods of stripping, but the easiest way is to buy a nozzle with a metal cord-brush for a drill or grinder. You can clean the entire door with it in an hour and a half, and fragmentary repairs will take 15 - 20 minutes.

The cleaned canvas should be degreased with some kind of solvent or acetone, after which at least 2 layers of paint are applied. The paint must be taken for outdoor work, it is better to take the so-called hammer paints for the repair of iron doors.

For those for whom conventional painting is not suitable, there are a number of alternative options for facing front doors:

• Leather - genuine leather is used extremely rarely for door upholstery. Budget options are lined with leatherette, and eco-leather is used for the elite sector. In appearance, eco-leather practically does not differ from natural, but it costs several times cheaper. Best of all looks "carriage coupler", step-by-step instructions for upholstery doors with leather is shown "here";

• Laminate - metal doors can be sheathed with ordinary laminate flooring, but when buying, you need to pay attention not to the level of abrasion, but to moisture resistance. The disadvantage of this method is that it is not advisable to cover canvases facing the street with a laminate. There are step-by-step instructions for facing the door leaf with laminate "here";
• MDF - laminated MDF panels now cost about 50% of iron doors, professionals call them MDF cards. This cladding looks luxurious, it changes quite simply, the only drawback is the high price. There are MDF cards for the street and for the premises, if you mix them up, then in a year you will again repair the doors;

• Natural wood is a good option, but it is expensive. Plus, such wood must be thoroughly impregnated and varnished with high quality, otherwise it will not stand for a long time.

Detailed instructions for cladding the door leaf with your own hands with different materials are "here".

Platbands on entrance metal doors are rarely installed, because their role is played by the outer part of the door frame. But if the platbands are still standing, then if they are damaged, this element changes completely, and the replacement technology is shown "here".

Also, do not forget about such an important point in the operation of doors as the lubrication of awnings. If you do not lubricate the creaking doors in time, then they will break very soon and then you will have serious repairs. Technology and selection of door hinge grease is shown "here".