A door jamb acts as a support for a door and a door frame.
A door frame is the vertical section of a door frame, which acts as a support for the rest of the frame, as well as the door itself. Each frame has two shoulder pads. The hinge stop is the side where the hinges are installed and the hinge stop is the side where the locking mechanism locks into the stop. Bumpers are also used to mount the frame to the surrounding wall. The horizontal member connecting the two shoulder pads is called the head.
The material used to make a door jamb is largely determined by where it will be used. In most residential settings, the door frame is made of wood. It is usually hidden by a box or molding, so the type and finish of the wood is usually not important. For commercial uses, hollow metal doorstops are the most common and are made from cold-rolled steel for interior applications or galvanized steel for exterior use. Some architects may specify trim made of stainless steel or aluminum to provide a better finish, while fiberglass trim is used for its durability and weather resistance.
There are several components that make up a door jamb. There is the face of the jamb, which is the surface parallel to the wall. The jamb stop is the shoulder that holds the door in place and prevents it from swinging straight through the jamb. On each side of the stop is an area known as a notch. Most door jambs come equipped with one recess that is larger than the other, meaning the jamb is not centered, although custom mortise moldings can be made.
When ordering a door frame, several details about the jambs must be determined, starting with the size of the jamb throat. The throat is the back of the door jamb that wraps around a wall for installation. It must be equal to the thickness of the wall where it is going to be installed. Next, you must specify the types of hardware to use. Then each door frame will be prepped with cutouts or reinforced with steel plates to accommodate and support the hardware installation.
A variety of fasteners are used to secure door jambs to adjoining walls. With wood frames, most types of nails and screws are acceptable. Metal structures require special anchors, and these anchors generally must be ordered with the structure. For masonry walls, a T-anchor or wire is welded to the jamb and then placed between the brick or block layers. A compression anchor is welded to the jamb of the framing used in the drywall and can be adjusted to fit the walls once erected.
