Worksheet 06 / frame setting-out

How to fit or replace a door frame

Treat the job as a measured setting-out sequence: identify the assembly, record the opening from a finished-floor datum, dry assemble it, bring it square and brace it. Then enter the top setback, bottom setback and maximum spacing stated for the exact wall, frame and fixing system. This planner distributes marks; it does not choose the fixing or judge the opening.

User-defined fixing marker

Door frame rail with plotted fixing marksA frame jamb beside a blue datum. Depending on the worksheet state, labelled fixing marks may be shown measured down from the top.150 mm585 mm1,020 mm1,455 mm1,890 mm
Plotted marks, when available, are measured from the top of the entered frame height. The result card identifies whether the plot is a fixed example, a current calculation or unavailable.

Frame Fixing Marker

Plot one jamb or rail

Formula v1.0.0Researched 2026-09-04

Entered frame geometry

Enter the figure supplied for the exact substrate, frame and fixing system. This field deliberately starts blank.

Fixing and substrate record

For example, record the manufacturer document reference, frame material, fixing type and the substrate it addresses. Do not infer these details from the plotted marks.

Worked example — fixed values

Frame fixing record

Usable rail1,740 mm
Distribution4 intervalsCalculated step: 435 mm
Marks measured from top
  1. Mark 1: 150 mm from top
  2. Mark 2: 585 mm from top
  3. Mark 3: 1,020 mm from top
  4. Mark 4: 1,455 mm from top
  5. Mark 5: 1,890 mm from top

Five example marks are plotted at 150, 585, 1020, 1455 and 1890 mm from the top. The 435 mm calculated step is no greater than the example’s entered 450 mm maximum.

Assumptions register

Fixed worked example only: frame height 2040 mm; top setback 150 mm; bottom setback 150 mm; selected maximum spacing 450 mm; fixing/substrate note: example manufacturer job record.

The arithmetic treats the entered height as one straight setting-out rail. It does not choose fixings, identify the substrate, inspect packers, assess the opening or transfer the pattern to a second jamb.

The Marked Door / worked example frame fixing record
Job/reference: ____________________ · Printed date: ____________________
Canonical record: https://neoporte.com/replace-a-door-frame/ · Formula 1.0.0 · Researched 2026-09-04 · Source keys: doorsuperstore-fit-door-frame, doorsuperstore-fit-door-lining, doorsuperstore-replace-door-frame, dhf-timber-doorsets

Name the assembly first

Frame, lining and casing are not interchangeable job notes.

First compare door frames and linings. A frame generally means the fixed head-and-jamb assembly; an internal lining receives stops and architrave. “Casing” varies between suppliers and trades, sometimes meaning a prepared set and sometimes decorative trim. Preserve the product wording rather than treating those labels as universal.

The distinction changes what you measure. A rebated frame may already contain the stop profile; a lining commonly receives separate stops later. Decorative architrave covers the joint at the wall face but is not the opening datum. The frame sequence record and lining sequence record are kept separate in the source register because their terminology is not treated as one universal rule. The timber doorset record provides component context without turning this worksheet into a product specification.

Opening and floor datum

Measure the opening as a condition, not one width and height.

Record width near the top, middle and bottom; record height at more than one position; and note diagonals where they help describe squareness. Keep the raw opening record separate from the intended outside dimensions of the frame or lining. A narrow reading, a broad reading and a diagonal difference are observations, not permission to cut masonry or alter a lintel.

Establish what “bottom” means. Mark a durable finished-floor datum or record the build-up still to be added. Thresholds, floor coverings, screed and underlay can change the final reference. Measure all vertical offsets from the same declared line. If the finished level is not known, leave that stage unresolved rather than converting a temporary floor into a final datum.

Use the separate recorder to measure the opening at three points before preparing this fixing sheet.

Dry assembly

Square, brace and recheck before marks become holes.

Assemble the head and jambs in the orientation shown by the product information. Stand the assembly dry and position packers as required by the chosen fixing method. Before you hang the door leaf, check level, plumb, diagonals and the intended opening; brace the assembly so those readings do not drift.

Re-read the opening from the declared floor datum after bracing. A frame can be square while sitting in the wrong vertical position, and a correct head level does not prove both jambs follow the intended plane. Preserve the measured values and any packer locations in the job record rather than relying on memory after drilling begins.

The replacement sequence record is cited only for general removal and checking context. Its example positions are not imported into this planner.

Select the system outside the calculator

Wall, frame and fixing data must describe the same job.

Before entering spacing, identify the frame material and section, the substrate actually present, the fixing product, the required embedment and edge conditions, and the manufacturer document that connects them. Record whether a packer, sleeve, bracket or proprietary anchor forms part of that system. The calculator has no masonry mode, drill mode or concealed fixing catalogue.

Enter the top and bottom setbacks from that chosen information, then enter its maximum permitted spacing. The word “maximum” matters: the formula divides the usable rail into enough equal intervals that the calculated step does not exceed the entered number. It does not preserve a preferred rhythm, avoid hinges, find services or decide whether a proposed hole lands in sound material. Those checks remain part of the physical setting-out process.

Formula register / 1.0.0

How the marks are distributed

usable rail = height − top setback − bottom setbackintervals = ceil(usable rail ÷ entered maximum spacing)actual step = usable rail ÷ intervalsmark[n] = top setback + n × actual step

The calculation methodology includes both ends of the usable rail. Missing values, a non-positive usable rail, non-finite arithmetic or an impractically large allocation produces no current plot and keeps current-result print unavailable. The plot is capped at 26 marks: its 25 baseline gaps are 16.48 SVG units and labels alternate across two columns, leaving 32.96 units in each column for 12 px text. The A4 register holds 13 lines in each of two columns. Larger results require separate rails.

Fixed worked example

2040 mm frame with an entered 450 mm maximum

For height 2040 mm, top setback 150 mm and bottom setback 150 mm, the usable rail is 1740 mm. Dividing 1740 by the entered maximum 450 gives 3.866…, so the interval count rounds upward to 4. The actual step is 1740 ÷ 4 = 435 mm.

Starting at 150 mm produces five marks: 150, 585, 1020, 1455 and 1890 mm from the top. The final mark is also 150 mm above the entered bottom. These are fixed example inputs, not values inserted into the live spacing field.

Stop before altering the opening

Damage, loose masonry and structural movement stay outside this planner.

Pause for an uncertain lintel, cracking, loose masonry, structural movement, unsupported material or a wall condition unmatched by the fixing data. Stop if the existing frame or any retained component is damaged. A plot is not evidence about load paths or movement; record the issue and obtain relevant building or structural input.

Also pause if the frame appears to restrain loose work, services may cross a mark or enlargement is needed. This page neither assesses those conditions nor turns them into a drilling method.

Blank frame fixing worksheet

Carry a clean record to the opening

Job/reference: ____________________   Printed date: ____________________   Rail: hinge jamb / closing jamb / head / other

RecordEntered value or noteTransferred markPhysical location check
Opening and floor datum
Frame height and setbacks
Fixing/substrate document
Maximum spacing and marks

Canonical record: https://neoporte.com/replace-a-door-frame/ · Formula 1.0.0 · Researched 2026-09-04 · Source keys: doorsuperstore-fit-door-frame, doorsuperstore-fit-door-lining, doorsuperstore-replace-door-frame, dhf-timber-doorsets