Cellular types of concrete in general and aerated concrete in particular are rapidly displacing the familiar brick and cinder block from the market. Aerated concrete has many advantages, but there are also certain disadvantages. Due to the porous structure of the material, the installation instructions for doors and windows are somewhat different from the traditional ones.

The photo shows door installation.

Preparatory activities

Many owners are afraid that aerated concrete blocks, having a cellular structure, are easily destroyed. Because of this, burglars can simply tear out the inserted metal door without bothering to open it. They are partly right, because if you install windows or doors using traditional technology, then such a danger exists.

The insertion technology will be discussed specifically below, but now let’s focus on the preparation. First of all, it should be noted that both windows and doors need to be ordered with a small gap. That is, the size of the structure should be 20 - 60 mm smaller than the window or door opening.

Before installation, the surface of the blocks must be prepared. Many craftsmen advise simply gluing outside waterproofing, self-adhesive tape. But we think differently.

Aerated concrete is a hygroscopic material and there is a high probability of moisture getting into the joint. Therefore, it is more advisable to impregnate the blocks with waterproofing, deep-penetrating strengthening soil. Thus, you will not only provide reliable waterproofing, but also strengthen the surface of the block to a depth of up to 50 mm.

Installation technology

Do not be afraid to install such structures with your own hands. The installation technology, of course, involves additional costs for strengthening, but the price of these materials is disproportionately less than the payment for the work of professionals.

Metal door installation

As you know, metal is a heavy material and installing a metal door in aerated concrete is quite a responsible job.

Especially if you prefer reliable domestic doors made of thick metal with good protection.

• As mentioned earlier, the dowels that come with the door will not hold securely, so here you can do two things. We recommend an easier method. For this you will need to additionally purchase a metal corner and take care of a welding machine.
• For a standard metal entrance door, a 35 mm corner is sufficient. If you need to install a large double door or garage door, then we recommend taking an angle of at least 50 mm.
• The corners are cut to the size of the opening and applied to the inside and outside of the opening. They need to be welded together using several jumpers.
• It is better to cut jumpers from sheet metal about 50 mm wide. The thickness of the jumpers is selected depending on the power of the structure. For standard door metal with a thickness of 1.5 - 3 mm is sufficient. They need to be placed in places where the loot is attached.

Tip: some owners try to save money by welding only two vertical, opposing structures.
Such a door will certainly hold up, but we recommend making a completely all-welded wraparound structure from a corner.
The price will increase slightly, but the reliability will increase significantly.

• The frame is fixed on the jumpers. In this case, due to the U-shaped grip, the structure will hold well anyway, but to be sure, you can screw 1 self-tapping screw with a length of at least 120 mm into each jumper. Please note that the door will still be attached to the lintels and the fixing screws should not match.
• Next, the door hatch is inserted level and secured with wooden wedges. To fix the door, you can also use powerful metal screws with a length of less than 150 mm. But if you prefer dowels, then the holes are pre-drilled with a regular drill, and then special ones are fixed in them.
• After securely fixing the door opening, both in the wall and in the corner frame, you need to coat the outside with sealant and fill all the cracks with foam. For better sealing, experts advise that after hardening and cutting off excess foam, once again coat the seams with sealant from the inside.

Important: shabashniks may suggest hammering several long pieces of reinforcement into the walls and fixing the door on them. This may go away with brick wall, but on aerated concrete such a door will become loose within 1 year and you will have to do everything again.

The video in this article shows how to install doors.

A few words about window installation

Installing windows in aerated concrete is somewhat simpler than installing metal doors, but still requires attention.

Windows are not subject to the same loads as doors, plus the weight of these structures is much less.

• The window frame is attached to special metal anchor plates. The plates can be bought at any hardware store or cut with your own hands from metal 1.5 mm thick. Initially, the plates need to be secured with self-tapping screws at the ends of the window frame.
• After this, you need to clearly level and plumb the window frame into the opening and secure it with previously prepared wooden wedges. It is advisable to make the distance from the frame to the wall the same.
• The best option is when the window opening is pre-composed of aerated concrete blocks and a quarter. The quarter is an L-shaped protrusion located on the outside into which the window unit is inserted. If this detail is not provided in advance, then a false quarter is made.

• The anchor plates are bent and tightly joined to the wall. They are fixed in the same way as doors, using long screws 120 - 160 mm. After fixing with the plates, the wooden wedges are pulled out and the gap around the perimeter is filled with finely porous polyurethane foam. Just as in the case of doors, the gap on both sides must be coated with sealants.

Important: both the installation of doors and the installation of windows in aerated concrete can be carried out in one more way.
It provides for preparation during construction.
To do this, special U-shaped blocks are installed around the perimeter of the opening.
Subsequently, they can be embedded wooden beam or pour reinforced concrete and mount structures on them.

The video in this article shows the installation of windows in aerated concrete.

Conclusion

We have outlined the basic principles of installation. It should also be noted that interior doors, as well as any metal-plastic or wooden structures, are installed using window installation technology. The use of a metal welded frame is allowed, but in this case it is not advisable.

The technology for installing a metal entrance door in an aerated concrete house is somewhat different from the traditional method of installing such structures. These features are due to the specific qualities of the materials from which the door itself is made and the building is constructed. Having a cellular structure, aerated concrete is a lightweight and rather fragile building material, and the weight of a standard metal door sometimes reaches one hundredweight. Because of this contradiction, a door installed in the usual way, under the influence of even a slight force, can simply fall out of the doorway.

That is why experts advise installing narrow (up to 1 m) metal doors in houses made of aerated concrete, and installing them using special fasteners or additional structures.

Methods for installing doors in aerated concrete houses

Installation of doors in buildings made of gas blocks can be done in one of the three most common ways, namely:

• for special expansion or chemical anchors;
• to the wooden frame of the doorway;
• to a welded metal frame.

Each of the above methods has a number of its own advantages and disadvantages, which will be discussed further.

Method one. Fastening to anchors

This simple and low-cost method is suitable only for installing lightweight and narrow doors that do not experience heavy operating loads. When using this method, the fastening dowels included with the doors are replaced with special anchors for cellular concrete, which, depending on the principle of operation, can be spacer or adhesive.

When screwed into the wall, the working end of the expansion anchor splits in two and melts away, as a result of which the bolt is fixed in the loose structure of the gas block. For adhesive anchors, holes are pre-drilled in aerated concrete and filled with polymer resin. After curing, such a composite reliably holds the threaded part of the anchor in the wall.

With the help of such anchors, the turf box is secured in the wall opening in a standard manner.
To reduce the absorbency of aerated concrete and compact its structure, before installation, the surface of the opening is treated with a deep-penetrating waterproofing primer.

Method two. Installation on a wooden frame.

In case of installation of massive steel front door, double doors or garage doors, in places where the frame is directly attached to the wall, aerated concrete will experience significant deformation and impact loads, as a result of which its fragile cellular structure will gradually collapse. To prevent crumbling of gas blocks under the heads of anchor bolts, door frames are mounted on wooden panels, frames or embedded beams, which ensure a more even distribution of the load along the entire perimeter of the doorway.

Such intermediate structures are made of wooden beams, thick plywood or durable planed boards. Before constructing the strapping, the wood is impregnated with a liquid antiseptic and dried well.

Lighter doors are mounted on beams recessed into the surface of aerated concrete or on solid or discontinuous (assembled from individual sections) overlay panels cut into the thickness of the wall, which are laid in the doorway on a layer of special glue, and then additionally secured with bolts for cellular concrete. In the case of installation on separate sections of boards, the empty spaces between the pieces of planks are filled with rigid polyurethane foam.

The metal door frame is attached to the finished wooden frame with powerful self-tapping screws. The heaviest and most bulky doors are mounted on a full frame frame, constructed from thick wooden beams attached to the walls of the opening with adhesive anchors, on an epoxy base.

Having completed the arrangement of the trim, garage hinges or a metal entrance door frame are attached to it.

Method three. Installation on a welded frame.

With this installation method, the doorway is reinforced with a double welded frame assembled from steel corners, tied together with metal strips for strength. Since this fastening method is the most common due to its availability and at the same time reliability, we will describe the technology of its implementation in more detail.

Technology for installing an entrance door on a metal welded frame

For a standard metal entrance door, it will be enough to weld an installation frame from a 35 or 40 mm steel angle. For a massive reinforced steel door, it is better to take a 50x50 mm corner.

1. The corners are cut according to the size of the opening - one set of two long and one short segments is made for the outer side and a second set of the same for the inner.
2. The corners cut in this way are placed on the edges of the opening, and their adjacent ends are welded. As a result of this operation, two U-shaped arches are obtained, tightly adjacent to the edges of the doorway.
3. The arches are attached to aerated concrete with special anchors and, for strength, they are tied together with short jumpers cut from 3 mm sheet metal.
4. The lintels are welded to the corner frames in those places where the door frame will be attached to the opening.

Tip: Some homeowners, wanting to save time and money, try to install only the vertical parts of the frame. This should not be done! The benefit from such savings will be extremely insignificant, and the structure without upper beams will lose its rigidity.

Metal frame for doorway

1. For greater reliability of fastening, the welded jumpers are also attached to the wall with self-tapping screws, screwing them in so that the caps do not coincide with the mounting holes in the door frame.
2. The door frame is inserted into the finished frame, controlling the verticality of the installation with a plumb line. Having adjusted the position of the box, it is fixed in the welded frame with wooden wedges.
3. Next, the box is secured in the doorway with powerful 15-centimeter metal screws, which are screwed into the aerated concrete through steel lintels. If the doors are quite heavy, for greater reliability, the screws are screwed not into aerated concrete, but into special dowels, for which holes are pre-drilled in the walls.
4. After installing the box, all seams in the structure are coated with sealant, and the cracks are filled with dense foam.
5. After hardening, excess foam is cut off with a construction knife, and the seams are once again treated with sealing mastic.

Advice: some hack craftsmen, wanting to quickly complete the work assigned to them, suggest that the owners fasten the box to reinforcement pins driven into the walls. You should not agree to such propositions! This method of installing doors, although not very desirable, is at least partly acceptable only for brick houses. A steel rod driven into soft aerated concrete crushes its fragile wall structure. As a result of a violation of the structure of the wall material, the reinforcement cannot be securely fixed in the thickness of the aerated block. A small gap formed at the beginning installation work, will increase with each slam of the door, and this process will continue until the box is completely out of the doorway.

All of the above methods for installing a metal entrance door are good in their own way, but the most reliable fixation of the door frame is ensured by special steel fasteners embedded in the walls even at the stage of constructing a house made of aerated concrete.

Aerated concrete is a porous material, has high thermal insulation properties, low weight, and its dimensions can significantly reduce the construction time of objects. However, it has poor strength characteristics, so the structure of the blocks does not allow the use traditional methods installing a door into the wall of a house.

The main parameter questioned by developers encountering aerated concrete for the first time is its strength. That is why the opening is lined with brick or concrete to strengthen it. The optimal solution, of course, is to install a canvas whose size does not exceed 700 mm. Fastening with special elements will make the structure reliable and durable.

The width of a standard entrance door with a height of 2-2.3 m varies from 900 mm and more. Therefore, without special strengthening measures, the box may gradually become loose.

Several methods have been developed to strengthen the entrance and interior openings:

The width of the box should be 2-6 cm less than the size of the opening in order to be able to fix it.

Aerated concrete is a fragile material, so the use of impact tools is not recommended. To install a door in a wall opening made of blocks, the frame is fastened with anchors and self-tapping screws.

Main stages of installation

The choice of method depends on factors such as the size and weight of the canvas, location and what functions will be performed.

1. Installation of small interior doors allows the use of embedded bars and fastening to anchors.
2. When installing interior and entrance doors made of wood, you can use embedded bars.
3. If a massive metal door is placed, then the gas block must be reinforced with a welded frame.

If you plan to install heavy metal doors, then it is better to use adhesive chemical anchors during installation.

• In gas blocks, holes 15 cm deep are drilled around the entire perimeter at a distance of no more than 60 cm from each other and filled with reagent.
• Anchors or threaded rods are installed in them.
• Additionally, the structure is fastened with self-tapping screws.
• The steel frame or garage hinges are attached at the final stage when chemical composition will freeze completely.

Of all the methods for a metal door, the most reliable is installation on embedded fasteners built into the walls during the construction of the structure.

If the opening is reinforced correctly, the aerated concrete will not lose its integrity and will reliably hold a door of any configuration and weight.

1. When arranging the frame for the front door, you need to make a U-shaped frame. Installation of partial (lateral) fastening is possible only when installing interior structures. A harness without a top beam does not provide the required rigidity.
2. Fastening the door to reinforcing bars is not acceptable. The porous structure of the block is deformed by impacts and fixation does not occur. The gap under impact load will gradually increase and the box will come out of the span.
3. Placing entrance doors using frame frames requires additional measures to protect against freezing through insulation.

If the design of the door set does not include a platband, then anchor screws or self-tapping screws are used to fasten the frame into the opening.

To prevent destruction of the gas block, the box must be installed so that the load is evenly distributed over its entire area. The position is checked by level until the structure is in place correctly. To fix the position, you can use wedges, after which the structure is secured with polyurethane foam.

Aerated concrete walls are less durable than brick walls.

Installing an entrance door in aerated concrete has some features. Aerated concrete has lower strength indicators than brick or concrete, which must be taken into account during installation work. Otherwise, the service life of the doors may be less durable than we would like.

Installation of a standard size entrance door

If a wooden door is installed, the width of which is no more than 91 cm, then the installation is carried out using standard technology. That is, with fastening using metal anchors or plastic dowels with long self-tapping screws.

To do this you will need these tools:

• drill;
• screwdriver;
• plumb line;
• building level;
• hammer;
• welding machine with electrodes.

Here is the algorithm of the operations performed.

1. The ends of the opening are cleaned of dirt and dust.
2. A door frame is installed in it, from which the door leaf has previously been removed. The location of the box is in the middle of the opening, while wedges are installed under it and on the sides for temporary support.
3. The box is strictly aligned in planes, for which a plumb line and level are used. First of all, the timber on which the hinges are attached is placed.
4. Through holes are drilled through the side vertical beam, while holes are made in the aerated concrete immediately at the ends of the doorway. That is, this is a one-time operation. If you are not sure that you can do everything accurately and correctly, you can suggest first preparing the holes in the box before installing it in the doorway, and then making holes in the wall through them. The depth of the hole in the wall is 8– 10 cm, distance between fastenings– no more than 60 cm.
5. Aerated concrete anchors are installed in the resulting holes (they are driven in with a hammer), with which the box is secured (screwed in with a screwdriver).
6. The door leaf is hung on hinges.
7. The gap between the frame and the ends of the opening is filled with polyurethane foam. Until the foam becomes hard, the door must be kept closed.

Installation of heavy doors in aerated concrete

Installing a metal door in aerated concrete requires special approach for the installation process. This requires more complex fastening units. The thing is that the fastening points of the door frame are subject to large and frequent shock loads. It is in this place that the aerated concrete begins to crumble, so it is necessary to reduce these loads by distributing them evenly along the plane of the ends of the opening, and also to increase the contact area of ​​the box and the ends.

To do this, you can install a wooden beam around the perimeter of the opening, which forms an additional box, or install wooden mortgages. Please note that all additional elements must be dry and treated with antiseptics. It is believed that the first option with the installation of timber is the optimal solution. It does not have to be installed along the entire perimeter: two vertical elements will be enough. It is very important that both elements are accurately aligned in the same plane.

There are several more requirements that determine the quality of the final result.

• The timber is attached to the ends of the aerated concrete opening using aerated concrete adhesive or tile adhesive. It is important here that there is no gap between the two planes.
• Additional fastening is anchors or self-tapping screws for dowels. As for self-tapping screws, their length should not be less than 7.5 mm.
• You can use sections of it rather than a solid beam, installing them so that the distance between the fasteners is 61 cm. After installing the front door in aerated concrete, the gaps are filled with foam.

If heavy metal doors are being installed, the fastening should be carried out using an adhesive composition. The hole in the aerated concrete must be at least 15 cm deep. A pin or anchor is inserted into it, the threads of which are lubricated with epoxy glue. Please note that using aerated concrete adhesive for these purposes is not recommended. It has a runny consistency, so it will flow out of the mounting hole when the fastener is tightened. It is to these parts that the wooden frame of the opening in the aerated concrete wall is attached. And already to her– or the frame of a metal door, or the hinges of the door itself. Everything will depend on the thickness and width of the installed beams.

Some craftsmen use the technology of installing a metal door in aerated concrete, which leads to rapid failure of the fasteners. They make holes in the ends of the opening into which metal pins, usually made from reinforcement, are driven. After which the edge protruding from the door frame is welded to inside this frame. This is a grave mistake, because the reinforcement hammered into aerated concrete does not sit firmly in the porous material. This is the first. Secondly, holes are not always pre-drilled. The reinforcement is brazenly driven into aerated concrete, where the material is crushed. When subjected to heavy loads, the reinforcement begins to move, that is, backlash is formed. Literally two– three months of such operation will lead to cracking of the aerated concrete and the door falling out of the installation site.

Most perfect option installing a metal door in aerated concrete is the installation of metal embedded parts in the opening during the construction of the wall. The embed itself consists of two or three reinforcements located in the same plane, which are welded to a steel plate. Welding is performed perpendicular to the plane of the plate. Grooves are made in aerated concrete into which pieces of reinforcement are installed, all of which is filled with epoxy or aerated concrete adhesive. Then the top block is laid on top. The plate remains on the plane of the end of the doorway. There should be several such plates vertically, the distance between the reinforcement vertically– 61 cm. It is to the mortgages that the metal door frame is welded.

Adjusting the door leaf

After installing the door frame in the opening, you need to hang the door leaf on the hinges. It would seem that this is not the most complicated process, but there are several nuances to it. Especially when it comes to a metal door.

• It is necessary to throw a ball into the cavity of the lower loop (you can from a bearing).
• The hinges themselves are cleaned and lubricated with any technical oil, but it is better to use graphite lubricant.
• Then the canvas is hung and closed.

• It is the closing that will show whether it is installed correctly and whether it is touching the box. If this is detected, then the door will have to be adjusted.

There are many different hinge designs, but most of them are adjusted using the screw principle, which controls where the ball is installed. To do this, you first need to determine which edge of the canvas touches the box. It is from his side that the loops need to be adjusted.

• First you need to unscrew the locking screw located perpendicular to the hinges (usually located on the bottom of the hinge).
• Then the clamping screw, which is located in the lower element at the lower end, relaxes. It is he who props up the ball.
• It is necessary to move the canvas from side to side and find a place so that it does not touch the box.
• Tighten the clamping screw.
• Screw in the locking element.

As you can see, installing doors in aerated concrete is not the most difficult task, but it does require knowledge of some installation nuances. Special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the fastening units, on which the long-term and trouble-free operation of the door depends.

Installation of doors in a house with walls made of aerated concrete blocks (from cellular concrete blocks).

The user manuals of American aerated concrete manufacturers Contec, E-crete, Delta indicate that, if necessary, doors in relatively small openings (up to 91 cm) can be installed directly on aerated concrete. The door frame is secured in these cases with anchors for cellular concrete (see figure No. 1, option D)

Why were more complex fastening units for door frames to aerated concrete walls invented? Aerated concrete is a fairly fragile material. When installing heavy steel doors, doors in large openings (openings over 91 cm, garage doors, etc.), doors in commercial premises with high foot traffic, aerated concrete in places where the door frame is directly attached may experience significant impact loads (shearing, pulling out) . To prevent gradual coloring of the porous structure of aerated concrete (cellular concrete) under a very small area of ​​the anchor, it is recommended to install door frames in such a way as to distribute the loads from opening and closing doors over a much larger area. When installing doors in individual houses from aerated concrete, it is possible to use intermediate securely fastened wooden frames or embedded bars. Wooden frames can be made of dry boards, laminated wood ( furniture board), timber or plywood. The wood must be pre-impregnated with non-washable antiseptics or, even better, impregnated with antiseptics under pressure. You can use heat-treated wood, as it is much less susceptible to rotting. When using regular dry wood, preference should be given to larch - as one of the most rot-resistant wood species available at a reasonable price.

In simpler cases of installing interior doors, either an embedded beam embedded in aerated concrete is used (Figure No. 1, option A), or overhead wooden panels along the thickness of the wall in the opening (Figure No. 1, option B). The wood is installed on a layer of aerated concrete adhesive or tile adhesive to prevent the formation of voids between the wall and the wooden panel. The tree is fixed to the wall using anchors for cellular concrete and, if necessary, to prevent hinge swinging - using self-tapping screws at least 7.5 cm long (for shear screws 4.5-10 cm long in aerated concrete are able to withstand a load applied perpendicular to their axis from 30 to 150 kgf. The value of pull-out loads is 50% of the above values). Door frames are attached to the wooden frame of doorways with self-tapping screws.

Wooden panels can be solid, covering the entire height and width of the doorway (Fig. No. 2, option A), or made from pieces of wood installed at intervals of no more than 61 cm on centers (Fig. No. 2, option B). In the second installation option, after installation and fastening to the wooden planks of the door frame, the free spaces between the wall and the door frame are foamed with polyurethane foam with a small degree of expansion. This allows the door frame to be fixed more rigidly due to the oppositely directed holding forces of the screws and the expanding forces of the polyurethane foam.

For doors in large openings (more than 91 cm or garage doors), it is recommended to secure the wooden frame frame of the opening more firmly using adhesive anchors (Fig. No. 1, option B). In this case, threaded studs or anchors are embedded into a drill hole with a depth of at least 15 cm into aerated concrete blocks of doorways with a pitch of no more than 61 cm using epoxy resin. The use of aerated concrete adhesive is not recommended, since due to its fluidity it is impossible to achieve uniform filling of a horizontal drill hole. You can use aerated concrete adhesive or mortar when embedding an anchor or stud while laying an aerated concrete wall. At the same time, in aerated concrete block a groove is cut open at the top, an anchor or pin is placed, and the cavity is filled with glue or mortar. The wooden frame of the opening is attached to the embedded stud on a layer of aerated concrete adhesive or tile adhesive using a washer and nut. If necessary, the opening trim is additionally secured with self-tapping screws. Either garage hinges or a door frame are attached to the frame.

Figure No. 1. Assemblies for fastening door frames to walls made of aerated concrete (cellular concrete)