How to Install an Aluminum Door Frame

Door frames can be made of vinyl, wood or aluminum. Aluminum door frames offer many benefits, including their durability and weather resistance, which make them ideal for an exterior door opening. Aluminum door frames also muffle more outside noise than their wood or vinyl counterparts. You can easily match a new aluminum door frame to your home's other door frames and window frames by painting it with an exterior latex paint.

Level
Wooden shims
Drill
Phillips driving bit
1 5/8-inch screws
Utility knife

Instructions

- 1
  Lift the aluminum frame's header and sides into the rough opening. Insert the tabs on the top of the sides into the grooves in the header's ends.
- 2
  Hold a level against the aluminum door frame's header. Raise or lower each side until the header is level. Slide wooden shims underneath the side jambs, if necessary, for additional support. Drive 1 5/8-inch screws through the header's guide holes.
- 3
  Hold a level against one of the sides. Position the side so it rests straight in the opening. Drive 1 5/8-inch screws through the side's guide holes.
- 4
  Check the other side with a level to make sure it is level in the opening. Secure this side in place with 1 5/8-inch screws through the guide holes.
- 5
  Cut off the shim's extending ends with a utility knife so they do not go past the aluminum door frame.

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