Difference between fixed and adjustable door frame

If you're looking to purchase a new set of door you may come across different types of dor frames. This guide will show you the differences between fixed and adjustable frame to show you pick the best solution for you. 

This is not a generic message from the Internet, but a detailed yet simple explanation written by an installer.

Please take a moment to read it carefully, for the benefit of our customers.

• A fixed frame means that you first install the door and then cover the wall with plasterboard. It looks as if the frame is set directly into the wall. The fixed frame is structurally much thicker so that plasterboard can be fitted around it.
• An adjustable frame is built completely differently – once fitted it looks much thicker, but in reality, it is made of “three thin boards” that cover the whole wall, as well as the area filled with foam.
• It is much better for a house under renovation, where something needs to be covered or where walls may not be even.
• Years ago, when carpenters made doors by hand and there was no modern technology, the fixed frame was several times cheaper, because it required cutting out just one solid element, instead of making advanced grooved boards that needed to fit together. Today, with CNC technology, the situation has changed – an adjustable frame costs about the same as a fixed frame with quarter rounds and cover trims.
• An adjustable frame can hide any gap, thanks to its wide adjustment range, which a fixed frame does not have. • Decorative trims/architraves have fixed dimensions but are very easy to cut. It is always easier to cut a thin trim than to adjust half of a wall.
• Most of our installers prefer adjustable frames, because in one day they can fit 7 sets of doors, while with fixed frames it can take up to a week to fit the same amount.

Example – installing doors in a narrow corridor, between two walls, where there were no doors before: We have a recess between two walls with a width of 820 mm.

1. If we use a fixed frame: • two side beams 44 mm each = 88 mm total • plus 15 mm of foam on each side = 30 mm total • total 118 mm → leaving a door opening of 702 mm
2. If we use an adjustable frame in the same opening (820 mm): • frame thickness is 22 mm per side (half of the fixed frame) = 44 mm total • leaving 37 mm installation space on each side, which can be filled with foam or – as most installers do – a board (joist) and the rest with foam

Summary: In both cases, the final effect is the same – we hang the same door leaf.

Below are some examples from our customers, where the installation space was difficult – in all cases adjustable frames were used.

If you have more questions, feel free to contact our experts.

We also invite you to explore the Heze Doors range – high-quality European doors in the UK, available in different sizes and colours