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Toeing and
Heeling
PVCu Doors
WHAT YOU NEED
TO KNOW
Over time PVCu doors
can start to drop downwards
and away from their hinges
caused by any one of a
number of factors – the
weight of the door and glass,
heavy traffic usage, wear and
tear on the locks and strikers
being examples.
This can lead to the door
lock hooks or rollers starting
to mis-align with the keeps,
putting further pressure on
the gearbox as users ‘force’
the lock into place via the
handle when closing the
door.
Although this ‘force’ might
be slight at the beginning,
over time it becomes
significant. At this point
the damage to the locking
mechanism is noticeable
and can lead to the need to
replace.
SO, WHAT DO YOU DO,
AND HOW DO YOU AVOID
IT OCCURRING AGAIN?
Once a lock has reached
the point at which it needs
replacing, it is important
‘PVCu doors
can start
to drop
downwards
and away
from their
hinges’
to do so to avoid damaging
other areas of the door. What
is critical is to try and ensure
that the same problems
won’t occur in the future, and
the best way to do this is to
make sure the door has been
properly ‘toed and heeled’
using the glazing packers.
The photographs here
demonstrate the procedure
for doing this, and a simple
guide to the process is as
follows:
1. Remove the beading
from around the glass or
panel starting with one
of the longest edges, to
reveal any packers that
may have moved over
time, or which may not
be installed to begin
with.
2. Follow the same process
with the other beads,
marking them up to
identify which goes
where when re-installing
them.
3. Fully remove the glass or
panel from the door.
4. Start to re-install the
packers, and the glass or
panel beginning with the
lower left or right corners
and then the upper left
or right corners. This
will help to ‘lift’ the door
sash back into its original
operating position.
5. Replace the beading
starting with one of the
short edges first, taking
note of the identifying
marks you had put on
them when taking them
out.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | JUL/AUG 2017
Sponsored by SMP Security Solutions