Timely

Timely frames are prefinished steel door frames for drywall openings. Contractors and remodelers use them on residential and commercial work, including the door from the house into the garage. They’re made from hot-dipped galvanized steel, so they resist corrosion, and Timely offers fire ratings up to 90 minutes. Pick the line by the door you’re hanging.

Timely is the trade name of S.D.S. Industries, Inc., a family-owned California corporation based in Pacoima. It has made prefinished steel door frames since 1971. Co-founder Robert L. “Bob” Day invented the light-gauge steel door frame concept and is credited with numerous patents. His son, Bob Day Jr., and Bob Jr.’s son, Jesse Day, build the automation the company still uses to make its frames.

Classic Frame or AK-Series

Both lines are hot-dipped galvanized steel. Where they differ is gauge, door weight, finish and mullions. The AK-Series Adjustable Kerfed frame is for lighter, simple openings: a single door of moderate weight in the one thickness it takes, primed and painted on site, with no mullion. For a heavy solid-core door, a thinner door, a mullion or a factory color, use the Classic Frame. Weigh the door with its hardware before ordering, because the AK-Series is rated for half the door weight the Classic takes.

Spec	Classic Frame	AK-Series (Adjustable Kerfed)
Steel gauge	C-Series, 18 gauge	S-Series, 20 gauge
Material	Hot-dipped galvanized steel	Hot-dipped galvanized steel
Door thickness	1 3/8 in. or 1 3/4 in.	1 3/4 in.
Maximum door weight	500 lbs	250 lbs
Finish	Standard colors, pre-matched custom colors, project-matched custom colors	High Definition White primer
Mullions	Available	Not available

For the door between the house and the garage, Timely designs its frames for openings where a fire rating and security both matter. They also suit jobs that call for weatherstrip, thresholds and pre-hung doors. Putting glass in the door lowers the rating Timely offers for the opening, so decide on glass before ordering.

Timely supplies touch-up paint on request. Colors may vary slightly, so use it only on small spots.

Sizing the opening and the jamb

The most common ordering mistake with Timely frames is ordering to the rough opening. Timely gives every width and height as an inside dimension, meaning the net door or glass opening, so order the frame to the door size. For jamb depth, measure the finished wall at the opening with the drywall on both faces, and order that depth. The C-Series offers custom depths for walls that fall between the listed sizes. Where wall thickness changes from one opening to the next, Timely’s adjustable frame covers a range with six closure pieces. A communicating frame needs a larger minimum jamb depth than the listed depths.

Order the doors machined to Timely specification. Timely publishes a guide for writing the machining sheets. A door prepped to that spec lines up with the frame’s hinge and strike preps.

Item	Detail
Fire rating with glass in the opening	Up to 45 minutes
S-Series (20 gauge) jamb depths	3 3/4, 4 5/8, 4 7/8, 5 and 5 3/8 in.
C-Series (18 gauge) jamb depths	3 1/2, 3 3/4, 4, 4 5/8, 4 7/8, 5, 5 3/8, 6 5/8, 6 7/8 and 7 1/4 in.
C-Series custom jamb depths	2 5/8 to 13 in., in 1/8-in. increments
Adjustable frame range	4 1/2 to 10 1/2 in., six closure pieces
Mullion jamb depths	3 1/2 to 13 in.
Listed finishes	Western White (SC107), Primer (SC109), 430 bright stainless steel (ES204), 304 #4 brushed stainless steel (ES206); semi-gloss unless specified
Casing profiles	TA-8 Standard Steel with MiterGard; TA-23, TA-28 and TA-28M aluminum; TA-30 Colonial steel; TA-35 Colonial PVC; wood supplied by others
Casing clips	High-carbon steel, de-burred, heat-treated, zinc-coated

Installing Timely frames

Set the frame in the opening, shim it plumb and square, and check the reveal against the door. Then fasten through the frame into the studs. Timely publishes written installation guides, so follow the one for the line you’re hanging. A Timely frame in an exterior location needs an overhang or flashing to keep moisture from collecting on it. On any fire-rated Timely frame, place one fastener every 11 inches.

Wood trim over a Timely frame

A common worry with steel frames in a house is that the doors will look like a clinic hallway. Timely’s answer is simple: you can put any wood trim you prefer over its frames. Wood casing goes over the frame face with a nail gun or trim head screws, the same as trimming any door. Once the trim is painted with the rest of the house, the steel is hidden behind it.

Choose a casing profile with enough back clearance for the screw heads that hold the frame. Some customers who use wood casing want no clips on the frame, and Timely offers a frame specification with nail holes and oval slots only (NHOS). For metal studs, Timely lists hardened 15-gauge electro-galvanized, heat-treated finish nails in 1 1/4, 1 1/2 and 1 3/4-inch lengths. On a 90-minute frame, and on any glazed opening rated 45 or 60 minutes, apply wood casing with hot melt glue or contact adhesive. On Timely’s other fire-rated frames, nails or finish head screws are fine on jambs and mullions.

Timely steel and aluminum casing

Timely’s own casings snap onto the frame with patented sustained-tension clips. The clips hold the casing flush against the wall where the drywall is uneven, which closes gaps and keeps the miters tight. Because the casing snaps on, it comes off later if the owner wants to change colors. Timely will match a custom color from a submitted color chip. On the standard steel casing, MiterGard is factory-attached to the vertical casing to protect against open miters, and an exposed section slides into the header casing. A splicing clip extends a casing profile to fit the opening. Timely casing can also go on a frame that wasn’t prepared to accept it, or on any flat surface, including a hollow metal frame.

Every casing except wood needs a reinforcement bracket underneath. The bracket goes on the frame face and screws to the studs. Door guards and regular-arm closers mount by drilling and tapping through the casing into that bracket, so set the bracket before the casing goes on. For a 3-0 x 6-8 opening, Timely recommends four clips on each upright and three on the header.

Other Timely lines and the warranty

Timely also lists an Adjustable (A Series) frame, a Kerfed (CK Series) frame, a Double Egress (DE-Series) frame, and Single/Dutch and Pair Communicating configurations.

Timely warrants its frames and Pocket Trim Kits to the original purchaser against defects in materials and workmanship for one year from purchase, provided they’re installed to its written instructions with appropriate doors, hardware and anchors. Coverage is limited to repair, replacement or refund, with no labor, and it excludes dents and paint scrapes from normal building use.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you install a Timely door frame?

A Timely frame goes in after the drywall is hung and finished, and the screws that fasten it to the studs end up hidden under the casing. Until then, keep the frames stored dry and handle them carefully. Good storage and handling practice is a warranty condition, along with installing to the written instructions. Anchor the door and hardware with the reinforcement and anchors their makers recommend, not whatever is in the truck.

Are Timely frames just for commercial buildings?

No. Timely lists assisted living, medical offices, non-surgical hospitals and buildings of worship as uses, and the same frames go in houses. On a church or clinic job, work out which openings need a fire rating before ordering, because a rated opening changes how the trim can be attached.

Do Timely door frames come with a fire label?

A rated Timely frame carries a label, and a distributor approved under Intertek’s program may buy those labels and apply them at its own facility instead of at the factory. Before a frame goes into a rated opening like the house-to-garage door, check that its label matches the rating the opening needs, because the label is what an inspector looks for.