When Should I Install My Doors?

When building new or remodeling, always taken into consideration when you should hang your doors. During new construction install yours doors after you have placed any showers or bathtubs that won’t fit into the house any other way. Many of these oversized units will not fit through doors once installed. However, most will fit through door rough openings.

So when installing any exterior doors be sure to have any plumbing or mechanical equipment place into the house before you install the door.

Installing a Storm Door

Installing a storm door

I was in a local big box store last week and a homeowner was purchasing a new exterior door and storm door. Has was asking the young man working at the counter a few questions. A few questions he had trouble answering, sooo.. I decided to butt-in a little. This prompted me to write an article for readers on strom door installation. While I am not providing complete instructions, as those will come with your door. Here is the article along with a few storm door installation tips.

Getting The Correct Jamb Width For Your Door Or Window Installation

This distance plus the thickness of the window is your jamb size

When you purchase or order a new door or window, one of the questions you should get asked, what is the jamb width of the wall you will be installing the unit? Ordering your door or window with the correct jamb size will save some work for you during installation.

To find the correct jamb width, you will need to measure the total thickess of the wall. Include exterior sheathing, wall stud thickness and interior covering. This is particularly important for doors. If you don’t have the correct jamb thickness, you will have to add an extension jamb. Proper installation and operation of the door is best with the correct jamb width.

Most windows will need to have extension jambs applied. This can be done at the jobsite or usually by the manufacturer. Most manufacturers will factory apply your needed size extension jamb. Common extension jambs for a 2×4 wall is 4-9/16″ and 6-9/16″ for a 2×6 wall.

Trying to Hang a Warped Door

I recently received an email from a customer having trouble with his door installation. Here is part of the conversation:

EZHangDoor:
Here is a link to some of the tips we discussed on the phone. This one is for the screw in the top hinge http://www.ezhangdoor.com/door-installation-tips-rough-opening-frame

Also, when first setting your door. Try to center it in the rough opening -(as close as possible)- no need to measure it. This will help keep even space around the door and will make the trim fit easier.

If you are still having problems you could email me a picture of the door installed. I could then lead you specifically on what to do. I have installed thousands of doors. I know they can be frustrating when they don’t work out right.

Scott:
Hello Randy,
I appreciate your quick responses on this matter. These days good customer service is very rare.I have put off installing more doors until this Friday as my oldest son is going to help me with these heavy solid core doors.I am not as young as I think I am anymore!I will keep you informed of the progress by e-mail.Again many thanks for the quick response on my problem!
Regards,
Scott

EZHangDoor:
Hi Scott,

Hmmm… I also seem to have that problem of not being as young as I think I am. However, I usually won’t admit it!

Some of the solid cores are EXTREMELY heavy– especially when the cores are made from particle board. Just don’t forget about the long screw through the center hole in the top hinge.

Just let me know if you need anything.

-Randy
Scott:
Hello Randy,
you will be happy to know that I have had success with your brackets.You will be sad to hear that the doors 4ea. that I have had trouble with are warped! There is no way in #@!! we were going to get these doors hung. We had good luck with 2ea. out of the six. I just got done with the door companies field rep at the house here and he has never seen doors warp that bad.So, now I get to apply finish to 4ea. new doors.Now doesn’t that sound like a lot of fun to you!Again I want to thank-you for all of your help and your product does work great.My oldest son who helped me this AM wishes he had heard of this product as he just gone done doing a basement finish at his house.He was impressed with this product as well.Have a nice weekend and maybe I will e-mail when I get the final job done with pictures.
Best Regards, Scott

This prompted me to write an artlicle on finishing doors to keep them from warping. I’m sure Scott took care when finishing his doors, many things can happen to a door in the time it reaches your house. Here are a few tips for finishing your door to keep your door from warping.

Pros and Cons of Steel vs. Fiberglass Entry Doors

When installing a new entry door get the facts first. What’s the difference between steel and fiberglass doors.

Building Walls

When building new construction or remodeling, it is best to stack your wall studs directly over the floor joist.. Guess what?…most floor joist are also placed on 16″ centers. There are many reason do this, let’s start with the obvious:

Keep reading here: How to Build a Wall

How to Protect the Subfloor While Building

Rain, rain and more rain. It always seems when you start that construction project the sun disappears and the rain begins. If this happens, the subfloor on your new addition or home can get a little water logged and swell up.

There is a couple different ways to help with protecting the floor. One way is to apply felt paper directly to the subfloor. While this won’t keep out all the water, it does do a good job. Staple it down prior to building your walls. Your walls will help hold it in place too. Another plus to using the paper is that it can be left down all the way through the drywall phase. Once the drywall is complete, just cut the edges and roll it up. It saves scraping drywall mudd and sweeping that awful drywall dust.

Another option is to use a wood sealer. Most any type will work; as you only need the protection until you get the roof on. Apply this with a roller or even a pump sprayer. While this may seem like a waste of time, and it could be it does not rain, It will make the finish flooring job go much smoother. The flatter the subfloor the nicer the finish floor will look.

There you have it… a couple of options to keep the floors looking good and keep the edges from swelling.

Preparation of the Opening is Critical for Exterior Door Installation

Add a sill protection instead of just caulking

Correctly preparing the opening is the first and most critical step when installing exterior doors. This step is often over looked, even by builders. Start by installing a sill protection on the floor. See how to correctly flash exterior doors.

Properly Intalling House Wrap Around Windows

Upside down martini glass

Start by cutting and upside down martini glass in the rough opening. This is the correct method before installing a window. Many times windows and doors are simply installed over the house wrap without any consideration for water infiltration. Don’t just rely on caulking to do the job, they break down over the years and will not perform well over long periods of time. Read the full article on Correctly Installing House Wrap.

I Just Painted My Door and the Paint Stuck to the Weatherstripping

Talk about frustration… You have installed your new door and the door latches and closes perfectly. You painstakenly paint the door and the finished product looks great. You let the door dry over night and close it. You awake the next day, only to have paint missing from the edges of your new door. Where is it? Transferred to the weatherstripping. Read this article on how to stop a door from sticking to the weatherstripping.