We are in full-swing of a new room addition. We purchased an exterior -inswing door, but we need it to be an outswing door. It will take 3 weeks to get an outswing door (pre-hung) here via Lowes AND an additional $100. My question is: Are the instructions to change swing to an outswing the same as to an interior door?

 

The question doesn't make sense. There are no instructions. Change it to what FROM what? You stated you're getting a new outswing door. So it sounds like you don't need to change anything on the incorrect existing door since you're getting an entire new one. I'm guessing that you may mean one of the following:

A. Are the installation instructions for an exterior prehung outswing door the same as the installation instructions for an exterior prehung inswing door? If so, the answer is "yes." You would install them the same way; but the frames and sills are made different. Plus an outswing exterior door is not able to receive an outswing screen door.

B. Are the instructions to change an exterior door from inswing to outswing the same as the instructions to change an interior door from one hinge side to another? If so, the answer is no. First of all, there really aren't any instructions that officially exist to take an exterior inswing door and change it to and exterior outswing using the same frame. Interior doors do not have a sloped sill; in fact they have no sill at all (although they may sometimes have a low profile threshold). They have a flat door jamb with a removable stop nailed to them. An exterior door frame does not have a removable stop - it is rabbeted (a big notch is cut into it) that the door fits into. It's made completely different. You can change the swing of an interior door, just relocate the hinges the other way and notch out the jamb as needed for the hinges and strike - but with an exterior door, you'd have to cut away a significant portion of the frame, the weatherstrip groove would be on the wrong side, the sill's threshold would be misaligned and possibly trap water, and the interior side would have a big area vacated by the former door location. It would look bad.

C. Are the instructions to install a new outswing frame, but keep and reuse the existing inswing doors the same as instructions to change an interior door from one hinge side to another? No, for mostly the same reasons as "B." You might be able to reuse the existing doors, depending on how they're made, but it would be a somewhat different process and would not be ideal. Plus for an outswing door you'd want hinges that can not rust, (not plated hinges, but perhaps solid brass or stainless steel), and hinges that have non-removable hinge pins so that a burgular would not simply pop the pins off and open the door from the hinge side.

There might be other interpretations of your question, but it was worded in an ambiguous way so I'm not sure. Hopefull I covered the correct intent of your question. Good luck!

 

I'm guessing that you want to know if it's possible for you to turn your inswinging exterior door into an outswinging exterior door. Simply put, the answer is NO, it's not possible. Tru_Blue covered most of the reasons why under his comments (B).

Waiting for the right door shouldn't stop any of your work from proceeding. You can paint and trim everything but the door. No big deal.

 

If you are using it as an exterior door, return the in-swing (assuming that you haven't hung it), pay the $100 and wait for the 3 weeks. The other option would be to return the door to Lowes (same assumption), get a refund, and go to a door shop or a lumberyard with a door shop. You might be able to save a week and MAYBE $25. Find the door shop or lumberyard and get a quote and the lead time, THEN make the decision.

 

And make sure you invest in some hinge protectors.

A hammer, a screwdriver and 30 seconds and someone could be in your house without ever breaking glass or needing a key.

There's a reason why most residential exterior doors are inswing.

 

What do you mean by hinge protectors?

Usually they are not something that can be added on after a hinge is installed. Usually hinge protectors - devices which prevent the pin of a hinge hung on the outside of the jamb from being extracted - are small set screws threaded into the hinge knuckle. When tightened inward the screw enters a slot cut into the pin and thereby prevents its removal. Such set screws would be pretty tough for the average person to install into a hinge after the fact. They are ordinarily part and parcel of the "security hinge."

Another form of hinge protection that's built into the hinge is the non-removable pin hinge. Whether it's peened on the end or spot welded, the pin can't be removed from the hinge without a small explosion. This too is called a "security hinge."

 

As a locksmith with over 15 years in the business, one of the first things I learned how to do is install a cheap method of keeping a door from being removed after the hinge pins have been removed. Get a couple large nails, at least 4" long. Remove one of the screws from the top hinge. (Just one. You'll still have enough to support the door.) Drive the nail almost all the way into the frame, through the hole. Leave about 3/8" of the nail exposed. Next cut the head of the nail off.

Next, remove the corresponding screw from the other hinge, and you're there. The remaining part of the nail goes into the hole from where you removed the second screw. It goes in far enough to use the hinge as a block for the nail, and the door cannot be pulled out of the frame from the outside. It is even better if it is done on the top and bottom hinge. That way, the door cannot be wiggled out of the frame.

cuedude