Entry Door Issues..
#1
03-01-07, 09:14 AM
Entry Door Issues..
Hello. We installed an entry door with two sidelights. The door is in frame and the frame has been shimmed so that it's is square and plumb. However, when we shut the door, the top of the door is not flush with the frame and it lets in air. It needs to be brought up and in a little. The bottom is flush with the frame. This leads me to believe that the frame although square and plumb is somehow twisted. I haven't tried yet, but I thought longer screws in the hinges would help bring the up, but I can't see it bringing the door in. Any ideas of how to rectify this problem other than to take the door out and start over?
Thanks - Chad
Thanks - Chad
#2
03-01-07, 11:18 AM
Group Moderator
You are correct that the door is twisted. When you operate the door, shut it until the latch almost contacts the strike plate. Then observe the reveal along the edge of the door. You will probably notice that there is a 1/8" gap of light at the bottom, because the door is close to going shut there. But when you look at the top, there might be a 3/8" gap of light. That indicates that one side of the door is not in the same vertical plane as the other side.
To give you exact instructions, we'd need to know which way the door swings. But think of it this way: If you are shutting the door on the inside of the home and the gap is on the top latch side, the sidelight on that side (the latch side) of the door needs to be knocked IN toward the interior of the home on TOP, and knocked OUT away from the sheathing on the bottom. The opposite adjustment can be done on the opposite sidelight... knocking the sidelight on the hinge side OUT away from the sheathing on TOP, and IN toward the interior of the home on the bottom.
If the door is sagging at all (larger gap along the top of the door on the latch side when compared with the gap above the door on the hinge side) then you need to jack the entire frame of the door (on top) toward the hinge side in order to raise the door, while jacking the frame of the door (on bottom) toward the latch side. Putting longer screws through the door hinge would have no effect since they would only go into the sidelight mullion. It could also be that your floor has a dip in it, and putting a shim under the entire unit below the hinge side mullion would also serve to lift the door slightly on the latch side. Usually an installer will check all his measurements with a level before deciding which adjustment is best to make. While you always try to get doors level and plumb, in the end, what the level says is overruled by whatever adjustment is necessary to get the door to shut and seal properly.
To give you exact instructions, we'd need to know which way the door swings. But think of it this way: If you are shutting the door on the inside of the home and the gap is on the top latch side, the sidelight on that side (the latch side) of the door needs to be knocked IN toward the interior of the home on TOP, and knocked OUT away from the sheathing on the bottom. The opposite adjustment can be done on the opposite sidelight... knocking the sidelight on the hinge side OUT away from the sheathing on TOP, and IN toward the interior of the home on the bottom.
If the door is sagging at all (larger gap along the top of the door on the latch side when compared with the gap above the door on the hinge side) then you need to jack the entire frame of the door (on top) toward the hinge side in order to raise the door, while jacking the frame of the door (on bottom) toward the latch side. Putting longer screws through the door hinge would have no effect since they would only go into the sidelight mullion. It could also be that your floor has a dip in it, and putting a shim under the entire unit below the hinge side mullion would also serve to lift the door slightly on the latch side. Usually an installer will check all his measurements with a level before deciding which adjustment is best to make. While you always try to get doors level and plumb, in the end, what the level says is overruled by whatever adjustment is necessary to get the door to shut and seal properly.
