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Installing Prehung Exterior Door / Screen Door Question

Installing Prehung Exterior Door / Screen Door Question


  #1  
Old 10-08-07, 07:38 AM
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Installing Prehung Exterior Door / Screen Door Question

I'm looking at replacing the old exterior door of my house with one that comes prehung and looking at my old door frame i started to wonder if i would have to remove my screen door as well to install the new exterior door?

It looks like they share the same jamb , but without starting to strip it down i can't tell. Would i have to remove the exterior screen door as well to install the new insulated steel exterior door??

I hope that what i've written makes sense.

Thanks Gord
 
  #2  
Old 10-08-07, 03:13 PM
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Yes. And if your old door has a sloped sill, you will probably remove it along with the old door frame when you do your tearout. New prehung doors usually sit inside a rough opening that is flat on the bottom, so you will need to frame the bottom of your opening in so that it is flush or slightly above your subfloor. If your door needs to swing over a throw rug, it's critical that you get the bottom of the rough opening the right height. Sometimes this may make the opening too short and it means you'll have to cut the opening out so that it's a little taller. Prehung doors usually need a RO that is at least 82" tall. For a 36" door, a RO of 38 1/4 x 82 1/4 is ideal. (+ or - 1/4").
 
  #3  
Old 10-08-07, 03:54 PM
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Originally Posted by XSleeper
Yes. And if your old door has a sloped sill, you will probably remove it along with the old door frame when you do your tearout. New prehung doors usually sit inside a rough opening that is flat on the bottom, so you will need to frame the bottom of your opening in so that it is flush or slightly above your subfloor. If your door needs to swing over a throw rug, it's critical that you get the bottom of the rough opening the right height. Sometimes this may make the opening too short and it means you'll have to cut the opening out so that it's a little taller. Prehung doors usually need a RO that is at least 82" tall. For a 36" door, a RO of 38 1/4 x 82 1/4 is ideal. (+ or - 1/4").
Thanks for the reply ,, would i then after reinstalling the entry door , be able to reinstall the screen door?
 
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Old 10-08-07, 05:45 PM
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Yes, provided your current storm door is a standard size such as 36x80.
 
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Old 10-08-07, 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by XSleeper
Yes, provided your current storm door is a standard size such as 36x80.
yes it is std size ,, i believe the size you gave above.

but another question if you don't mind ,, the prehung doors i've seen being installed on the diy pages , show it being installed from outside the house and having a trim that covers up the outside and it being nailed and shimmed from the inside.

if i was to put the storm door back on , how would i be able to do this with the trim ? or can the door be installed from the inside of the house?

sorry for sounding so dense ,, but i like to be able to have this clear in my head before i go ahead and do anything on my own , if i don't think that i can do it , i'll have to pay someone to do it and i'd rather be able to do myself.
 
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Old 10-08-07, 08:03 PM
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Prehung exterior doors usually have a brickmould that is preinstalled as the exterior trim. Many people use this as a sort of "nailing fin" to install the door. But like you mentioned, you still need to shim the door- especially behind the hinges, and at least 4 places down the latch side. You do this shimming from the inside. When you set the door into the opening, you center the bottom of the door between the baseboard so that it's even on both sides. You ensure that the threshold is level. (It's good to check this before you even set the door in the opening). Then you plumb the hinge side, shim it, and put 3 long screws through each hinge into the stud, being careful not to pull the hinges out of line with one another. (a 78" level is very helpful) Then you shim the latch side. When the door opens and closes, it should hit evenly on the weatherstrip. If there is a gap at the top or bottom, the door is racked and needs to be pushed in tighter on one corner or pushed out farther on the opposite corner.

Once you have the reveals around the door the way you like them, and it operates the way you like, doesn't sag, isn't racked... then you would nail the outside edge of the brickmould to the house, ensuring that it is straight and hopefully plumb by using the 78" level as a straightedge. Sometimes people nail the brickmould on, then find out that the door was spread in the middle. Usually it's 40" across the door if you measure outside to outside on the brickmould... at the top, middle and bottom of the door. This will leave exactly 36" between the brickmould for your storm door. After the brickmould has been nailed off, then you would install the storm door.

If you have any trouble you can always post back. And there's lots of old door posts you can read too.
 
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Old 10-17-07, 04:44 AM
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Another Door Questiion

Can anyone help? We need to find a back exterior door that is not standard size. The measurements of the door are 30" x 77 1/4" ( 6' 4").

We also need it to only have lights @ the top such as a fan light or 2 panel lights @ the top. We have located the 30" but none that are that height.

Does anyone have these size doors? Will we need to go custom? If so, any suggestions for custom doors as we really don't want to spend alot of money. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
  #8  
Old 10-17-07, 05:34 AM
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Try a modular / mobile home supplier.
 
 

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