french doors not alligned

I bought a house w/ a set of exterior frech doors. They are inswing, double doors. Looking from the inside the top of the doors where they meet in the middle are lined up perfectly. Down at the bottom the left hand doors sticks out further than the right hand door and there is a gap between the two doors. How can I align these doors so they LOOK right. They work perfectly just don't look right

thanx

 

I'm not quite sure what you are trying to explain. A picture sure would help.

In a perfect world, doors should have an 1/8" gap all the way around the perimeter of both doors, and that gap should be straight, not tapered. If you look across the tops of both doors when they are closed, the gap there should be straight- one door should not hang lower, or be higher than the other as you observe the gap across the top of the doors.

The gap between the doors should also be straight. Neither door should drag excessively on the threshold as it opens and closes.

You likely have one door that stays closed the majority of the time, and it likely has a bolt that locks the door shut. One bolt should go up through the head of the door, and one bolt should go down into the threshold. You could check to make sure that the door is locked at both points.

I'm not sure if you are trying to say that the doors are not FLUSH with one another when they are closed? If so, the operating door probably is not sealing tightly against the astragal weatherstrip (the bar that the operating door closes against) at either the top or the bottom. This would indicate the door is racked, meaning the side jambs of the door are not both installed in the same plane. It would need to be at least partially uninstalled, bumped in or out as needed, and be reinstalled.

Perhaps something there will ring a bell, maybe you could try explaining the problem once more, or maybe snap and upload a picture. We'd like to help.

 

thank you. You guessed right. Here's your quote:
I'm not sure if you are trying to say that the doors are not FLUSH with one another when they are closed? If so, the operating door probably is not sealing tightly against the astragal weatherstrip (the bar that the operating door closes against) at either the top or the bottom. This would indicate the door is racked, meaning the side jambs of the door are not both installed in the same plane. It would need to be at least partially uninstalled, bumped in or out as needed, and be reinstalled.

The operating door( on the left) sticks out( doesn't go in all the way) approx 1/8 of an inch than the door on the right. Does this mean one jamb ( left vs. right) needs to be pushed in or out at the bottom or top? Can you tell me?
I will try and get a pic tomorrow as we have not moved in yet.

Thank you

 

OK, I think I understand now. But one more question. You say the left door (operating) sticks out about 1/8" farther than the right door (passive). And judging by your initial posting, it's only at the BOTTOM of the door and not the top?

To me, that would indicate that the top left corner of the door jamb/frame needs to be bumped IN toward the interior... or the top right corner of the right side door jamb/frame needs to be bumped OUT toward the exterior. That would flush up both doors at the bottom.

I'm guessing that when you bring the door almost closed, that when it's almost 1/8" away from passing the passive door, there is a larger gap at the bottom... maybe 1/4" or more.

If the sill of the door has been caulked to the subfloor you probably won't be able to make any adjustment on the bottom of the frame, but if it's not, it would be just the opposite of the above. (Bottom left needs to be moved out toward the exterior, bottom right needs to be moved in toward the interior.)

There's likely going to be a lot of finish nails or screws holding the door in place. But occasionally your "slam-bam" carpenter will just slap a door in and not anchor it to the rough opening in any way- it's simply flopping between the interior casing and the exterior brickmould. So if the door is loose, you might be able to tap it one way or the other, then hold it in place by sinking some long 3" screws through the fame of the door and into the studs. It could be that years of slamming the door has just loosened it up a little and it's moved slightly.

 

Thank you so much. I think you have described what I need to do to fix the door. I will try it this week and post back.
Once again thank you very much