Hi all. I was hoping you might be able to help me solve a minor, but fairly annoying problem I have with my door. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

My landlord's handyman recently replaced the doorway to my apartment (because of fire codes or something), and frankly, did a poor job. There is a lot of space between the door and the doorframe (forgive me if this is not the correct terminology) at the top, bottom, and particularly the left side - the side with the door handle and latches. I can fit my index in between the door and frame in some places on the latch side. This is a problem, because this door opens into the hallway of the apartment building, which is basically open to the elements and to anyone who wanders by the building (this is in brooklyn, fyi). There is constantly a cold draft coming through it, I can hear everything that goes on in the hallway, and I do not feel that it is very safe or secure to have so much space there. There's also plenty of space below the door for mice or chipmunks to wander in, if they so desired... Come to think of it, I guess it's not that minor at all.

My question is, is there anything that I can do myself to do a better job of sealing up the doorway, both from the elements and from passers-by? Anything inexpensive that does not involve replacing the door, that is. FYI, this is a heavy metal (presumably steel..?) door, as is the frame. I have thought about padding out the door frame with wood or something, or foam.. Neither of these would be too attractive though. In addition, the spaces around the door are wider in some places than others. Anyway, what would you recommend I do to firmly seal up this door?

Thanks again!

 

Welcome to the forums! Short answer....no. Don't even attempt to repair the work of the person hired by your landlord. Jump up and down on your landlord's desk until he/she gets the hack back to do the job right. Have the landlord visit your apartment and view the shoddy workmanship, take pictures of the problems and notify them in writing, certified letter of the problem. You will be held liable if something goes wrong with the install, should you booger with it.

 

Thanks. I was afraid you might say that. I realize that is probably the wiser choice, and it certainly may come to that. But I was hoping to avoid such a confrontation, as my landlord is a sweet old lady who live down the block and is giving us a great price, and the guy who did the door is her cousin (or something similar). I was hoping there might be some easier solution to the problem. Does no one know any other way around it?

 

The only way I would touch the door, except to go in and out it, would be to get a letter of indemnification from your landlord and a letter of permission so you can repair the door yourself. Remember it is a business, not a social thing, and her cousin is a hack. With that said, the door needs to be removed and installed plumb and square. Maybe her cousin left his level in his Mercedes the day he installed it, but you should have no cracks and the door should sit firmly against the stops.