In our basement we have an old door that was apparently wet-set in the wall when it was built. The metal frame has concrete in every nook and cranny, ,but the door has to be replaced. It has an old pet door in it, has a huge dent in the outside and isn't insulated and won't shut right. It makes our basement ice cold.

The problem will be replacing just the door. I ASSUME it is possible to replace just the door in the old frame, but what kind of pitfalls might I encounter? I will of course buy a new 36"exterior door and not use the pre-hung frame.

Any advice on this venture is greatly appreciated.

 

Not the response you are looking for. I'm sure, but I would replace the frame also. I've replaced several on schools.
No 2 ways about it, its a PITA.

Those frames sometimes break loose pretty good once you remove the threshold and pry the jambs in to center at the bottom with a crow bar. If your lucky you will be able to swing the whole works out from the bottom. Watch your fingers from falling concrete inside the jambs and the weight of the header coming down though. Put some plywood down on the inside floor also.

You are also likely going to want a sawzall with a metal cutting blade. If a jamb hangs up, you can cut a lower portion out (find a void in the concrete in the frame) and then have the option of dropping that side straight down off of the header fill. A lot of the concrete should break loose with the frame. Unfortunately there seems to always be some chiseling to be done. No way around that.

I think by just replacing the door, you may have some more headaches than you planned.

Another thought, Can you spare the room by putting a smaller prehung door and frame inside the existing frame opening? Just have to use wider trim then to cap the old frame.

 

Thank you for the reply but removing the frame is not an option. Without going into everything, the way it is set into the concrete will require way to much expense and effort than it is worth. I'm either going to change just the door or leave it as is. There are j bolts wet set in the concrete and it is reinforced. This is like a door for a frigin bank vault, so the frame is not going anywhere.

What headaches are you referring to when replacing just the door?
Thanks for the reply.

 

When you remove the hinges from the old door, use them back, as they are matched to the ones attached to the metal frame. Measure accurately for squareness of the frame and transfer this to the door. You may have to shave off the edges slightly for a smooth fit. Will you be replacing with a steel or wooden door?

 

Thanks for the reply. It will be a steel door. One of those standard exterior pre-hung doors from Lowes/Home depot.

 

J-Bolts? How in the world did you find that out without digging into it? I see now why you are hesitant

What kind of hinges are on your existing door? That would be the first thing I would look at. If they are the square cornered 4 x 4 found on heavy commercial doors, the Lowes/HD probably wont do it for you. Also your door thickness may be an issue as the ones I work with are 2" which would leave you with some filling to do at the strikes.
Can you post a photo of a hinge, including the frame and door in the photo? Also, what is the hinge size?

 

In addition, save your money and buy just a slab, not the prehung. What will you do with the frame you paid for? Prepunched slab will work, but you will have to mortise the hinges to match the frame. We'll wait on the pix http://forum.doityourself.com/electr...your-post.html