Storm Door Adjustment
#1
01-17-12, 06:27 PM
Storm Door Adjustment
Hello -
I have an anderson 3000 series full view storm door that I'm trying to learn how to adjust. The door was installed by homedepot over a year ago. I've noticed that the bottom left side of the door (handle side from the outside) along the weather stripping edge does not completely close against the frame. It leaves about a gap of 1/4inch on the left side (handle side). On the same side the weather-stripping seals completely at the top. No sticking/hanging up anywhere.
I've seen lots of guidance on adjusting various parts of the door but I haven't figured how you adjust this. I'm a real novice -- no experience hanging/adjusting doors so any guidance is helpful but i may need definitions/pictures if you are describing parts of the door.
thanks
I have an anderson 3000 series full view storm door that I'm trying to learn how to adjust. The door was installed by homedepot over a year ago. I've noticed that the bottom left side of the door (handle side from the outside) along the weather stripping edge does not completely close against the frame. It leaves about a gap of 1/4inch on the left side (handle side). On the same side the weather-stripping seals completely at the top. No sticking/hanging up anywhere.
I've seen lots of guidance on adjusting various parts of the door but I haven't figured how you adjust this. I'm a real novice -- no experience hanging/adjusting doors so any guidance is helpful but i may need definitions/pictures if you are describing parts of the door.
thanks
#2
01-17-12, 07:17 PM
Group Moderator
If the door was always this way, I'd say that they didn't plumb both sides of the jamb... but if this gap has opened up recently, I'd say that your door is warping with the temperatures, and might go back to the way it was once it warms up again.
But if you were going to try to adjust it, it's not really a simple adjustment, since it would basically involve removing the door partway in order to shim behind it. The screw that you would need to remove might be hidden behind a vinyl cover, which "sometimes" is difficult to remove and reuse.
In the simplest terms, what you would need to do (from the outside) is unscrew the z-bar (this is the part with the weatherstrip that the door closest against) and shim it out. Basically you want to pull the z-bar (and weatherstripping) out so that it meets the door. You would place shims behind the z-bar at each screw... 1/4" at the bottom, 3/16" a third of the way up, 1/8" halfway up, 1/16" two thirds of the way up, and the top would remain where it is.
By all rights you would actually try to do half the adjustment on the bottom latch side of the z-bar (pulling it out 1/8" away from the house), and the other half of the adjustment on the top hinge side of the z-bar ) by pulling the top hinge side z-bar 1/8" away from the house. But that might be a little complicated, so start with that first suggestion and see how it goes.
If you wanted to caulk the edge to cover up the shims I think I'd first off recommend a temporary caulking like DAP "peel-n-stick" so that if the door needs to be adjusted again in the spring you still have that option.
But if you were going to try to adjust it, it's not really a simple adjustment, since it would basically involve removing the door partway in order to shim behind it. The screw that you would need to remove might be hidden behind a vinyl cover, which "sometimes" is difficult to remove and reuse.
In the simplest terms, what you would need to do (from the outside) is unscrew the z-bar (this is the part with the weatherstrip that the door closest against) and shim it out. Basically you want to pull the z-bar (and weatherstripping) out so that it meets the door. You would place shims behind the z-bar at each screw... 1/4" at the bottom, 3/16" a third of the way up, 1/8" halfway up, 1/16" two thirds of the way up, and the top would remain where it is.
By all rights you would actually try to do half the adjustment on the bottom latch side of the z-bar (pulling it out 1/8" away from the house), and the other half of the adjustment on the top hinge side of the z-bar ) by pulling the top hinge side z-bar 1/8" away from the house. But that might be a little complicated, so start with that first suggestion and see how it goes.
If you wanted to caulk the edge to cover up the shims I think I'd first off recommend a temporary caulking like DAP "peel-n-stick" so that if the door needs to be adjusted again in the spring you still have that option.
