Install Wooden Screen Door - How hard is it?


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Old 07-25-14, 10:35 AM
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Question Install Wooden Screen Door - How hard is it?

How hard is it to install hinges on a new wood screen door and install it in an existing doorway? Do you need to chisel out for the hinges on the door and the surrounding frame in order for it to close properly? Does it require special carpentry skills to be able to install?

The door I'm ordering has removable screen panels, so it will be fairly light weight. I'm having a technician do the measurements.

Thanks very much for the input. If it is possible to do myself, I'd like to save the $450 install fee.
 
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Old 07-25-14, 10:39 AM
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I've painted a lot more wooden screen doors than I've installed but I think most screen door hinges mount on the outside of the wood [not recessed] I double checked my back porch screen door and that's how the hinges are on it.
 
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Old 07-25-14, 11:02 AM
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For $450, I would definitely DIY. Then you can feel justified going out and blowing that money on yourself. LOL

Depending on what sort of hinges you use, you may or may not mortise. With butt style hinges, (where the hinge is concealed when the door is shut, with only the "knuckles" and hinge pin protruding to the outside) you usually want to mortise out the hinges in both the door and the jamb/trim. Some butt hinges that are a little more decorative might be face mounted, if the door is going to be flush with the face of the trim. (you see both sides of the butt joint this way... but when you face mount a hinge onto a door, the screw length is limited by the thickness of the door.) How easy or hard it is going to be depends largely on the width of the door v.s. the width of the opening and whether or not the opening is plumb and square and whether or not the sides are parallel.

It's best to measure carefully... set the door in the opening before you begin... see how it fits... whether or not you will need to trim the top or bottom or maybe shave the sides at all. Once you get the door to fit with a nice even 1/8" reveal around it, then you're ready to mark the hinge locations.
 
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Old 07-25-14, 01:35 PM
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Question Link to hinge

Here is the hinge I was looking at

Half Surface, Solid Brass, Adjustable Ball Tip Spring Hinge : Crown Ci...

The description said this type of hinge had a spring to make the door close.
 
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Old 07-25-14, 01:43 PM
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That's a good choice. half surface mount/ half edge mounted.
 
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Old 07-25-14, 01:52 PM
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Door hinge question

Sorry, stupid question here -- so with this type of hinge the door gets chisled out to make the hinge lie flat, but the doorway itself does not need to be altered. Correct?
 
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Old 07-25-14, 02:11 PM
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Like I mentioned before, it depends on how much clearance there is between the door and the frame. If there is plenty of room you certainly would not want to mortise it, as that would only make the gap on the latch side of the door even wider.

Since I can't see the doorway opening, the door or the hinge in person, its pretty hard to be definitive about it though.
 
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Old 07-26-14, 05:29 AM
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XSleeper has covered it all. I just want to emphasize, that the fit of the door to the opening is the hardest part. It may require some trimming with a saw or plane.
 
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Old 07-26-14, 05:36 AM
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Hinge

so with this type of hinge the door gets chisled out to make the hinge lie flat, but the doorway itself does not need to be altered. Correct?
Not exactly. The decorative leaf of the hinge surface mounts to the door and the square leaf mounts to the door jamb. Mortising should not be necessary.
 
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Old 08-19-14, 07:23 AM
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Thanks for helping with the hinge questions. Now I have a question about the depth of the door jamb itself. The door jamb is 1 1/4 inch deep. The door I plan to purchase is 1 1/8 inch thick. There is no way to add trim to the door way to make the jamb deeper. Will a door with only 1/8 gap work?
 
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Old 08-19-14, 10:23 AM
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That sounds like it's perfect.
 
 

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