Changing Door to Window

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07-10-16, 11:20 PM

johnnyquiroz11

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Changing Door to Window

I have a sliding glass door in my master bedroom that was originally a window. The previous owners turned it into a sliding glass door to access a sunroom that they also added. The sunroom is in bad shape now (20+ years after it was built), my yard is pretty small so my wife and I decided we would rather take it down to have more yard space. I found this short how to guide for replacing a door with a window - How to do a Door-to-Window Conversion | Interior Design Styles and Color Schemes for Home Decorating | HGTV

It seems relatively straightforward but I know that oftentimes these guides make projects sound much easier than they really are. Has anyone completed anything similar? Anything not in the guide that I would need? Should I even attempt this or hire a pro? The door is 6ft W and 7 ft H. I have basic carpentry skills.

Any help is much appreciated.

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07-11-16, 02:57 AM

chandler

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Welcome to the forums! Installing a window in a door opening is much easier than the opposite. Yes, the instructions were very simplistic, as in most TV show type instructions. They can gut an entire bathroom in a 15 second spritz

A couple of things not mentioned. Before the jacks are installed, they failed to mention that you need to install a pressure treated bottom plate, THEN the jacks. Close the opening down to the window's rough opening and install the cripples. I would double the plate in the window opening to allow for proper nailing of a skirt trim, so allow for that in your measurements.

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07-11-16, 04:14 AM

marksr

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If you are somewhat handy it shouldn't be a big deal to diy. Does your house sit on a concrete slab or does it have floor joists? Shouldn't be a need for PT wood on the latter.

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07-11-16, 12:14 PM

johnnyquiroz11

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Thanks for the responses. My house is on a concrete slab.

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07-11-16, 04:52 PM

marksr

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Then the bottom plate needs to be pressure treated and any nails/screws that go into it need to be rated for PT wood.

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Doors, Skylights and Windows
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takeadoe on Jul 04, 2016

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bap7635 on Jul 12, 2016

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