Door Jamb Replacement with Sidelites

Evening all,

Have a few questions about my front door. The jamb that attaches to the sidelite is rotted out. When I push on the door, the rotted part, along with the sidelite, moves about 1/4 inch. Is it worth the effort to replace the frame or should I really consider replacing the entire thing with a pre-hung door with sidelites?

 

It is really not feasible to replace just part of a prehung unit. That jamb is fastened from the top and bottom in the factory, so just replacing the jamb is not the answer.

If your house is NOT built on a concrete slab, you could maybe try to secure your existing jamb with some long screws. Get a 6" long 1/8" drill bit, hold it where it needs to be positioned and drill at a steep angle down into either side of the jamb and down through the sill. Your drill bit may need to go through some aluminum to make a pilot hole for the screws.

Then drive a couple #9 x 4 1/2" long torx screws down into each side. The idea is that the 2 screws will cross each other like a X, and help reinforce the weak connection on bottom. Then caulk the bottom perimeter with a white sealant like OSI Quad.

It might help it last a little longer because it sure would be a shame to have to replace the entire prehung unit (and sidelights) just due to a little rot.

 

Thanks for the reply. That's what I was afraid of! No, we're on a slab unfortunately. I figured it was somehow secured from underneath after really looking closely at it. The sidelites have the foam seals starting to warp and poke into the view of the glass and looks like crap. Was going to just replace the lites and repair the jamb but that doesn't seem reasonable. Damn. Thank you for the input!

 

Since it's a slab you could do the same thing but you would need to use an SDS rotary hammer to drill the long holes and then use long tapcons and countersink the heads. Determining the right length of tapcon will be the hard part. Too short and it won't grab, too long and it won't drive in all the way.

You could also drill pilot holes with the rotary hammer (as big as the nail is) and then use large 16d hot dipped galvanized nails... put a piece of copper wire (like #12 romex ground wire) in the hole then drive the nail in. And countersink the heads on the nails that you are toenailing.