window to door conversion

I am taking a window out of my brick home (36-inch opening) and will install a 32-inch exterior door to exit to my rear porch/deck. The door is not prehung, so I must build my own jambs, etc.

Without burdening anyone with all the "how-to's" for this project, where can I find a good a-to-z source/reference for all the procedures (rough framing through finished product)?

The new door is a Stanley metal with full glass enclosure (interior mini-blinds) and is heavy, so being sure it is framed and installed properly is my concern here. All sources I have found is more for pre-hung doors.

I have good basic carpentry skills but am a little curious on obtaining proper hinge mortises, etc.


Thanks!

 

I know of no good reference book other than one on carpentry as it used in a school course.

But IF you get a door hung as well as you can buy a pre-hung unit, you are definitely on your way to being a first class carpenter ! There is FAR more to hanging one properly than meets the casual eye.

And you will have to have access to the materials used by prehanging companies to get the same quality.
Things like one piece stepped jambs with the stop moulding made as part of the jamb, versus taking a plain pc of 1by and nailing stop mouldling on top. I have a set of knives for my moulding machine that specifically takes 5/4 lumber and makes just such a jamb. Machine + knives, $2000....and that is a "toy" level machine.

The factory stuff also has a groove in the stop for the magnetic or bulb type weatherstripping....again, hard to find in the secondary market.
Good adjustable sills are important to maintain a good seal at the bottom of the door.....the normal aluminum sills you find are made for old doors that are already in the hole....not the same at all.

Then mortising the hinges. Older hinges were square corner and you could do a fair job with a hand chisel given enough time and effort. Todays hinges are all rounded corner because the mortising is done with a round bit in an industrial router. You can get jigs, or probably even make one to do this, with enough time and effort. I bought a HingeMate jig.....About $150 + whatever on your router and bit.

When you get done, unless you are going to use some wood like oak or cherry or something for the jambs that you just flat can't get from a pre-hung maker, I bet you will have developed a REAL appreciation for what it takes to hang a simple little door

Lots a luck.....

 

Thanks for your input....I knew there would be some craftsmanship involved here. Maybe I can talk the Home Depot peope in taking back the (special order) door slab and purchase a pre-hung one......sounds a whole lot simpler to me!

The only reason the slab was ordered in the first place was because I needed an 11 1/2-inch jamb (to include a brick wall outside). They couldn't furnish a pre-hung wider that 7 inches. Since purchasing the door itself, we decided to remove the brick near the door and replace it with siding.

Your words of wisdom rang very loud here in these ears!

Randy

 

Hmmm...11 1/2" jambs ?? A typical wall is about 4 1/2" from inside sheetrock to outside sheathing, then add about that again for brick veneer....You must have 2x6 walls or something else is going on there to need that much depth ???

Also, typically, the door is mounted to the sheating line and the brick butts to the moulding on the door, so even with 2x6 walls, you wouldn't need a jamb deeper than 7", if that. The door isn't mounted out flush with the brick.

Normally, no matter WHAT the wall thickness, I get a regular jambed door, and use wood to make an extension pc on the inside to get from the door jambs to the plane of the finish wall inside. It's easier to do that and get the extension jamb flush with the inside wall than trying to get a custom order to work out exactlly....

One other thought IF they won't take the special order door slab back.....order just a jamb/frame.....have them go ahead and route the mortises for the hinges, then all you have to do is cut a slight straight "notch" mortise on the door edge for the hinges to match up.....there is typically a wood edge to a metal door that sticks out about a 1/4" and the hinge takes out that 1/4 with the hinge sitting flush to the metal. THAT wouldn't be too big a deal.

and you can sing the Johnny Cash song "I got it one pc at a time"

 

My reply to you yesterday was being done from vague memory (this over-50 lunacy) and I did indeed paint a bigger than life description.

The custom jamb I wanted to order was not 11 1/2", it was 9". Reason for 9 being our door was going to swing OUT onto the porch (up against the brick veneer) and I wanted to fully swing the door open to be adjacent to the brick & molding by-passing any restrictions to its swing. Just wanted to clarify those details.

Anyway, the Home Depot people are now figuring out our best solution. The door is here in Baton Rouge and the Stanley folks are in Tupelo....so, a solution to obtaing the pre-hung is in the works.

And that Cash song, "Ah got it one pc at a time" ain't gonna fit no more, 'cuz now I'm being like "A boy named Sue" a'fore ah cut off a piece of my ear!

Thanks for all!

Randy