Exterior Garage Walk In Door
#1
10-21-13, 11:20 AM
Exterior Garage Walk In Door
Thanks for any help anybody can give me.
I've been working on repairing sections of the garage at a time, get it better sealed and structually safe. Just started the back side of the garage. Replaced some sections of the plywood do to weather damage, sill plate was pretty much rotted to a crumble and put new insulation under the siding. Going to work on the other side wall here soon too for the same issues.
My question is the garage is old, door doesn't really serve a purpose other than keeping theives out and was pretty much just rigged in so what's the best way to put a new door in?. No seal on the bottom or threshold, there is about a 2" gap from the bottom of the door to the foundation (invitation for mice) and the I have to lock it since the door jam is pretty much ate up where there was once a lock and knob. The rough opening seems to be in fair shape though i know it wouldn't hurt to redo the frame for it. It appears that the door jam consists of 1x6's....not extremely sure since there is some metal flashing/siding covering it but I know it 1" by 4" or 6". The opening of the door from the top measuring from the bottom of the door jam to the foundation is about 80 3/4 and wide from the inside of the door jams is about 30 3/4. A prehung door is pretty much out of the question being I'm pretty sure there is not a way of doing it without ripping down out the siding and not really wanting to do that but will if it is necessary......
I'd like to be able to put a door knob and dead bolt I actually latch the door and not it blow open and would like to get the bottom sealed up from weather. Currently have a portable kerosene heater in there and look to just putting in a window a/c unit for summer.
I know installing a new door isn't hard but the odd size of the open, the huge gap at the bottom and the way the old one was installed kind of has me stumped. I am new to the DIY home improvement scene and really enjoy doing is so not lookign to pay someone to do it nor is it in the budget.
I will try to post some pictures this evening when I get the chance so you guys will possibly have a better understanding of what I am talking about.
Like I said, any help is appreciated.
I've been working on repairing sections of the garage at a time, get it better sealed and structually safe. Just started the back side of the garage. Replaced some sections of the plywood do to weather damage, sill plate was pretty much rotted to a crumble and put new insulation under the siding. Going to work on the other side wall here soon too for the same issues.
My question is the garage is old, door doesn't really serve a purpose other than keeping theives out and was pretty much just rigged in so what's the best way to put a new door in?. No seal on the bottom or threshold, there is about a 2" gap from the bottom of the door to the foundation (invitation for mice) and the I have to lock it since the door jam is pretty much ate up where there was once a lock and knob. The rough opening seems to be in fair shape though i know it wouldn't hurt to redo the frame for it. It appears that the door jam consists of 1x6's....not extremely sure since there is some metal flashing/siding covering it but I know it 1" by 4" or 6". The opening of the door from the top measuring from the bottom of the door jam to the foundation is about 80 3/4 and wide from the inside of the door jams is about 30 3/4. A prehung door is pretty much out of the question being I'm pretty sure there is not a way of doing it without ripping down out the siding and not really wanting to do that but will if it is necessary......
I'd like to be able to put a door knob and dead bolt I actually latch the door and not it blow open and would like to get the bottom sealed up from weather. Currently have a portable kerosene heater in there and look to just putting in a window a/c unit for summer.
I know installing a new door isn't hard but the odd size of the open, the huge gap at the bottom and the way the old one was installed kind of has me stumped. I am new to the DIY home improvement scene and really enjoy doing is so not lookign to pay someone to do it nor is it in the budget.
I will try to post some pictures this evening when I get the chance so you guys will possibly have a better understanding of what I am talking about.
Like I said, any help is appreciated.
Last edited by totty101; 10-21-13 at 12:29 PM. Reason: Need to add more
#3
10-21-13, 02:47 PM
Was trying to get out of having to do that but if it is suggested, I'm sure it's something I handle. If I did that I would just be able to do a prehung door.
I'll get some pictures and post them tonight.
I'll get some pictures and post them tonight.
#4
10-21-13, 04:28 PM
Group Moderator
Once you remove the old 1x6 jambs, you will probably have a rough opening that will be big enough for a 30" exterior prehung door, which is what I'd suggest you get. Without any detailed pictures its hard to give much advice, so we'll look for those.
#5
10-22-13, 06:52 PM
Below are some pictures I took so hopefully this will clarify my issue. If not I can get more pictures. Just let me know what you need.
Also I was wondering how do I match the rough opening measurement to a door size? The wife measured while she was at home tonight and I believe the measurement was 33.5" wide by 83.5" tall. Does that mean I need to get a 34"x84" door? Not sure what the rule of thumb is. I know when measuring windows your rough opening doesn't match the actually size of the window.....sort of like lumber. A 2x4 isn't really 2x4 its roughly 1.5x3.5.
Like I said I am new to this stuff, have little knowledge of home improvement so any help it is greatly appreciated.
Also I was wondering how do I match the rough opening measurement to a door size? The wife measured while she was at home tonight and I believe the measurement was 33.5" wide by 83.5" tall. Does that mean I need to get a 34"x84" door? Not sure what the rule of thumb is. I know when measuring windows your rough opening doesn't match the actually size of the window.....sort of like lumber. A 2x4 isn't really 2x4 its roughly 1.5x3.5.
Like I said I am new to this stuff, have little knowledge of home improvement so any help it is greatly appreciated.
#6
10-22-13, 08:18 PM
Group Moderator
Like I said, you probably need a 30" door. A 30" door will measure roughly 31 1/2" wide, and will require a 32" (or up to 32 1/2") rough opening. If your opening is a little larger than this, you will need to pad it out with some lumber... or maybe some plywood.
A 32" door would require a 34" (or up to 32 1/2") rough opening.
The rough opening is the distance between the 2x4 or 2x6 framing, so you would not include any 3/4" jambs in this measurement, since they will need to be removed in order to fit the prehung door in the opening.
If the rough opening is exactly 33 1/2" wide... well, a 32" door might fit, but if the rough opening isn't perfectly plumb, you won't have any room to shim the door to shift it around to plumb it up inside the rough opening.
It's also likely that you will need some tools to do this... perhaps a sawzall and a table saw. And the aluminum wrap on the outside of the trim will need to be replaced. You could use PVC trim in its place, which is also white and can always be painted, if desired.
A 32" door would require a 34" (or up to 32 1/2") rough opening.
The rough opening is the distance between the 2x4 or 2x6 framing, so you would not include any 3/4" jambs in this measurement, since they will need to be removed in order to fit the prehung door in the opening.
If the rough opening is exactly 33 1/2" wide... well, a 32" door might fit, but if the rough opening isn't perfectly plumb, you won't have any room to shim the door to shift it around to plumb it up inside the rough opening.
It's also likely that you will need some tools to do this... perhaps a sawzall and a table saw. And the aluminum wrap on the outside of the trim will need to be replaced. You could use PVC trim in its place, which is also white and can always be painted, if desired.
#7
10-23-13, 07:46 AM
Prehung door is what I have been leaning more to.
As far as the rough opening I am not exacly sure what it is. I'm not home during the weeks usually and the wife measured while she was there but can't remember exactly (go figure lol). Friday i will measure it and get the exact measurements and get back to you. May just be simpler to go to Lowes too
As far as tools I am pretty positive I have everything I need to do the job.
I have a sliding miter saw, sawsall, hand circular saw (I can cut almost as straight as a table saw), oscillating tool, impact, drill, typical hand tools, etc.
As far as the rough opening I am not exacly sure what it is. I'm not home during the weeks usually and the wife measured while she was there but can't remember exactly (go figure lol). Friday i will measure it and get the exact measurements and get back to you. May just be simpler to go to Lowes too
As far as tools I am pretty positive I have everything I need to do the job.
I have a sliding miter saw, sawsall, hand circular saw (I can cut almost as straight as a table saw), oscillating tool, impact, drill, typical hand tools, etc.
#8
10-23-13, 04:36 PM
Group Moderator
Sounds good.
That should have said (up to 34 1/2"). brain fart.
A 32" door would require a 34" (or up to 32 1/2") rough opening.
