Step-by-Step
Overview: The homeowners and the old pro
1 of 1The homeowners
Robin and Danny, shown here with
1-year-old daughter Samantha,
moved into this 1992 house 3-1/2
years ago. With the door finished,
they plan to tackle window repairs
and then repaint the exterior. That
should keep them busy for a while!
Robin and Danny's front door
was dented and drafty. They
needed a new door, and we
needed a place to photograph a door
installation story. It was a perfect
match. Robin and Danny agreed to
install the door themselves with my
help. I've installed dozens of doors
throughout my carpentry career, so I
knew how to guide them through the
pitfalls. I have to confess, though, there
were a few times when I couldn't resist
jumping in to lend a hand. Still, the
new homeowners did a great job of
tearing out the old door and installing a
new one. The new door looked terrific—we were all happy with the results.
Here's how we went about the project.
Step 1: Measure the old door and order the new one
1 of 1Photo 1: Pry off the interior trim
Robin thought
this was a pretty
neat trick. Protecting
the wall with a
putty knife under
the pry bar meant
she wouldn't have
to repaint the entry.
One of the biggest mistakes homeowners
make is to grab a door off the
home center shelf and expect it to fit
right. So my first coaching task was to
help Robin and Danny measure for and
order the door. First we measured the
width and height of the door. Then
Robin carefully pried off the interior
trim (Photo 1) so we could measure the
rough opening, which is the width
between the studs
and the height
from the floor to
the header.
“Protecting
the wall with
a putty knife
saved the
wall paint.
Neat trick!”
— Robin
Next
we measured
from the back of
the outside trim,
or brick molding,
to the face of the
interior wall to
find the jamb width. Ordering the new
door with the right jamb width ensures
that the interior trim fits without the
need for added jamb extensions. Finally
we went back outside and measured the
width from the outside of the brick
molding and the height from the bottom
of the sill to the top of the exterior trim.
To avoid having to patch siding, it's best
to order a door assembly that will fill
the space. This may mean asking for
special exterior trim that's wider than
standard 2-in.-wide “brick molding.” If
you're ordering a door and sidelight(s),
you can adjust the width by substituting
a different size sidelight or by
adjusting the space between the door
and the sidelight. The door and sidelight
were assembled at the plant and
arrived as a single unit. Installation of a
door without a sidelight is the same.
With the door
size, jamb width
and dimensions
of the rough and
exterior opening
in hand, Robin
and Danny went
door shopping.
They discovered
that the standard
configuration of
a 3-ft. door and sidelight was a few
inches too narrow and 1/2 in. shorter
than their existing door and sidelight.
The salesperson recommended spending
a little extra money to add a spacer
between the door and the sidelight.
This corrected the width problem.
Robin and Danny could have ordered a
custom height door and frame for several
hundred dollars more, but they
decided to live with the height difference
and cover the gap with trim later.
We decided to add a strip of plywood
under the sill to raise the door slightly,
so in the end the shorter height worked
out perfectly.
“I was
shocked at
all the door
options available.
The
choices were
limitless.”
— Danny
Robin and Danny wanted a door that
looked like wood, minus the maintenance
hassles. They chose a Therma-Tru fiberglass door with a surprisingly
realistic-looking oak wood grain. The
cost of the door and sidelight unit was
$1,300. Fortunately (for us, anyway!),
the door assembly plant wasn't too
busy and the door was delivered about
10 days later.
Step 2: Remove the old door
1 of 3Photo 2: Tear off the brick molding
Danny cut the
caulk along
the edges of the
brick molding with
a utility knife so it
would be easier to
remove. But the
molding was still
stubborn and came
off in pieces.
2 of 3Photo 3: Free the door frame
Here's Robin
with her brand
new recip saw cutting
through the
nails so the door
frame will come out
easily. She's looking
forward to the next
demolition project
so she can hone her
sawing skills.
3 of 3Photo 4: Remove the old frame
Danny didn't
have any
trouble getting the
frame out after
removing the trim
and cutting the
nails and screws.
The sill was stuck
down with caulk,
but broke free as
Danny tilted the
frame.
Robin was surprised at how easy the
door and frame were to remove, especially
after the interior and exterior
trim were off (Photos 1 and 2). And she got
to learn a new skill—operating a reciprocating
saw (Photo 3). If you don't have
a recip saw, you can use a hacksaw
blade.
Step 3: Prep the opening
1 of 1Photo 5: Check the sill
Robin was a
lot more flexible
than Danny, so
he let her do most
of the low work.
Here she’s checking
the sill area to
make sure it’s level.
They've already
added a layer of
plywood to raise
the door a little.
Working in older houses or
where the door is exposed to the
weather, I often have to repair a water damaged
subfloor or otherwise rebuild
the sill area before installing the new
door. In this case, the subfloor was in
good condition, but we noticed that the
new door sill was thinner than the old
one. After taking a few measurements,
we decided to add a strip of plywood
over the subfloor to raise the door so it
would clear the entry rug (Photo 5).
Robin checked to be sure the sill area
was level. We could have shimmed
under the plywood with strips of building
paper or scrap vinyl flooring to
level the floor if necessary.
Since our door was covered by an
overhanging roof, we didn't need additional
protection from water, but if you
install a door that's exposed to the
weather, be sure to add a sill pan to
protect the subfloor (one brand is
Jamsill Guard, jamsill.com) and
a metal drip cap over the exterior trim.
Step 4: Set the new door in place
1 of 2Photo 6: Caulk the opening
Danny's done a
lot of caulking,
so this part was
easy. He inspected
the bottom of the
door frame and did
some measuring to
be sure the beads of
caulk aligned with
flat spots on the
sill. When Danny
finished caulking
the sill, he caulked
around the perimeter
of the
opening too.
2 of 2Photo 7: Set the door frame
Robin and
Danny could
rest easy now. The
door frame slid into
the opening as
planned and the
heavy-lifting part of
the job was done.
With the old door out and the opening
prepared, we were ready to install the
new door and sidelight. Before we
started, I explained to Robin and
Danny that our goal was to set the new
door frame in the opening and then
adjust it with shims until the door fit
perfectly. First we removed all the
packing material from the new door
and hoisted it into the opening to check
the fit. The width was a little tight. We
didn't have much wiggle room between
the siding and the brick molding, but it
was obvious we could make it work. So
we removed the door unit and Danny
applied heavy beads of polyurethane
caulk to the sill and exterior sheathing
(Photos 6 and 7). Danny and Robin moved
the door to the opening and tilted it
into place (Photo 7).
Step 5: Shim, square and fasten the frame
1 of 5Photo 8: Tack the top corners
Here Robin is trying out her nailing
skills. The 16-penny nails proved a bit
much, though, so Danny took over the nailing
duty.
2 of 5Photo 9: Plumb the hinge side
Robin was a natural with the level, so
she's checking to make sure the jamb
is plumb while Danny makes adjustments
from the inside.
3 of 5Photo 10: Shim the door frame
Danny slid
pairs of shims
behind the hinges
and along the sidelight
on the opposite
side. He positioned
the shims to create
an even gap around
the door.
4 of 5Photo 10A: Close-up of shims
Use pairs of shims to bridge gaps.
5 of 5Photo 11: Secure the frame with screws
After checking
to make sure
the door was contacting
the weather
stripping evenly and
operating smoothly,
Danny drilled countersink
holes and
drove 3-in. screws
through the jamb at each shim location.
To secure the hinge
side, he removed
one short screw
from each hinge and
replaced it with a
long screw.
Now we were ready
to tack it in and add shims.
Shimming a door is the most critical
part of the installation since it's when
you tweak the frame to make the door
fit perfectly and operate smoothly. I
helped Robin and Danny center the top
of the door frame with an equal caulk
space between the siding and the trim
on each side, and then tack the two top
corners with 16d galvanized casing
nails, letting the heads stick out so we
could make adjustments later if necessary
(Photo 8).
Next, Robin held a level to the hinge-side
trim while Danny pried on the
frame until the jamb was plumb (Photo
9). We drove another nail at the bottom
of the hinge-side jamb to hold the
frame plumb. With the door temporarily tacked in place, Danny and I headed
around through the back door with a
couple of bundles of wood shims. I
gave him pointers as he wedged pairs
of shims behind the hinges and along
the top and far side of the frame. The
goal was to create an even gap between
the door and the frame (Photo 10). The
key to shimming is to look at the gap
between the door and the frame, and
then decide how you can wedge the
frame to correct any problems. We
spent about 45
minutes adjusting
shims before
we were satisfied
with the
way the door fit.
“I didn't know
that shimming
a door was
such a fussy,
time-consuming
job.”
— Danny
Nails through
the exterior trim
hold the door
frame temporarily,
but they don't offer enough support
to keep the door square over time. For
that we still needed to drive 3-in.
screws through the jamb and into the
wall framing (Photo 11). We drove the
screws at the shim locations to hold the
shims in place and avoid bending the
jamb. Then Danny set the nails that we
had left sticking out and added nails
about 16 in. apart along the exterior
trim. After Danny completed this step,
he made one final check of the door's
fit in case adjustments were needed
before we added insulation and reinstalled
the interior trim.
Step 6: Add the finishing touches
1 of 1Photo 12: Seal the shim space
Danny was
experienced
with spray foam,
so he handled this
task admirably. He
managed to fill the
space between the
jamb and the framing
with foam without
getting it all
over the place.
It was a relief to have the door securely
installed. Robin and Danny relaxed,
knowing they could lock the door for
the night. I didn't have to warn Danny
about the dangers of squirting too
much expanding foam into the space
around the door (Photo 12). He'd already
learned that the hard way. With the
space between the door and the frame
well sealed and insulated, we moved to
the outside, where we fitted a piece of
trim over the door and caulked around
the brick molding to seal the exterior.
Now all that was left to do was install
new interior trim, finish the door and
install the new handle and lock.
