tag: doors

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Quick, accurate shims

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

Obtaining the right-size shims for a job can be quick, easy, and precise if you put in about 10 minutes’ preparation. Begin with the shim stock. A proper shim has grain running its entire...

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Shim gauge

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 20111 comment

In home building, square, level, and plumb are admirable goals, but we sometimes fall a little short of the ideal. As a consequence, we turn to shims. They are vital for adjusting the fit of prehung...

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Get a grip on window installations

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

The last thing I want when struggling with a heavy window during installation is to drop it. Even small falls can fracture the flange, making for a time-consuming repair. After watching my glass guy...

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Fixing warped doors

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 20111 comment

A warped cabinet door can be a real pain. When you have spent hours matching panels, colors and grains, the last thing you want to do is remake a door. My approach takes a couple of hours and $5 in...

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Drying rack

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 20112 comments

We preprime and varnish a lot of the trim we install in houses, and finding a good place to let the material dry without getting in the way used to be difficult. To solve the problem I came up with...

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Routing hinge mortises

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 20111 comment

I had a fair number of doors that needed hanging, and I wanted to take advantage of my router and my 3/4-in-dia. straight bit to make quick work of the hinge mortises. I had tried freehanding the...

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Door butt gauge

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

For accuracy and speed when hanging doors from scratch, I use a butt gauge (see drawing) that I made out of 1-in. aluminum angle stock. Bending one leg of the angle over 90° just 1/8 in. down...

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Redrilling a door for a new lockset

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

I was recently confronted with the task of replacing a houseful of interior-door locksets. All the doors had three holes bored in their stiles -- a 3/4-in. hole for the spindle and two smaller...

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Door-holding jig

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

This is a sketch of a jig I use to hold doors while routing them for hinges or planing them to fit. It automatically adjusts to doors of different thicknesses and holds them securely. The weight of...

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Screw-clamp door buck

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

Sometimes we forget that a tool can be used to advantage for other than its original purpose — the ubiquitous screw clamp, for instance. I needed to plane the edge of a small door recently and...

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Replacing a door jamb

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

Occasionally I'm hired to replace door jambs that have been damaged by burglars. Often, only one jamb leg is damaged (the strike side of the door). The other side jamb and head jamb remain...

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Replacing garage-door panels

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

My frame-and-panel garage door had a nasty gouge in one of the bottom panels. My job was to figure out a way to remove the 1/4-in. thick panel without ruining the rest of the door. To do so, I turned...

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Shoring up a load-bearing wall

rwotzak, Web Producer | January 31st, 20112 comments

When I need to install a header for a new window or door in a bearing wall, I shore up the wall with a temporary row of angled 2x4s alongside the existing wall. As shown in the drawing, the temporary...

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Garage-door safety cable

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

When an overhead garage-door spring breaks, it can do considerable property damage. But the potential for personal injury is even greater. Because of this possibility, whenever I service or install a...

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Garage-header installation made easy

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

The Parallam beams used as headers atop Simpson garage-door walls are heavy. They are typically 31/2 in. wide by 16 in. deep by 22 ft. long. I don't want to move one of these beams around any more...

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Spade-bit rosettes

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 2011

I'm building an apartment in a commercial building that dates back to 1851. To remain true to the original detailing, the casings around doors and windows needed rosettes at the corners. So I checked...

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Better garage-door weatherstripping

FHBdotcom, editor | January 31st, 20112 comments

I've always been disappointed with the weatherstripping products for garage-door openings. In my experience, they're expensive and too fragile to accommodate the play in garage doors. The only piece...

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