EXT DOOR – Remove & replace – tips?
Folks,
My job for Monday is to remove an exterior door and replace it. The wall is stucco so there will be some patching.
Since I don’t get enought doors to get smooth, I am doing my homework researching the Best Practices here where folks have BTDT and know the tricks. All the better to shine.
What do to and what to look out for?
Check the reveals to see if there are any obvious problems.
Cut the caulk and paint lines on the case and brick molding.
Winkle off the trim as best one can.
Pull the door.
Cut the jamb nails, remove the jamb screws, cut and pry base caulking.
and…
If they could provide the name of the mfg, I’d download their installation instructions. And read them.
My last door was in spring. Something about them wanting to put a 3-0 where they framed a 2-8 RO Picky. Shows why it is a good practice to write the door and window ROs on the floor with paint.
Worse – a nice galvi pan was in place and had to be widened. Interesting job.
MAGIC MOMENT IN DOOR HANGING.
From one of our Habitat projects:
Doors are removed to the garage for painting. Blue tape tells what goes where.
Rollup and they check what the volunteers have done to remount the painted doors. Two of the 3-0 ROs have 2-8 doors in them. (Did the hole seem a bit large to you?)
The ToolBear
“Never met a man who couldn’t teach me something.” Anon.
Replies
ba-ba-ba-bump
If you are not salvaging any of the old door and jamb, it will come out easier if you cut a section out of each jamb leg.
Remove the casing inside. Recip. saw across the jamb as close as you can get to the brick mldg. in a coulpe of spots. Take the plug out between the hinges and you get a lot more choices in taking the rest of it out without damaging the interior or exterior finishes.
Dave
TB, Where it would work out and would be better for me to use the original ext. casing so as not to damage the surrounding area or trim, I have cut the nails from trim to jamb, removed the frame to the inside. Fit the new jamb in to the existing ext. trim. Not the easiest but might be a possibility in your case. Have the new prehung unit there and measure it up close to see if it would work. Try to "preshim" the R.O. so you only have to fine tune the fit in the opening. Best of luck.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I usually do the reverse, pull the ext casings, pry the jambs from the interior casings and cut the nails, then hammer the jambs to the exterior, leaving the interior trim undisturbed. I've run into a lot of real old trimwork that would take a bunch of money to replicate and would be a pain to remove and reinstall, so to minimize the interior work, I'll remove the door to the outside. The down side is, to get the reveals right, the shimming must be dead on. A lot of head scratching sometimes, especially if the RO has to be altered. If the wall is nonstandard thickness, I'll make a jamb extension on the exterior side of the jambs.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Exactly, whichever side is the one you don't want to disturb. Certainly not the usual method, but sometimes unusual circumstances call for special techniques. Like his stucco exterior, hard to patch that up acceptably w/o serious work. Sometimes hours spent, days saved.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Guys,
Thanks so much for your help. A lot of good ideas (that I had not considered). Breaktime is a great tool for learning.
I will see what the foreman wants, but not buggering up the stucco might be an attractive option. If not, I have a table saw, my thinset tools, buckets, a paddle and assorted margin and notch trowels loaded.
Like the idea of using a circ saw to make the cuts. I did that on a beam removal - much faster, better line and (it being the new CS 20 Bosch), not a snoot full of sawdust.
We will see how it goes tomorrow.
Thanks,
The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
Pull door, pull trim and brick-mould, cut each jamb leg all the way through. I use skil-saw as you can set the depth and cuts faster than sawzall. Try not to hit a nail. Start prying near the cuts and remove all jamb materials, Scrape caulk line clean on exterior.