*
Mark, Interesting that the idea of a prehung door is always cheap. We must be spoiled in my area(northern IN), because we can get all the doors we want prehung/prefinished(stained or painted) w/ assembled trim. These doors can be from the cheaper luan hollowcore doors to solid core oak, 6 panel oak,etc. You can specify what type and size of jamb(all jambs come with speedy clips for quick initial door setting), I always plumb the hinge side and set the rest of the jamb to the door). You can get them with cheap plated hinges(always 3 sets) or solid brass. The cost is reasonable and sure beats hanging from scratch on the job site.
It’s always interesting to hear how things are done in so many different ways around the world and end up basically with the same results!!
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*
Well now. . . this explains a few things about our
i young Crazybob Jimlegs.
i "I cut my head jamb to go between the legs at the top. I butt the head, but then the head stop runs long and the leg stops butt to it.
It's no wonder he's somewhat delusional what with all this head butting and jamming going on. . . more genital mutilation symbolism (cuttting the head jamb). . . seems to be a theme here with you carps!
i Carp Diem (fish of the day)
Dr. G
*
yb,
Joseph Fusco
View Image
*Well, er, ah, Doc, ah, I was, er...geez...Well Mark said he does THE SAME THINGS! - jb/yb/cl/df
*
So.Cal. In San Diego hanging doors for 15 yrs the only doors hung before drywall were, #1 ext. doors if home was to be stucco. #2 if inside walls were to be plaster ( rare ). Untill the mid 80s I only hung int. doors jambs for plaster walls. Then we started returning bullnose into jamb for plaster look. As for prehung or job site hung, I hung ext. doors on site after stucco and drywall. To cut down on damage Temp. doors were hung where needed ie. beach houses. Finding panties ect. every morning gets old. I did not have a problem getting doors prehung in Sadyeggo. I have been in Colorado for the past 10 yrs. I no longer use pre hung as the gap at the head may be 1/8 to 5/16. and getting them to flush jamb legs and head edge, well its with in a 1/8 what do you want. The door shops around denver just dont care. At 44 I really enjoy hanging doors i set up and prehang my self. Thats 2 to 4 houses a year. Hang Ten R.S.
*
Mark , one thing I do with pre hung doors that I havn't seen mentioned yet is to pre shim the hinge side of the rough opening . Using a level and straight edge with marks that match the hinge location I transfer the marks to the trimmer stud then check for plumb. I start with two opposing shims tacked at the top or bottom hinge location , whichever is furthest in .Then adjust the shims at the other hinge until plumb . That way I can set the door in the hole and fasten the hinge side without wrestling the door and shims at the same time .I also level a reference mark at a comfortable height across the opening and measure from the subfloor to the mark to see if I need to cut one jamb leg off or shim one up [ depending on the finished floor covering its getting ] . Chuck
*Does anyone screw ... I mean, use screws to fasten the jamb?
*Oxford dictionary gives three definitions of architrave. 1: main beam resting immediately on the abacus on capital of column 2: the various parts surrounding doorway or window 3: moulding round exterior of arch.In Britain, and the British ex-colonies, architrave is still the common term casing.
*First question . Not so much anymore . second question , I sometimes use screws if I can cover them with the door stop , I always use long screws through the hinges on solid core doors but not on those cheesy hollow cores since they only weigh about two pounds .Chuck
*All doors initially shimmed and set with nails. From there:Exterior doors (house to garage door as well)always get screwed, hinge and strike sides. Heavy interior doors as well, usually just on the hinge side. Most other normal interior doors just get one long screw put in through the top hinge that will sink into the jack stud.
*AndrewExterior doors, always. Interior doors, seldom.-pm
*If we're talking i commonterm. . . I gotta agree with Joe.-pm
*Not in Britain, Australia, NZ, probably South Africa. etc., which is where this question started from , right? If you want to be technical, an architrave can also be the lowest element of an entablature (along with the frieze and the cornice). But in the context in which Mark wrote, it means casing (as Mark already agreed).Jeez, Patrick, you're almost as bad as that Guido Sardine guy. That guy has some serious issues.
*Adrian Wilson,
Joseph FuscoView Image
*H'AdrianGuess I shoulda saidi colloquial instead of i common.I've always known the "decorative trim detail" over the top of an arch, window or door to be called i architrave.The operative word being decorative:Georgian/Federal highly pedimented, Craftsman cloud lift, that sort of thing. .. not merely the upper horizontal piece of a set of ordinary mitered bevel or colonial casing!!!Watch out for that Sardine guy, he talks softly but carries a big stick. ..and as far as that Oz Cadioli is concerned, by the time you wade through the accent gawd knows what he's really saying!!! Whooee!!-pm
*Uh huh... and your definition is different from the one I referred to how, exactly? Mark was referring to what we call casing, using the term architrave; any Aussie or Brit would understand it to mean the trim surrounding a door or window. If it matches the detail of the exterior architrave (and how many fully detailed exterior architraves are done these days ?), you would have to ask him.
*PM ; that's fair enough; me too. But... take a look at any Brit manual on joinery, etc. Ask a carp out of that tradition what he's installing round the door; "That's the architrave (ya git)." Most likely knows the architectural definition too, but doesn't use it as often. And it must have some usage in North America, cause I know what he meant (blame it on my Scottish cabinetmaking teacher maybe). Can't believe this turned into a brawl.
* Adrian Wilson,
Joseph Fusco View Image
*Mongo - "...jack stud." Is that what I call a "trimmer"? (the short stud under the header) - jb
*Um, Adrian -- you say "in Britain and British ex-colonies" -- what d'you suppose the States are? Or did we just recover from it better than others? :)
*patrick, mongo, chuck: thanks, pretty much what I figured; yb: yes
*Yessir...We call the trimmers "jacks", the full length next to the trimmers "kings", and the short guys above headers and below sills "cripples". We call the pieces of wood we get at lumber yards to make all of the above "studs". Unless you go to Home Depot. Then they're called "twisted soaking-wet warped crowned checked waned pieces of crap". Once the HD stuff dries out, it can correctly be referred to as "firewood". Mongo
*Well..but...ahhhh..the devil made me do it!!
*Back in my framing days we would sometimes get our window packages pre cut and bundled - headers, trimmers, sills and cripples. We always got our trimmers precut (81+1/8 for 88+5/8 studs). Except for "jack stud" our terminology is the same...oh, and we can get pretty good stuff from HD, but our local yard is competitively priced with them on lumber. - jb
*Not paranoid; mildly frustrated. Joe, your definition was instructive, and I'll file it away. Can we agree that the word has various meanings, depending on the context? In the context in which it was first used here, architrave does mean casing (Mark has already agreed that is what he meant). I shouldn't have implied that that was the only meaning for the word.
*Andrew; after 1776, your ties with Britain, and the British system of trade training, were broken. In Canada and the other colonies, they weren't; we still have formal apprenticeships systems (not everyone goes through them anymore though), and my trade school passed on a lot of traditional British terminology and techniques, mixed in with some North American stuff. (I also had a Scottish prof, and worked under one journeyman trained in Alberta, basically in a German tradition, and I've worked with several other German journeymen). This may be more pronounced in cabinetmaking/furnituremaking (take a look at Knots; there are several Scots, Aussies, and Kiwis over there, and there is often a distinct difference between our approach , and an American one. I'm not saying one is better, but they are different.)Waht it boils down to is, sometimes there is some translation required to communicate.
*Adrian - Thanks for the definition.After spendinding the past 20 years as a carpenter, I have to say, we here in the States are the poorer for not having this rich tradition of craftsmanship handed down that you talk about. I think we are still in the "Oklahoma land race" or the "gold rush" phase of development here. I fear it will be many generations before we begin to slow down enough to teach and pass down our craft responsibly. And with the preponderance of sub contracting that dominates our building industry here, I fear the worst. - jb
*AdrianNo, no way, we ain't agreein to nuthin. . . yer totally fucked. . . which side of the friggin equator do you call home. . . what's yer problem. . . you gawdamnfrikken wannabe erudite cabinetwankers wouldn't know shit from pate if it didn't taste weird!!!Ahhh!!! I feel better already. Gee it's good to spew a little vitriol every once in a while. Things have been awfuly nicey-nicey 'round here lately.Thanks eh? Nuthin personal!-pm
*Mongo -- jacks, kings, studs ... no queens?P.S. You can pick your own lumber at HD. I'm glad to hear SOMEONE buys the culls.
*
I once had a carpenter working for me that insisted on hanging the whole door jamb with a level. He seemed to always have an excuse for the door not fitting into the hole. Most door makers around here supply door slabs with or without jambs, and the supplied jambs only cost about as much as jamb material with the mortises already inplace. I have worked with a lot of antique doors and have made many a jamb, but I still can't do them fast enough to only cost a few dollars.
*
The only wood I buy at HD tends to be sheet goods. I really, truly think their 2-by stock is horrible. Went in two weeks back for 20 sheets of birch ply. HD is $42, nearest lumberyard $55. Same manufacturer. They had three sheets down low, a new stack up high. Mr. Orange Apron drove the forklift over to bring the stack down. To prove to me he had been through the "Home Depot Quality Lumber Handling Specialty Training Certification Course" and had received his "Home Depot Lumber Destruction Demolition Derby Forklift Driver's License", he promptly raked the lift's tines up the edge of the entire stack. He trashed the outer 1/2 or so of every sheet, really doing a job on the top sheet which he delaminated.
As I hate seeing bad wood go to waste (whimper), I took the entire stack at half-price. I was going to rip the sheets into 23 1/4" wide pieces for cabinet carcasses, so it fit into my plans and saved me some cash. Enough to go out front and get a Lucky Dog Hot Italian and a root beer for the drive home.
I've tried picking through the stacks of 2-by stock at HD, but it is a very frustrating experience. They place entire lifts of stock so badly that the entire lift ends up warped. My local HD (20 min away) may just get the sad stuff, who knows. However, they're still closer than the nearest large lumberyard.
I did detect the scent of cedar tha last time I passed through. I may have to go check the quality of what they are carrying. I do a lot of square picket fencing and could use a price break on the stock from what the other lumberyard charges. $$$$$
*Well the 2 x stock at local HDs here are stamped with the name of the best stud supplier in this state, Allen Log Co. I have taken many a VG Fir (have to bow my head when I say that) stud out of slings from that company through the years, and what I see at HD looks about normal. I buy 1/4" birch from them sometimes, and every once in a while 3/4", but they don't stock 9 ply, and I really don't like workin' with 7 ply much. - jb
*Tell you what, Mongo, when i finally make it by to see if all the tales of your beautiful home and extensive beer collection (not to mention the extraordinary wife and children!) are true, I will bring you some dead straight HD 2x4's. Shouldn't take me more than an hour to find 4 or 5. As for why they destroy so much of their own stock, I have no explanation. That's bad management, but maybe people buy the stuff anyway?They have some nicer stuff waaay up high, like 4-ply 1/2" CDX. Whether they improve their lumber will be a good sign whether they really intend to pursue contractor business. If they don't, I think it'll be a big mistake. Their pt is generally junk, but then I guess "good pt" is a contradiction?
*hey, Jim , don't take me wrong. The whole system is under pressure here. Most provinces have designated trades (where you have to do formal training, like electricians) and non-designated trades. Carpentry and cabinetmaking are non-designated in most , if not all, provinces, which means anyone can put up a shingle and call themselves a carp or a cabinetmaker (and there are lots of self taught, or learned on the job guys who do first rate work and are very professional), they just can't call themselves a licensed one. For that , you have to do the trade school thing, put in your 8-10 000 hours, and write your exam to get your journeyman papers, or go through a union certification program. Definitely with carpentry, the union is pushing for the trade to be designated in every province, meaning everyone has to train to work (to be introduced in a way to give the guys already working a way in; I'm not sure of the details). There is also a new interprovincial ticket program called Red Seal, where you are certified to work in any province. In an ideal situation, I think it makes for an efficient transfer of a core body of trade knowledge to people getting started, with a lot of the real lessons learned, as we all know, in the field, under the supervision of journeymen who have also gone through the process. In practice, there are some people who get qualified who shouldn't, and a lot of excellent people who miss out on the benefits of the system for one reason or another. I have two ex-students who are subverting the whole process right now; their only real trade experience is school, but they each got two guys who don't even work in the same trade to vouch for them, and talked the officials into letting them write their exams under a clause designed for guys who have many years of field experience (it's designed for guys who are clearly working at the professional level to get a qualification). One has passed, and the other has written his exam. Makes me really angry, and they can't see they are doing anything wrong; they are focussed on the piece of paper, not the process. So what I'm saying is, the system isn't perfect by a long shot, but people are working on it.
*Well that sounds a hell of a lot more structured than anything I have run across here. We don't have tests for any of our building trades, except the loosely structured apprenticeship the carpenter's union says they require. Very little wood construction is done by the average apprentice. And if he works enough hours and attends school a few hours a month, in 4 years he is called a journyman. As far as I know, ANYONE can get the required bond and insurance and go BUY their Contractor's liscence. I don't know of any testing or regulating by any agency. I guess the thought must be "buyer beware". I like the sound of what your country (province?)) requires. I don't know where the point is that things are overlegislated, but I think something like that could really help the building trades here in the States. - jb
*Well, Since I don't think it's worth moving to where you gents live so I can get straight HD stock, I'll either have to cease and desist in this building biz or just keep paying extra through the lumberyard.Andrew, too bad you missed out this past summer. Since then my bride ran off with that sneaky IRS auditor, the dog ran off, the kids ran after the dog. Haven't seen any of them in months. Floyd blew the roof off my house and destroyed everything, it even sucked the kegs out of the tap room. With no electricity the freezer is defrosting and with it, the frosted mugs are warming up. In my sadness I drank all the remaining beer before it got too warm. Waaa...I'm living out of the car now...I couldn't find a cigarette lighter adapter that could power my computer. Fortunately one of the few things not destroyed by water damage was my prized Martha Stewart book. Under chapter 13, "Good Things", I found plans to make an adaptor using fishing line, an old household fan, and paperclips. Time to sign off, start the car engine, and recharge the battery...
*At least you kept the important things. Betcha have a couple Bob Vila self-improvement tapes, huh?
*GeeDoes that mean that Adrian and Lawrence and Gabe, and Ross, and me (sorry if I left any other Kanukskies out)are the only i legitimate wood wackershere??? The rest of you guys must be wankers. Don't know about Mark, assume he's legit too(o).-pm (licenced to nail. . . & screw)
*Well, the lack of legislation leads to a lot of folks deciding to call themselves whatever they want. And their lack of ability and scruples reflects on every one of us who have spent the better part of our lives trying to learn this craft. I really don't go for "big government", but this is one case where I'd like to see more. - jb
*Yeah, I know and agree. But lawyers, for example, have education, testing, licensing and regulatory oversight up the wazoo. Do you feel safe from unscrupulous or incompetent lawyers?I think reputation is safer -- and if someone doesn't HAVE a reputation then worry. It would be nice to be able to develop a good picture of the contractor's behavior before contracting with them. In looking for an HVAC contractor -- and they're licensed tradesmen -- I sure saw a lot of variety in scruples and sophistication. Why doesn't the better reputation of the old hands let them trounce the bums? 'Cause consumers are easy to take.Let's say the more I know about gov't assuring quality the less I like. I believe they should step in and shut down the criminally incompetent, but beyond that I'd like to see the free market decide. Maybe (maybe) these internet referral services popping up will provide that kind of data. But often less gov't is best gov't. And that's from a liberal!
*Use a jap pull saw to cut your shims!I once saw an old timer plumb and set the hinge side,rafter square the header, then (here comes the tricky part)thumb tack each corner of the jamb,criss cross a thin string line till the strings touched in the middle and nail off!I later used this similar technique on commercial metal doors and it worked awesome!
*gentleman...i have hung hundreds of doors in my career and one the one thing that is most important whether you use a level or plumb bob or whatever....the reveal has to be perfect.....that is what the customer sees!
*
I plumb the hinge side and center the the door in the r.o. unless i need to make room for trim because of a corner I tack 12 p finish only where there are shims. i usualy put a shim at the head and under each hinge of course doing my best to keep flush with the sheetrock on both sides. then I hang the door so I can check for reveal then I nail her. If rour doing a remodel the floore might not be level so I measure 5' up the hing side and level across make a mark and measue down if you have less than five feet you need to adjust that side accordingly if you have more than 5' you need to adust the hinge side David
*
Unlike certain neanderthals, we use prehungs 99.9999% of the time. Best trick (NOT ALREADY MENTIONED, I like the cross strings thumbtacked to keep it in plane):
All of the prehungs are done in a jig, so if the strike plate mortise is dead even with the latch mortise you know the door is correct. Move the top or bottom hinge in or out until they line up dead opposite each other.
Also pay special attention to the hinge jamb jack, make it dead plumb in both directions and nail your door hinge jamb hard to it. You won't have nearly as much movement 3 months down the road. Nailing the door hinge jamb hard with minimum shims is better than centering it in the RO.
Second best trick, USED plumb bobs exclusively until we got a 3-way self leveling laser. What a time saver and quality control tool.
Of course this is just MY HUMBLE OPINION.
*Next question re: Doors and pet-peves (peaves ?): Casings that arn't nailed off by the door hanger.I've always found that if the door isn't locked in place by the casings, it's still going to move and come out of adustment. We like to use screws into the jacks (trimmers) and especially appreciate the latch reinforcement hdw. that the door mfr's are putting in their packeages. We use a solid shim behind the latch area to add more reinforcement in this area.
*
MIKE I AGREE THAT IT,S BETTER TO NAILL THE HIMGE SIDE HARD AGAINST THE JACK. I FOUND THAT ITS TIME CONSUMING IN MANY OCCASIONS IF THE JACK STUD IS NOT PLUMB. I HAVE HAD MANY INSTANCES WHER I HAVE 2" AT THE TOP AND 0' AT THE BOTTOM OR VISEA VERSA . YOU CAN ALMOST GUARANTEE THE JACK STUD WILL BE ROLED IN OR OUT OR TWISTED SHIMS WILL CORRECT THIS PROBLEM, IF YOU NAIL OFF WELL YOUR DOOR WONT GO ANYWHERE.
I ALSO PLUMB BOTH WAYS, KEEPING IN MIND THAT ON THE INWSING SIDE OF THE DOOR YOU CANT ADD EXT.JAMS. UNLESS IT EFFECTS THE OPPERATION OF THE DOOR I HAVE NO PROBLEM BRINGING THE DOOR SLIGHTLY OUT OF PLUMB IN ORDER TO SAVE MYSELF A CASING NIGHTMARE.
*
First rule of door hanging - after you check the hinge side trimmer for plumb, put the frikken level away. The rest of the job is done by reveal and how the leaf strikes the stop. - jb
*Ditto -- the thing i used to forget is that there are TWO plumbs.
*Young Bob....whats a "frikken" level?? Is it some kinda swedish relation to a Stabila??:)
*...kind of...
*That level thing---Oh! you mean my 4' pry bar !
*Jim did you steal that from me? Showed a friend how to set prehungs while he was building his house. I trim gun and a 4ft'er and two hours later he had his one door hung. Hour later later i had all the doors hung down stairs and then showed him the trick of using the reveals. Have to nail the hinge side tight to the jack stud and nail the casing. Stoped putting shims on the latch side. Remember Blue's prehung door adjuster for out of plumb walls? Used it a while ago and had everone on the job in a uproar.b I'll hang them and you tote them
*I can't tell you how many guys I've seen fussin' with that level, spending an hour hanging a door. I like to nail the hingeside jamb tight against the trimmer, but I don't like to leave too big a space between the latch side and that trimmer either - that can make for noisey closing - kind of a rattle. - jb
*We used to get that "rattle" with commerical jobs where we would install a prehung on a metal stud wall. Now we drill a small hole inside the latch and us a little foam. When that sucker shuts now it sounds soild as a rock. Still like to hang them the old fashion way sometimes.
*Where do you put the foam?
*Is there a 12- step for beating this website addiction ?Anyways, if you use a normal r.o. for the door and nail it hard against the hinge jack (trimmer) this leave a lot of shim space on the latch side. We use this space on EXTERIOR doors to reinforce the latch / deadbolt area. Use a 3 1/2" by 12" pc. of 1/2" ply hard against the latch jamb and shim to that. Now you can drive your latch screws thru, and bore for your dead bolt pocket and get the SOLID feel you want with no rattle.
*Hi, I',m Jim, and I'm addicted...
*Hello, Jim.Rich Beckman
*Hells bells, how much room are you blokes leaving in your framed up openings.....we frame and fix out our own work..we leave an opening of 865mm for an 820mm door. Thats 820mm for the door, 5mm for clearance and 19mm a side for the jambs. No rattles!! Just make sure your frame is plumb.
*If you did the Imperial math, you'd find that our r.o.'s leave the same space as yours........36 for the door, 38" for the r.o. 1/4"=3/4"+36" +3/4"+1/4" So rattle on !
*
Mark,
What's a "mm"? My wife had some out for the kids last week,
I think...
MD
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*
I have always framed 2" over callout size for residential prehungs. I don't remember on steel jambs, I do them so seldom I have to ask, maybe 4" over or something.
That rattle I was talkin' about earlier was from the leaf not hitting the latch side stop the length of the door. This causes that kind of rattle or echo that I don't like. I will go to great lengths (like whatever it takes) to not walk away from the door until it hits that stop right. - jb
*Mike,I'm confused...what is a "normal r.o."? And surely this will only work where your hinge side jack is dead plumb. ( how often does that happen)?curiouslymark
*Jim,I like to leave a very slight rattle...to allow for paint.
*
I see a lot of talk here about using pre-hungs.
How many of you blokes hang your doors from scratch? We never use pre-hungs ( they are considered cheap). Also the last issue we recieved of FHB showed a small level being used to level a head in a door opening. Is it standard practice to jamb before sheeting out the walls?
Do you all level your heads that way? We assemble our jambs on the floor, plumb the hinge side..adjust with wedges and nail off..hang the door..then allow the door to determine the margin for the head and lock side.
Just curious how you do it over there...seeing as you're upside down.
mark
*Hi Mark,No, there's no difference in hanging doors here or there.Pre-hungs are cheaper and faster for production homes but we don't use them on any of our customs, mainly because of the jambs and cheap hinges.If we're on top of the world, that is above the equator, that means your on the bottom, hanging upside down, mate.Chat laterGabe
*Mark - I hang doors the same way you do. Plumb hinge side, and then go for reveal. I am constantly amazed by the stuff I see illustrated in magazines. Sometimes we use pre hung doors, but I agree with Gabe, they are usually not very high quality. For anything nice, I usually mill my own jamb stock and prehang the doors myself. - jb
*Mark, Interesting that the idea of a prehung door is always cheap. We must be spoiled in my area(northern IN), because we can get all the doors we want prehung/prefinished(stained or painted) w/ assembled trim. These doors can be from the cheaper luan hollowcore doors to solid core oak, 6 panel oak,etc. You can specify what type and size of jamb(all jambs come with speedy clips for quick initial door setting), I always plumb the hinge side and set the rest of the jamb to the door). You can get them with cheap plated hinges(always 3 sets) or solid brass. The cost is reasonable and sure beats hanging from scratch on the job site.It's always interesting to hear how things are done in so many different ways around the world and end up basically with the same results!!
*"and end up with the same results"Verl!! nice to meet a bloke that stuffs up hanging doors!!
*Excuuuuuse me!!And who says the North Pole is always up???.....and where does that leave the poor turkeys on the Equator...hanging sideways??:)
*Young Bob,I have this sneaking suspicion that some of what we see done in mags ( not mentioning any particular mags ) is done by those not too au fait with the real world. I recall a recent article on floor tiling.....a dial indicator to check for floor bounce???!!!!On jambs....do you back off the jamb for the architrave?? Do you shim or wedge? Is your head rebated to the jamb or butted? Head cut between or on top of jamb??Mark
*Mark,I have done it both ways. Yes we shim and wedge. New construction is usually Pre hung. I like flat jambs and then trim it myself.Rick Tuk
*Mark - Some of your terminology in new to me; what is "...the architrave...", the shims we use are about 1+1/4" wide and taper from about 3/8" to nothing. I generally use two opposing shims and slide/tap then until I get the spacing I want (I usually don't nail through them, so I can fine tune later if need be)I cut my head jamb to go between the legs at the top. If the stop(s) is rabbeted - usually exterior doors - then I rabbet the tops of legs for head, if the stop is attatched, I butt the head, but then the head stop runs long and the leg stops butt to it. Unless I hear otherwise, I rabbet 1" on the exterior side of exterior door jambs for future screen or storm door, although with our mild climate, few people have a need for storm doors or windows.What are your standard procedures for these questions? - jb
*Mark and Co.,I'm told that it's not too unusual to hang doors before drywalling, or even sheathing, in S. California. Larry Haun wrote an aritcle on the practice in issue 53. The Stabila photo in Tools and Materials was also taken on a job in the L.A. area, so I don't think we're too off the mark. (I don't know about the dial indicator, though. Isn't that how you do it?)As a former trimmer, I remember being aghast at Larry's article. What about weather? Then it occured to me that, while it rains about every other day in N.J. (more frequently if you leave anything crucial uncovered) where I worked, rain can be a rare occurance for much of the year in CA. Andy
*Hello Andy,I think it's more a matter of restricting damage from other trades that we leave he fix out 'till the rockers are out of our way.No one ( that I'm aware of here) just frames or just fixes. If you frame it..you finish it!!As for the dial indicator..that would be laughed off the job here...our codes cover deflection of joists sufficient to not to have to warrant using such things.In any case given the warranties we have to give with our work..if it breaks ..we gotta fix it.regardsmark
*Hello Young Bob,Adrian is correct about the casing..sorry..forgot what you guys called it.We use MDF for wedges..although we taper ours from about 1/2 inch to nothing..otherwise the setup is the same. We find the MDF is good because it snaps off easy once everything is plumb and nailed off.Same setup for rebatted jams..though we don't like 'em..find you can't tweak the door that little bit for the stops and end up having to fiddle with the hinges.. we use 2x1/2 for external stops..this gives us enough clearance for a screen door...plus if the hardware is only a 60mm backset you don't tend to hit your knuckles on the stop when opening the door.We also cut the head between the jambs..this gives us a little to play with if the margins aren't quite right at the top as it can be tapped up or wedged down accordingly.regardsmark
*Hi Marc,Here in Wadsworth, Ohio we have a situation like Verl describes. We can get any doors pre-hung, from bottom line to top drawer, from cheap plated hinges, to solid brass with bearings. The only time I hang my own doors is on remodel jobs where we replace the doors only, and leave the original jambs in place.By the way, how many of you guys have had to deal with split jambs? Now there's a pre-hung I really hate.John