I hear installing storm doors are a real b____. I’ve read the basics in the book and it seems straight forward. So what is it that makes them so hard to install? And how much do you think I should charge?
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Storm door?
Aluminum?
Your first time your heart will be in your throat. One miscut of the aluminum "jambs" will terrify you until you do it.
Biggest thing, find the top and bottom and right and left.
READ THE DIRECTIONS.
After a bunch of them, and after you've come to realize the HINGE side is GOD, and after you try to stretch the covering power of the hinge side jamb and you pull it plumb with no backing behind it and the existing wood jamb and then when you run the screws into the jamb you twist it...............
Same goes for the latch side a bit, no backer and the thing flops around.
They give you maybe a 3/4" spread in opening allowed. Ideally, your finished jamb is toward the small side of that allowance.
Customer will call and say the door doesn't shut automatically with the storm panel in....................
You can compress air with the closers-works fine w/screen, no good with storm. They have to be educated on cramming volume of air in a narrow space.
I feel a draft..............................and they will, ever so small that it is-there's no sealing those things REAL WELL.
Get the door hanging from the hinge jamb, THEN put up the head pc.........making the margin even or err on the tight side at the latch side-the weight will bring it down some in a short time.
DONT drill through the door for the closers.....................don't drill and punch through the first layer either-you'll leave a pop on the exterior.
When they say drill (whatever size) hole for the lockset..............do it, anything "close" will not be real good for you. They pick up some odd sizes for their holes-they think you carry a 64 pc set of bits.
After the first couple-it won't be so hard.
What to charge?
well, you're taking down and disposing of the old one maybe and then add onto that whatever you / they read at HOME Depot's display for install.
A good storm mechanic can whip through it, you won't.
Best of luck.