Hi Group,


A guy who installs doors for a living told us that it would be ok to use
screws instead of nails to install the pre-hung doors we bought for the
inside of our home.

Do screws have what it takes to hold a door in-place?
How do they compare to nails?

(The door guy said that he removes the stripping along the inside of the
door to put the screws in, then reattaches it with finishing nails so you
can't see the screws.)


-Yolanda

I always use screws. Haven't had any issues with strength. (There is
not much stress on the jambs of an interior pre-hung door) It is also
much easier to keep the frame plumb when you don't have to pound a nail
through it or accidentally whack it with a hammer.

Shim the frame, pre-drill & countersink and screw it in place.

Yolanda,

Yes, you can most definitely use screws. This past summer I made a French
door set and a standard door for my niece's remodeling project and the
frames were made from hard maple. You won't drive nails through those
frames! I used trim screws which use a torx type screwdriver to install
them. I first pre-drilled the hole (3/32") then drove in the screws. The
doors were being painted but even if they weren't, the trim screw heads are
small enough to almost be invisible.

Even for an inside door, it's a good idea to remove one screw from each
hinge (usually a short #10 screw) and replace them with a longer #10 size
screw that will go thru the frame and into the rough frame. You set the
door, square and shim it using shims behind each hinge and drive in the long
screws (pre-drill through the shims so as not to split them).

The nice thing about using the screws is that if the door is not perfectly
square and flush when you think you're done - you can easily back a screw
out and re-shim. No need for pry bars or hacksaw blades to cut nails.

Bob S.

"Yolanda" YolO@.. wrote in message ...
Hi Group,


A guy who installs doors for a living told us that it would be ok to use
screws instead of nails to install the pre-hung doors we bought for the
inside of our home.

Do screws have what it takes to hold a door in-place?
How do they compare to nails?

(The door guy said that he removes the stripping along the inside of the
door to put the screws in, then reattaches it with finishing nails so you
can't see the screws.)


-Yolanda

Screwing the jamb is a good way. The door guy removed the doorstop
molding and screwed behind it. You can also screw the hinge mortise,
the hinge covers the screw. You may need a step by step lesson that
would be a long post. If you need more info ,email me and I will give
you detailed instruction.
mike

Screwing the jamb is a good way. The door guy removed the doorstop
molding and screwed behind it. You can also screw the hinge mortise,
the hinge covers the screw. You may need a step by step lesson that
would be a long post. If you need more info ,email me and I will give
you detailed instruction.
mike

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:28:12 GMT, Yolanda YolO@.. wrote:

Do screws have what it takes to hold a door in-place?
How do they compare to nails?

Screws will work fine and might be easier for you if the alternative
is to nail them by hand.
I don't think screws are necessary though as jambs have been installed
for quite sometime using only nails. IMHO nailing the trim to the
jamb and the framing does more to secure the jamb than any of the
nails or screws we put through the jamb into the framing.

Mike O.

Mike wrote in news:jjqa119o4goolmknpob46iqgqb5k1ut70n@
4ax.com:

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:28:12 GMT, Yolanda YolO@.. wrote:

Do screws have what it takes to hold a door in-place?
How do they compare to nails?

Screws will work fine and might be easier for you if the alternative
is to nail them by hand.
I don't think screws are necessary though as jambs have been installed
for quite sometime using only nails. IMHO nailing the trim to the
jamb and the framing does more to secure the jamb than any of the
nails or screws we put through the jamb into the framing.

Mike O.


For the less experienced, screws mean reversability, or the ability to
iterate until acceptable results are obtained.

Not everyone gets it close enough the first time. I know I don't.

Patriarch

Thanks All,

I just took delivery on the doors. It's going to be a long 3-day
weekend.

-Yolanda


Patriarch wrote in
. 97.136:

Mike wrote in
news:jjqa119o4goolmknpob46iqgqb5k1ut70n@
4ax.com:

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:28:12 GMT, Yolanda YolO@.. wrote:

Do screws have what it takes to hold a door in-place?
How do they compare to nails?

Screws will work fine and might be easier for you if the alternative
is to nail them by hand.
I don't think screws are necessary though as jambs have been
installed
for quite sometime using only nails. IMHO nailing the trim to the
jamb and the framing does more to secure the jamb than any of the
nails or screws we put through the jamb into the framing.

Mike O.


For the less experienced, screws mean reversability, or the ability to
iterate until acceptable results are obtained.

Not everyone gets it close enough the first time. I know I don't.

Patriarch

I just had a new front door installed - to meet code in South Florida they
had to use 22 tapcons thru the jamb

tom

"Mike" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:28:12 GMT, Yolanda YolO@.. wrote:

Do screws have what it takes to hold a door in-place?
How do they compare to nails?

Screws will work fine and might be easier for you if the alternative
is to nail them by hand.
I don't think screws are necessary though as jambs have been installed
for quite sometime using only nails. IMHO nailing the trim to the
jamb and the framing does more to secure the jamb than any of the
nails or screws we put through the jamb into the framing.

Mike O.

"Tom" wrote in message
...
I just had a new front door installed - to meet code in South Florida they
had to use 22 tapcons thru the jamb


Holy Cow! There's no wood left after running 22 TapCons in.

--

-Mike-