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Robert Allison Robert Allison is offline
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Default reversing swing of prehung door

Andrew Sasak wrote:

My shed was built a few months ago with a prehung door that swings into
the shed. I would like to reinstall the door to swing out. I would
replace the hinges to prevent the pin from being removed. I've read
other discussion describing how to do this between house and garage
(http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...b732b71?hl=en).
It seems that my case is a little different since the door is exposed
to the elements and also it has a large steel threshold. (at least I
think thats what its called; a piece of steel that I can step up onto
when the door is closed and fits in the area between the door and the
face of the building). Will the door perform as well when exposed to
rain if I reverse the installation? It also seems that by reversing the
installation the threshold would become unnecessary. Can anybody give
me any insight into this?


Although it may not seem like it, the easiest way to do this
is to remove the entire door and jamb and turn it around.
This means pulling off at most, 6 pieces of trim and cutting
some nails or unscrewing some screws. Remove the entire door
as a unit and reverse it.

Now, having said that, here is why you should not do that.
The threshold is made for the door to open in. It is designed
to direct water to the exterior and if you reverse it,
depending upon the type of threshold you have, it may actually
encourage water intrusion. Whenever I have a door that will
open out, I specify that at the door mill and they put on the
type of threshold that is designed for that application. You
can always remove the threshold while you have the unit out
and replace it with the correct one.

You mentioned changing out the hinges for security hinges,
good idea. You will also have to reverse the door latch
hardware, of course.

Reversing the door to open out also adds considerably to the
exposure of the door to rain and water intrusion into the door
itself, unless you have a covered area. Make sure your door
will stand up to this by giving it a good coat of paint on the
exterior and the sides (edges) of the door. Pay particular
attention to the top and bottom.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX