Van Chocstraw wrote:
woods wrote:
My daughter has a steel entry door made by Masonite that she wants to
replace with another style of steel Masonite door. One carpenter
says she won't be happy with it unless she replaces everything -
prehung door with side window. The other guy says if she buys the
same brand door he should be able to get it installed OK. Anyone have
experience with just replacing a door only?

I priced a steel door with and with out casing. It's only a dollar more
with casing. You have to special order the door only.
Depends on the brand, and how many years went by between the first door
being made and the proposed replacement door. Sometimes, if the hinges
and spacing and door thickness and threshold design and knob pre-drill
have stayed the same, you can indeed switch them out like light bulbs.
But usually that isn't the case. I once had to stop a so-called trim
carpenter from taking a wood chisel to a steel door, because he had it
in his head that it opened the wrong direction. My little sister, bless
her heart, bought a very nice Anderson french entry door that had been a
floor demo (for like 2/3 off), but neglected to pay attention to the
handing. The clad side now faces the interior, and the bare wood side is
in the garage. But the threshold is right, so I am clueless what
application to door was really for. Document the heck out of what is in
there now, with pictures and a story pole, and go to the store and see
what matches. Digital cameras and laser printers are GREAT for goose
hunts like this. Don't forget to have a ruler taped to door in all the
close-up shots, to provide a scale for comparing details.

--
aem sends...