Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Walter Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have a wood door between my garage and my basement. Why and how the
previous owner was able to put a wood door there instead of a steel one is
debatable but I'd like to replace it with a steel door.
Wood is cheaper and either he did not have a permit or it was before that
was part of the code.
As I'd like to try and tackle this myself, what is involved in removing
the
door and frame and installing the steel one? I plan on going to Home
Depot
and purchasing the door. Don't know if I should get a pre-hung door or
what.
This is a DIY job. Is there molding around the door? remove it and measure
the opening. Buy the same size pre-hung door. Remove the old by prying the
casing and maybe cutting a few nails with a reciprocating saw. Put the new
frame in place and fasten it securely. Be sure it is plumb and square. Use
shims as needed. Replace the trim.
Be sure you have the new door in hand before removing the old one. There is
a chance in an older house that the existing door is an odd size and you
need something special.
Yep, my house was built in 1976. Doors in houses
built at that time that I've visited (at least
here) were all undersized by 1/4". I also
purchased some doors at an auction (door knob
holes were at the wrong height) and they were the
same. I'm replacing doors (already purchased) but
all that I looked at were full sized, i.e., a 30"
door was actually 30" whereas my 30" doors are
29-3/4" wide. As a result, I will have to trim
all of my doors by 1/4" or 3/16". If the OP runs
into that problem and the door casing is tight
against the door frame and he installs a metal
door, he may need to reframe the door which will
be a lot harder than just replacing the door or
using a prehung door.
BTW, terminology can be confusing. In all the
books I read, the door frame is part of the house
frame and is the 2x4 opening for the door. The
part that comes with a prehung door is the door
casing. Same is true for windows, i.e., window
frame and window casing.
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