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#1
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Gentlemen;
About a year ago I had a contractor install a new steel, prehung exterior door. Although I don't know the brand, this door was most likely obtained at Home Depot. There appears to be nothing wrong with the quality of the door and its surround. I am trying to sell this home and the inspector states the door is in need of adjustment but was not specific. I looked and looked and the only issue I could find was that compared to other doors in the house it appears to be set more deeply into the opening as seen from the inside. This means that when closing the lock bolt hits the 1-1.5" of trim edge before it reaches the strike plate. This has never been a problem for me as I relatively effortlessly pull the door closed just fine. Apparently the potential purchaser has a different idea! As I am not a carpenter I am hoping that some of you readers who may be familiar with installing/repairing similar doors might have an idea as to what I am describing and even more hopefully how it can be repaired? I am hesitant to call even a contractor because I don't even know how to best describe it. Does the door need to be reinstalled? If so, in what way? I can't imaging the door could be incorrectly sizes as it looks just fine. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, help GREATLY appreciated. As one can imagine, in this housing mess and economy I am already taking a real bath on this house. Thanks - Bob |
#2
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In article ,
Bob M wrote: Gentlemen; About a year ago I had a contractor install a new steel, prehung exterior door. Although I don't know the brand, this door was most likely obtained at Home Depot. There appears to be nothing wrong with the quality of the door and its surround. I am trying to sell this home and the inspector states the door is in need of adjustment but was not specific. I looked and looked and the only issue I could find was that compared to other doors in the house it appears to be set more deeply into the opening as seen from the inside. This means that when closing the lock bolt hits the 1-1.5" of trim edge before it reaches the strike plate. This has never been a problem for me as I relatively effortlessly pull the door closed just fine. Apparently the potential purchaser has a different idea! As I am not a carpenter I am hoping that some of you readers who may be familiar with installing/repairing similar doors might have an idea as to what I am describing and even more hopefully how it can be repaired? I am hesitant to call even a contractor because I don't even know how to best describe it. Does the door need to be reinstalled? If so, in what way? I can't imaging the door could be incorrectly sizes as it looks just fine. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, help GREATLY appreciated. As one can imagine, in this housing mess and economy I am already taking a real bath on this house. Thanks - Bob Since the potential purchaser is apparently the one squawking, why not offer him $200 and let him fix whatever he and the inspector believe to be wrong? One thing you could check is whether the hinges have metal spacers behind them, if so, removing one or more of them might help. We recently tore down a wall containing a double steel door, in order to bring in a large machine, and rebuilt the wall and door thereafter. Getting the doors to work flawlessly wasn't difficult, but it was damn time-consuming and fiddly, involving multiple iterations of "try it and see." Another possible issue is that the hinges could be in the wrong place, so that the hinge side of the door contacts the stop before the latch side of the door does, which puts torque on the hinges every time you pull the door closed. We just ran into that yesterday on another door whose hinge bolts had broken loose from the concrete block wall behind the jamb. |
#3
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Smitty Two wrote:
In article , Bob M wrote: Gentlemen; About a year ago I had a contractor install a new steel, prehung exterior door. Although I don't know the brand, this door was most likely obtained at Home Depot. There appears to be nothing wrong with the quality of the door and its surround. I am trying to sell this home and the inspector states the door is in need of adjustment but was not specific. I looked and looked and the only issue I could find was that compared to other doors in the house it appears to be set more deeply into the opening as seen from the inside. This means that when closing the lock bolt hits the 1-1.5" of trim edge before it reaches the strike plate. This has never been a problem for me as I relatively effortlessly pull the door closed just fine. Apparently the potential purchaser has a different idea! As I am not a carpenter I am hoping that some of you readers who may be familiar with installing/repairing similar doors might have an idea as to what I am describing and even more hopefully how it can be repaired? I am hesitant to call even a contractor because I don't even know how to best describe it. Does the door need to be reinstalled? If so, in what way? I can't imaging the door could be incorrectly sizes as it looks just fine. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, help GREATLY appreciated. As one can imagine, in this housing mess and economy I am already taking a real bath on this house. Thanks - Bob Since the potential purchaser is apparently the one squawking, why not offer him $200 and let him fix whatever he and the inspector believe to be wrong? One thing you could check is whether the hinges have metal spacers behind them, if so, removing one or more of them might help. We recently tore down a wall containing a double steel door, in order to bring in a large machine, and rebuilt the wall and door thereafter. Getting the doors to work flawlessly wasn't difficult, but it was damn time-consuming and fiddly, involving multiple iterations of "try it and see." Another possible issue is that the hinges could be in the wrong place, so that the hinge side of the door contacts the stop before the latch side of the door does, which puts torque on the hinges every time you pull the door closed. We just ran into that yesterday on another door whose hinge bolts had broken loose from the concrete block wall behind the jamb. Thanks for the input Smitty Two. The purchaser is being unreasonable and won't settle for a cash allowance (lazy I guess). I will look for hinge shims and bring a big hammer. Unfortunately the house is 300 miles away. Bob |
#4
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Bob M wrote:
Smitty Two wrote: In article , Bob M wrote: .... ...the inspector states the door is in need of adjustment but was not specific. I looked and looked and the only issue I could find was that compared to other doors in the house it appears to be set more deeply into the opening as seen from the inside. This means that when closing the lock bolt hits the 1-1.5" of trim edge before it reaches the strike plate. This has never been a problem for me as I relatively effortlessly pull .... The clue here is "relatively"...that certainly indicates something is amiss. As I am not a carpenter I am hoping that some of you readers who may be familiar with installing/repairing similar doors might have an idea as to what I am describing and even more hopefully how it can be repaired? I am hesitant to call even a contractor because I don't even know how to best describe it. Does the door need to be reinstalled? If so, in what way? I can't imaging the door could be incorrectly sizes as it looks just fine. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, help GREATLY appreciated. As one can imagine, in this housing mess and economy I am already taking a real bath on this house. Thanks - Bob Since the potential purchaser is apparently the one squawking, why not offer him $200 and let him fix whatever he and the inspector believe to be wrong? One thing you could check is whether the hinges have metal spacers behind them, if so, removing one or more of them might help. We recently tore down a wall containing a double steel door, in order to bring in a large machine, and rebuilt the wall and door thereafter. Getting the doors to work flawlessly wasn't difficult, but it was damn time-consuming and fiddly, involving multiple iterations of "try it and see." Another possible issue is that the hinges could be in the wrong place, so that the hinge side of the door contacts the stop before the latch side of the door does, which puts torque on the hinges every time you pull the door closed. We just ran into that yesterday on another door whose hinge bolts had broken loose from the concrete block wall behind the jamb. Thanks for the input Smitty Two. The purchaser is being unreasonable and won't settle for a cash allowance (lazy I guess). I will look for hinge shims and bring a big hammer. Unfortunately the house is 300 miles away. .... Pictures would certainly help... I'd keep the hammer in the toolbox until last resort, though... ![]() _What_ specifically is hitting what, again? If it is only the latch itself hitting the frame before the strike plate, there are deep strike plates available or could fashion one from some plate. If the door itself or the whole latch is dragging, then you may need to adjust hinges. I'd first get input from the buyer as to what their idea of a satisfactory resolution actually is (not saying I'd do _just_anything_, but at least try to get some idea as to what will be satisfactory). If you're not comfortable w/ this kind of work and it's imperative to get it resolved satisfactorily to close the sale and particularly if an inspection when you get there and a couple of simple ideas don't seem to pan out, I'd suggest a door and window outfit. As for the complete rehanging, that's where need to be able to see what's going on to have an input... -- |
#5
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On Oct 2, 10:58*am, Bob M wrote:
Gentlemen; About a year ago I had a contractor install a new steel, prehung exterior door. *Although I don't know the brand, this door was most likely obtained at Home Depot. *There appears to be nothing wrong with the quality of the door and its surround. I am trying to sell this home and the inspector states the door is in need of adjustment but was not specific. *I looked and looked and the only issue I could find was that compared to other doors in the house it appears to be set more deeply into the opening as seen from the inside. *This means that when closing the lock bolt hits the 1-1.5" of trim edge before it reaches the strike plate. This has never been a problem for me as I relatively effortlessly pull the door closed just fine. *Apparently the potential purchaser has a different idea! As I am not a carpenter I am hoping that some of you readers who may be familiar with installing/repairing similar doors might have an idea as to what I am describing and even more hopefully how it can be repaired? *I am hesitant to call even a contractor because I don't even know how to best describe it. Does the door need to be reinstalled? *If so, in what way? *I can't imaging the door could be incorrectly sizes as it looks just fine. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, help GREATLY appreciated. *As one can imagine, in this housing mess and economy I am already taking a real bath on this house. Thanks - Bob Let me get this straight. An inspector flags a latch hitting the trim before it hits the strike plate, and you're offering _money_ to the buyer? Why?! If it is as you say, and there's nothing else wrong with the door, then just buy an extended strike plate. http://www.iqhardware.com/proddetail...=SXSTRKPLAT-EX I know it is a buyer's market, but a fabricated problem doesn't justify you cutting the selling price. Before you offer discounts, you should verify exactly what the inspector was flagging. If he was flagging things that small, I'm surprised that he hasn't taken up residence with you until he can finish his report! R |
#6
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![]() "Bob M" wrote in message ... I looked and looked and the only issue I could find was that compared to other doors in the house it appears to be set more deeply into the opening as seen from the inside. This means that when closing the lock bolt hits the 1-1.5" of trim edge before it reaches the strike plate. This would be 100% normal for a standard entry door installed in a 2x6 stud wall or in a basement wall. Or anywhere else where it was necessary to "extend the jamb". Bob, there are only a very few things that are adjustable on an entry door. Some have an adjustable threshold that can be raised or lowered by prying off the little plastic caps and turning a screw. The strike plate may need adjusting if the door is not making firm contact with the weather striping when fully closed. An uneven gap along the top or side would be an artifact of a poor install or settling of the structure. The fix would require casing removal and additional shimming. Not a minor job. Ask the inspector what needs adjusting. You can blindly fix things without knowing what to do. The sob got paid let him earn his money. Colbyt |
#7
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Bob M wrote in
: Smitty Two wrote: In article , Bob M wrote: Gentlemen; About a year ago I had a contractor install a new steel, prehung exterior door. Although I don't know the brand, this door was most likely obtained at Home Depot. There appears to be nothing wrong with the quality of the door and its surround. I am trying to sell this home and the inspector states the door is in need of adjustment but was not specific. I looked and looked and the only issue I could find was that compared to other doors in the house it appears to be set more deeply into the opening as seen from the inside. This means that when closing the lock bolt hits the 1-1.5" of trim edge before it reaches the strike plate. This has never been a problem for me as I relatively effortlessly pull the door closed just fine. Apparently the potential purchaser has a different idea! As I am not a carpenter I am hoping that some of you readers who may be familiar with installing/repairing similar doors might have an idea as to what I am describing and even more hopefully how it can be repaired? I am hesitant to call even a contractor because I don't even know how to best describe it. Does the door need to be reinstalled? If so, in what way? I can't imaging the door could be incorrectly sizes as it looks just fine. Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, help GREATLY appreciated. As one can imagine, in this housing mess and economy I am already taking a real bath on this house. Thanks - Bob Since the potential purchaser is apparently the one squawking, why not offer him $200 and let him fix whatever he and the inspector believe to be wrong? One thing you could check is whether the hinges have metal spacers behind them, if so, removing one or more of them might help. We recently tore down a wall containing a double steel door, in order to bring in a large machine, and rebuilt the wall and door thereafter. Getting the doors to work flawlessly wasn't difficult, but it was damn time-consuming and fiddly, involving multiple iterations of "try it and see." Another possible issue is that the hinges could be in the wrong place, so that the hinge side of the door contacts the stop before the latch side of the door does, which puts torque on the hinges every time you pull the door closed. We just ran into that yesterday on another door whose hinge bolts had broken loose from the concrete block wall behind the jamb. Thanks for the input Smitty Two. The purchaser is being unreasonable and won't settle for a cash allowance (lazy I guess). Then find out EXACTLY what the problem is from the PURCHASER. Figure out a solution. Propose it to the purchaser. Do nothing until you BOTH AGREE on a solution. If purchaser is feeding on the buyers market aspect he may decline anything you do until he gets a new door. Of course, don't let a single few $C item hold up a sale. Any halfwit realtor (if involved) wouldn't let it get to that. I will look for hinge shims and bring a big hammer. Unfortunately the house is 300 miles away. Bob |
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