I need to replace an exterior front door -- just the door slab, and not the
frame. The actual size of the existing door itself (not the opening, which
is a little larger) is 31 5/8 inches X 78 3/4 inches X 1 3/4 inches.


I assume that I will need to buy a 32x80 exterior door and trim it a little
to fit.


My question is, does that mean that I have no real choice other than to buy
a wood door because only a wood door can be trimmed?


Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?

"TomR" wrote in message

I need to replace an exterior front door -- just the door slab, and not
the frame. The actual size of the existing door itself (not the
opening,
which is a little larger) is 31 5/8 inches X 78 3/4 inches X 1 3/4
inches.


I assume that I will need to buy a 32x80 exterior door and trim it a
little to fit.


My question is, does that mean that I have no real choice other than to
buy a wood door because only a wood door can be trimmed?


Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?

No, you can't trim a metal door. Not and have it remain a door, anyway


The dimensions you stated for your door are very wierd. I can't magine
any builder making a rough opening that would require a door that size.
I'm thinking the rough is for a standard 32 x 80 door and if one that size
won't fit within the jamb then someone has mucked up the jamb.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On 07/30/2014 2:20 PM, TomR wrote:
I need to replace an exterior front door -- just the door slab, and not the
frame. The actual size of the existing door itself (not the opening, which
is a little larger) is 31 5/8 inches X 78 3/4 inches X 1 3/4 inches.


I assume that I will need to buy a 32x80 exterior door and trim it a little
to fit.


My question is, does that mean that I have no real choice other than to buy
a wood door because only a wood door can be trimmed?


Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?

It is possible, but hardly worth the effort. Generally you can get a
to-size for about $50 or so added and not having to retrofit the
blocking, etc., is well worth it in my book.

Fiberglass same deal if don't want solid wood.

But, I'd look first at as DadiOH says whether wouldn't be basically as
simple and likely cheaper to get a standard prehung unit and just
replace...means removing trim to ascertain what is the roughin opening
and why it's not full-size.

--

In ,
dadiOH typed:
"TomR" wrote in message

I need to replace an exterior front door -- just the door slab, and
not the frame. The actual size of the existing door itself (not the
opening,
which is a little larger) is 31 5/8 inches X 78 3/4 inches X 1 3/4
inches.

I assume that I will need to buy a 32x80 exterior door and trim it a
little to fit.

My question is, does that mean that I have no real choice other than
to buy a wood door because only a wood door can be trimmed?

Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?

No, you can't trim a metal door. Not and have it remain a door,
anyway

Thanks. I had a hunch that would be the case with metal doors, but I thought
that I would ask anyway.

The dimensions you stated for your door are very weird. I can't
magine any builder making a rough opening that would require a door
that size. I'm thinking the rough is for a standard 32 x 80 door and
if one that size won't fit within the jamb then someone has mucked up
the jamb.

I am not surprised that the dimensions are not the standard that are used
today. It is a very old house with wood lath and plaster walls, old-style
locks on the doors (including skeleton key locks on all of the interior
doors), and none of the interior or exterior doors are standard 80-inch or
even 78-inch door sizes.

This door is a front door that appears to be made of solid oak with a
beveled edge glass in the upper part of the door. I doubt that anyone
messed up in framing this door and I assume they just did the framing in
those days the way that this one was done and trimmed the wood door to fit.

In ,
dpb typed:
On 07/30/2014 2:20 PM, TomR wrote:
I need to replace an exterior front door -- just the door slab, and
not the frame. The actual size of the existing door itself (not the
opening, which is a little larger) is 31 5/8 inches X 78 3/4 inches
X 1 3/4 inches. I assume that I will need to buy a 32x80 exterior door
and trim it a
little to fit.

My question is, does that mean that I have no real choice other than
to buy a wood door because only a wood door can be trimmed?

Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?

It is possible, but hardly worth the effort. Generally you can get a
to-size for about $50 or so added and not having to retrofit the
blocking, etc., is well worth it in my book.

I guess a "to-size" metal door would be an option if they can be ordered
that way.

Fiberglass same deal if don't want solid wood.

I never bought a fiberglass door, but maybe that is an option if they are
solid fiberglass throughout and can be trimmed like a solid wood door can.

But, I'd look first at as DadiOH says whether wouldn't be basically as
simple and likely cheaper to get a standard pre-hung unit and just
replace...means removing trim to ascertain what is the roughin opening
and why it's not full-size.

In this case, re-configuring the opening to make it a standard size to fit a
pre-hung 32x80 exterior door size would be a lot of work and probably not
worth the effort to me. It would involve interior and exterior trim removal
and replacement, and it is old-style trim attached to a wood lath and
plaster wall on the inside and wood siding on the outside. Plus, there is a
storm door that would also have to be resized and replaced. None of this
would be worth it if my other option is to just buy a 32x80 solid wood door
and trim it a little to match the existing opening.

On Wed, 30 Jul 2014 15:40:28 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?

No, you can't trim a metal door. Not and have it remain a door, anyway


The dimensions you stated for your door are very wierd. I can't magine
any builder making a rough opening that would require a door that size.
I'm thinking the rough is for a standard 32 x 80 door and if one that size
won't fit within the jamb then someone has mucked up the jamb.

I had to replace an interior door on a rental (idiot tenant). Measured
twice, three times (scratching head) there were none to be found in
the same size in a pre-hung. Talking to my friends I was working with
(windows & doors). Only thing we figured is that it was the
construction of the RO _and_ the location of that single door inside
the house. I ended up having to order a "custom" door (locally built)
to fit. Strange but it happened.

I'm not sure you can order a custom metal door in your area, but I
would look.
--
Definition of a camel: A horse designed by a committee

On 07/30/2014 4:05 PM, TomR wrote:
....

I guess a "to-size" metal door would be an option if they can be ordered
that way.

Yes, they can; particularly convenient if there's a local manufacturer
can deal with directly. Was in Knoxville (TN); got spoiled...

Fiberglass same deal if don't want solid wood.

I never bought a fiberglass door, but maybe that is an option if they are
solid fiberglass throughout and can be trimmed like a solid wood door can.
....

They're not; you must check on trimming tolerances w/ the specific
manufacturer. Away from the soled end pieces they're foam-filled.
Which is why I said it's doable but hardly worth the effort--if you trim
thru the solid area or leave too little for the long haul you have to
route out the foam then infill w/ blocking (the cutoff works for that
for the material), anyways. Again they can be sized to the opening per
special order.

I agree, a decent-quality wood door properly maintained will likely
outlive you...

--

"TomR" wrote in message

In ,
dpb typed:

In this case, re-configuring the opening to make it a standard size to
fit a pre-hung 32x80 exterior door size would be a lot of work and
probably not worth the effort to me. It would involve interior and
exterior trim removal and replacement, and it is old-style trim attached
to a wood lath and plaster wall on the inside and wood siding on the
outside. Plus, there is a storm door that would also have to be resized
and replaced. None of this would be worth it if my other option is to
just buy a 32x80 solid wood door and trim it a little to match the
existing opening.

Figure $400 - ? depending on what you want.
http://www.buywooddoors.com/shop/fam...mahogany_doors

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

"dadiOH" wrote in message

"TomR" wrote in message

In ,
dpb typed:

In this case, re-configuring the opening to make it a standard size to
fit a pre-hung 32x80 exterior door size would be a lot of work and
probably not worth the effort to me. It would involve interior and
exterior trim removal and replacement, and it is old-style trim
attached
to a wood lath and plaster wall on the inside and wood siding on the
outside. Plus, there is a storm door that would also have to be
resized
and replaced. None of this would be worth it if my other option is to
just buy a 32x80 solid wood door and trim it a little to match the
existing opening.

Figure $400 - ? depending on what you want.
http://www.buywooddoors.com/shop/fam...mahogany_doors

One caveat if you should go the new door route: read the specs carefully.
Some of the ones in the site I linked are "fused solid wood" (read OSB)
with a 5mm overlay. However, this one is solid...
http://www.buywooddoors.com/shop/product/315
Problem is, it is 36x80, too wide to trim to what you want. Well, it
could be trimmed but would look wierd.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

On 07/31/2014 7:12 AM, dadiOH wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in message

"TomR" wrote in message

....

and replaced. None of this would be worth it if my other option is to
just buy a 32x80 solid wood door and trim it a little to match the
existing opening.

Figure $400 - ? depending on what you want.
http://www.buywooddoors.com/shop/fam...mahogany_doors

One caveat if you should go the new door route: read the specs
carefully. Some of the ones in the site I linked are "fused solid wood"
(read OSB) with a 5mm overlay. However, this one is solid...
http://www.buywooddoors.com/shop/product/315
Problem is, it is 36x80, too wide to trim to what you want. Well, it
could be trimmed but would look wierd.

Nominal 32x80 wood doors are available significantly cheaper than that
will likely outlast OP...I've several converted interior fir doors on
the garages and shops here on the farm that have lasted 50+ years and
they weren't even intended for exterior use...

http://www.lowes.com/pd_10900-77999-10900_4294858087__?productId=3488609&Ns=p_product_ qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_produ ct_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

--

On 07/31/2014 7:44 AM, dpb wrote:
....

Nominal 32x80 wood doors are available significantly cheaper than that
will likely outlast OP...I've several converted interior fir doors on
the garages and shops here on the farm that have lasted 50+ years and
they weren't even intended for exterior use...

http://www.lowes.com/...[snip]

Actually, if OP is in reasonable-sized market, there are probably lots
of options available -- Knoxville had Southern Rail Salvage, a veritable
plethora of unclaimed freight, overstocks, etc., etc., etc., as well as
a whole floor of their warehouse dedicated to doors and windows both new
stock as well as many that were, indeed, reclaimed. There was
everything from pure junk that should've been taken to the dump to
vintage Federal-era house doors of exquisite glass and work that had
been removed from remodels or tear-downs and everything in between.

The desktop here in the farm office is one I built from a solid slab
36x84 I picked up for $10 simply because it was too good at the time to
let go. I've another table made from a pair of commercial office slab
doors that were 42x96 walnut that had been scrapped before ever
installed because there was a gouge in one face of one. Since they were
book-matched grain pattern, the architect demanded both be replaced
instead of only the one. I gave $75 for the pair...

Anyway, worth a look around OP's location for what nontraditional
alternatives there are. I hear Habitat has retail stores in places now;
I've not been anywhere where there was one so no experience on that
front, specifically...

--

"TomR" writes:

I am not surprised that the dimensions are not the standard that are used
today. It is a very old house with wood lath and plaster walls, old-style
locks on the doors (including skeleton key locks on all of the interior
doors), and none of the interior or exterior doors are standard 80-inch or
even 78-inch door sizes.

Technically, they're known as "ward locks". A skeleton key is a warded
key where the wards have been ground off to make the key universal.

scott

On 7/30/2014 2:20 PM, TomR wrote:
I need to replace an exterior front door -- just the door slab, and not the
frame. The actual size of the existing door itself (not the opening, which
is a little larger) is 31 5/8 inches X 78 3/4 inches X 1 3/4 inches.


I assume that I will need to buy a 32x80 exterior door and trim it a little
to fit.


My question is, does that mean that I have no real choice other than to buy
a wood door because only a wood door can be trimmed?


Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?



Do you have a Menards in your area? They sell custom-built doors.
http://www.menards.com/main/mastercr...rDesigner.html

On 07/31/2014 8:02 AM, dpb wrote:
....

... I've another table made from a pair of commercial office slab
doors that were 42x96 walnut ...

Actually, that's not quite exactly so--the table is really an office
conference table I built from them for a firm in Oak Ridge, not that I
have anything that large here...

--

In ,
Scott Lurndal typed:
"TomR" writes:

I am not surprised that the dimensions are not the standard that are
used today. It is a very old house with wood lath and plaster
walls, old-style locks on the doors (including skeleton key locks on
all of the interior doors), and none of the interior or exterior
doors are standard 80-inch or even 78-inch door sizes.

Technically, they're known as "ward locks". A skeleton key is a
warded key where the wards have been ground off to make the key
universal.

Interesting. I didn't know that. I just checked it out here and, of
course, it says what you said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_key

On 07/31/2014 7:12 AM, dadiOH wrote:

Nominal 32x80 wood doors are available significantly cheaper than that
will likely outlast OP...I've several converted interior fir doors on
the garages and shops here on the farm that have lasted 50+ years and
they weren't even intended for exterior use...

http://www.lowes.com/pd_10900-77999-10900_4294858087__?productId=3488609&Ns=p_product_ qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_produ ct_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

Thanks. That looks like a winner. It is a slightly unusual size since it
is 79 inches high, and not the typical 78 or 80 inches high which are the
standard sizes. So, I would only need to trim a little off of the height to
make it fit -- easy to do. And, while I may possibly be able to get this 31
3/4 wide door to fit in the opening, and I may need to take 1/8 of an inch
off the width to get it to fit -- also do-able since it is wood.

And, the price is great. I don't think that I would have found this one by
doing my own searching, so thanks again for researching and finding this.

On 08/02/2014 9:40 AM, TomR wrote:
....

And, the price is great. I don't think that I would have found this one by
doing my own searching, so thanks again for researching and finding this.
....

It was about the 2nd or 3rd in DAGS on "32x80 exterior door" iirc--not
exactly an extensive research project...

--

Are you sure you want to replace instead of refinish? The door may bring some good $$ if it is old enough to be considered an antique!!

In ,
dpb typed:
On 08/02/2014 9:40 AM, TomR wrote:
...

And, the price is great. I don't think that I would have found this
one by doing my own searching, so thanks again for researching and
finding this. ...

It was about the 2nd or 3rd in DAGS on "32x80 exterior door" iirc--not
exactly an extensive research project...

Interesting. I didn't see it although I did go to Home Depot and Lowes
websites and tried searching within those. I still didn't catch it, and
that it was 31 3/4 x 79, even while searching on Lowes. But, it certainly
is there.

In ,
typed:
Are you sure you want to replace instead of refinish? The door may
bring some good $$ if it is old enough to be considered an antique!!

The problem is that the old door is damaged around the old lock area -- from
an adolescent or two kicking it in -- duh. The old lock is now messed up
and the door repairs that I did in the past just aren't going to cut it. I
could put it by the curb with a "free" sign on it, and it's a fairly busy
street, but most likely no one will even take it for free.

In ,
Moe DeLoughan typed:
On 7/30/2014 2:20 PM, TomR wrote:
I need to replace an exterior front door -- just the door slab, and
not the frame. The actual size of the existing door itself (not the
opening, which is a little larger) is 31 5/8 inches X 78 3/4 inches
X 1 3/4 inches. I assume that I will need to buy a 32x80 exterior door
and trim it a
little to fit.

My question is, does that mean that I have no real choice other than
to buy a wood door because only a wood door can be trimmed?

Or, is there a way to trim exterior metal doors to fit the opening?

Do you have a Menards in your area? They sell custom-built doors.
http://www.menards.com/main/mastercr...rDesigner.html

I am in New Jersey and no Menard's anywhere near me. But, I checked out
their website above and it is amazing! It is WAY better than Home Depot or
Lowes for finding and ordering a door.

On 8/2/2014 6:07 PM, TomR wrote:
The problem is that the old door is damaged around the old lock area -- from
an adolescent or two kicking it in -- duh. The old lock is now messed up
and the door repairs that I did in the past just aren't going to cut it. I
could put it by the curb with a "free" sign on it, and it's a fairly busy
street, but most likely no one will even take it for free.



Maybe an Install A Lock plate would help?

http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/TFH..._DOOSEC_03.JPG

Closest I could find, on the web.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 08/02/2014 5:01 PM, TomR wrote:
In ,
typed:
On 08/02/2014 9:40 AM, TomR wrote:
...

And, the price is great. I don't think that I would have found this
one by doing my own searching, so thanks again for researching and
finding this. ...

It was about the 2nd or 3rd in DAGS on "32x80 exterior door" iirc--not
exactly an extensive research project...

Interesting. I didn't see it although I did go to Home Depot and Lowes
websites and tried searching within those. I still didn't catch it, and
that it was 31 3/4 x 79, even while searching on Lowes. But, it certainly
is there.

Well, let's see, just for grins...the actual search string I used was
"32x80 solid wood exterior door" and it turned out the 4th entry

Virtually all doors are undersized by roughly the same amount as this.
Used to be 3/16" width and 7/8" in height could be counted on pretty
much universally as the rough jamb opening was intended to be precisely
the even inch and that gave a standard fitting dimension for a threshold
on the bottom and clearance fitting for the width.

With the advent of the prehung and the profusion of import and modified
weatherstripping systems and all there's more variation than used to be
but the general rule is true that the slab will definitely not be the
exact nominal but under by the manufacturer's selected dimensions.

--

In ,
Stormin Mormon typed:
On 8/2/2014 6:07 PM, TomR wrote:
The problem is that the old door is damaged around the old lock area
-- from an adolescent or two kicking it in -- duh. The old lock is
now messed up and the door repairs that I did in the past just
aren't going to cut it. I could put it by the curb with a "free"
sign on it, and it's a fairly busy street, but most likely no one
will even take it for free.

Maybe an Install A Lock plate would help?

http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/TFH..._DOOSEC_03.JPG
Closest I could find, on the web.

Hmmm..., that's an interesting idea!

I never thought of trying something like that. And, just 3 days ago I was
at a Habitat Re-Store near me to see if they happened to have the right size
door slab and I saw that they had similar metal brackets like the one in the
photo that go over the door. I was thinking of them as just being a way to
protect the lock mechanism and maybe make it harder to break in -- or
something like that. But, I didn't think that maybe I could take out the
whole old-style lock mechanism on the existing door, use one of those metal
brackets, back fill the hole in the door from where the old lock was (behind
the new metal plate), and install a whole new modern style door knob and
deadbolt lockset.

I like that idea and I will definitely check that out. I will probably have
to look at the door and lock again, and measure the metal cover plate etc.,
but I have a hunch that this will solve the whole problem.

Thanks.

On 8/3/2014 12:22 PM, TomR wrote:
Stormin Mormon typed:

Maybe an Install A Lock plate would help?

http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/TFH..._DOOSEC_03.JPG
Closest I could find, on the web.

Hmmm..., that's an interesting idea!

I never thought of trying something like that. And, just 3 days ago I was
at a Habitat Re-Store near me to see if they happened to have the right size
door slab and I saw that they had similar metal brackets like the one in the
photo that go over the door. I was thinking of them as just being a way to
protect the lock mechanism and maybe make it harder to break in -- or
something like that. But, I didn't think that maybe I could take out the
whole old-style lock mechanism on the existing door, use one of those metal
brackets, back fill the hole in the door from where the old lock was (behind
the new metal plate), and install a whole new modern style door knob and
deadbolt lockset.

I like that idea and I will definitely check that out. I will probably have
to look at the door and lock again, and measure the metal cover plate etc.,
but I have a hunch that this will solve the whole problem.

Thanks.


The ones I've installed, have needed a LOT of chisel
work, to get the plate to fit. But, it might save your
door.


--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..